Categories
Cycling Kids/Babies Safety

Jyrobike swaps in gyroscopes for training wheels in helping bike beginners

The Premise. Young children face fear, injury and anxiety when attempting to learn how to ride a bike. For some, it’s natural and for others it can take a long time. Children with disabilities also struggle with the delicate movement and balance needed to learn to ride a bicycle.

The Product. The Jyrobike takes the uncertainty out of elementary bicycle riding. Coming in two different sizes, the front wheel of the bike use stabilizer technology so that the bike will not tip over, much like Weebles. The wheels have three settings. On the highest setting, the bike is its most stable and then becomes less stable with the other two settings so that when the child feels comfortable, he or she can ride on their own without assistance. The wheel charges with a microUSB and also has a speaker that provides fun sounds during the ride. A wireless remote allows parents to adjust settings while the child rides so that they’ll learn to balance on their own.

The Pitch. Jyrobike’s lengthy campaign video shows the bike in action with small and handicapped children and even shows the bike riding upright on its own to display its stability. The creators talk about the physics of bike, explaining how it works and go through the different features of their reinvented wheel. Jyrobike is striving for a $100,000 goal in a 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Early backers will receive the 12” wheel and wireless controller so that they can turn their own bikes into a Jyrobike for $129 or, later, just the wheel for the same price. The 16” wheel and controller go for $149 early or regularly at the same price for just the wheel. For $249, early backers get the 12” bike and wireless controller or, when the early prices run out, just the bike for the same price. Similarly, the 16” bike and controller cost $299 early or the same price for just the bike later. Reward tiers go all the way up to $5,000 with delivery set for January 2015.

The Potential. Plenty of children have learned to ride their bikes without this product. However, the thought of avoiding fear and injury is certainly appealing to both children and parents. The coolest thing about this product is perhaps its potential to help older children with disabilities. It provides the bridge needed to get over the daunting beginning phases of learning in order to really begin to enjoy cycling. Jyrobike’s intentions are noble and it definitely has a place on the market for safety-obsessed parents and clumsy children alike.

Categories
Kids/Babies Smartwatches/Bands

Kidswatcher is a tracking watch that provides a bit of child-tracking assurance

kidswatcherIn earlier decades, it was common for children to go off on their own and explore the neighborhood on adventures. Many parents still want to preserve that freedom, but still want a way to keep tabs on their kids. In the tradition of recent crowdfunding efforts HereO and Tinitell comes Kidswatcher. Children can wear a stylish, waterproof digital watch that parents can scan into their phone using an app and a QR code on the interior of each watch. The watch can report on the child’s location outdoors using GSM networks and indoors by using Wi-Fi. Parents can even send a buzz to the children’s watch which they can acknowledge, or alert social media and the police in case of emergency. The Kidswatcher will launch in December for €149, but can also be pre-ordered on a trial basis.

Categories
Kids/Babies Wearables

1Decision Bracelet alerts you when the little one wanders off

1decisionKids have a nasty habit of wandering off at the worst of times. There’s nothing scarier than realizing your child is not where you thought he or she was. The 1Decision Bracelet offers safety and security for your child out in public. One bracelet is worn by the child and the other by the parent. As the fearmongering campaign video shows, it is programmable so that when the bracelets are out of a predetermined range from one another, the parent’s will vibrate alerting them that the child has begun to wander off. Unlike GPS bracelets and watches, however, it doesn’t provide any clue on how to find them once they;re out of view. One set of bracelets costs an early donation of $55 or a regular donation of $75 for delivery in October 2014. The 1Decision Bracelet hopes to raise $65,000 in a 40-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Kids/Babies Toys

O-Rings surround kids, let the fun seep through

O-RingsKids use their imaginations while playing, which helps them to develop skills they need as adults. Many toys take away the need for imagination with fancy technology or touch screens. O-Rings are a simple way for children to enjoy playtime without all the bells and whistles. These rings vary in size, color, and density, allowing children to learn new things from each one while providing safety, comfort and many photo opportunities . Kids can climb, organize, imagine and create using the O-Rings. One small ring costs backers $49 or $360 for a full set estimated to deliver in December 2014. O-Rings hopes to raise $30,000 in a 46-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Cycling Kids/Babies

MiniBrake enforces child cycling safety from a distance

minibrakeParents dreams of that triumphant moment when their child learns how to ride a bicycle on their own, but sometimes ignore the consequences. By being able to bike themselves, children are now able to travel at faster speeds and in potentially dangerous traffic. The MiniBrake is a small, remote-controlled brake that attaches to a bike’s rear wheel and stops the bicycle when the parent chooses. With a range of 50 meters, parents don’t have to chase after children, and if the bike travels beyond that range, the brake automatically engages, urging the child to return to a safer location. Parents can get a MiniBrake for $80, available in June 2014.

Categories
Imaging Kids/Babies

Looky Loo Light gets your baby’s focus for your camera’s focus

The Premise. We love taking photos of our kids, and, with the transition from wallet to smartphone, immense photo storage has encouraged child-centered bragging to hit an all-time high. But it’s hard to show off images of your baby which are blurry because he wouldn’t sit still or just okay because she’s decided every other object in the room is more interesting than a camera lens.

The Product. The Looky Loo Light tricks babies and small children into liking photography by distracting and inspiring them to look directly at the lens, in most cases improving the subject’s interaction with the camera. It’s comprised of a set of four blinking, colored LED lights on a Velcro band which can attach to the lens hood of a DSLR. The flashing lights tend to dominate the child’s attention, so that in most cases her body is positioned toward the camera and a head-on shot looking directly (or almost directly) into the lens can be achieved. There are three light settings, three different sound settings, and even adjustments you can make to the brightness of the lights – handy for transitioning from indoor and outdoor shooting.

The Pitch. In a four-minute video which is one part product pitch and three parts blooper reel, pro photographer and chief Looky Looer Allison Carenza tells us that she specializes in shooting children’s portraits and explains what inspired the idea. Realizing that her “tools” for taking children’s portraits were increasingly looking more like children’s toys and less like camera accessories, she decided to make something that would lessen the burden of entertainment, freeing her to more easily capture fantastic shots when they came. Allison explains to backers that she needs to raise $50,000 to pay for a small initial Looky Loo Light production, which she has determined will occur in the U.S. While the page lacks any type of demonstrative content in installing Looky Loo onto your camera lens, it does identify two achievements in 2013 – winner of the “Dream Big” and “Most Innovative Inventions of 2013” awards.

The Perks. For 25 early birds, pledges of $150 will earn a backer reward of one black Looky Loo Light along with a Looky Loo t-shirt. Kickstarter and Standard editions offer the same reward for $199 and $249 respectively, and backers who want a limited edition color will commit to funding the project at $299. All Looky Loos are expected to ship in August.

The Potential.  While no doubt a useful product for Allison’s application, it’s difficult to say how easily Looky Loo may be adopted by the general public. Many new parents certainly choose to invest in a DSLR, but that is a purchase expected to last a number of years. While Looky Loo may be successful in creating easier “head-on” portraits of children less than a year old, it would be important to understand how much longer a child has before becoming desensitized. All toys get old and uninteresting after awhile –ask Andy and Buzz. It’s not a very practical accessory to have to tote around in terms of size and it’s unclear whether Looky Loo can be used simultaneously with an external flash, or whether light from the LEDs are negatively effecting the image.