Tag: connected things

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Video Games

Playbrush uses interactive gaming to get kids to brush their teeth

Many parents with small kids know how hard it can be to convince some children to brush their teeth regularly, and to do it well.

Playbrush is a device that attaches to the end of any conventional toothbrush, transforming the brush into an interactive game controller that can be used in conjunction with iOS (and later Android) mobile devices. When the user starts the app on their smartphone or tablet, the gadget will automatically connect to it via Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth Smart) technology. Playbrush costs $72 and will ship in December. Its maker is hoping to raise $51,887 by May 9.

Playbursh is a device with potential, especially for parents of young kids who either try and avoid brushing altogether or race through the process in just a few seconds. Turning brushing into a fun activity might very well be the trick to get at least some of them to change their ways. That said, it’s impossible to tell from the Kickstarter campaign video just how strong the initial game itself is. If it’s just one weak repetitive game, those kids may very well get bored after a week or two and parents will be left with the same problem they started with. To address this potential problem, the device’s maker plans to add multiple worlds, levels and characters.

 

Categories
Connected Objects Sleep

Proper Pillow Plus will help give you an amazing night of sleep

A comfortable pillow is just as important as a good mattress to provide a good night of sleep. Most pillows, even the best orthopedic ones, however, can’t quantify just how well the user is sleeping.

The Proper Pillow Plus is a smarter version of the existing Proper Pillow, created by the same inventor. The Proper Pillow was designed to support optimal alignment with both back and side sleeping positions. Proper Pillow Plus builds on that and adds the quantification of sleep patterns with the assistance of a mobile app. A sensor network of pressure receptors built into the pillow tracks the user’s sleep experience and relays that data directly to the Proper Pillow Plus app via Bluetooth Low Energy. Among other things, Proper Pillow Plus can gauge what sleeping position and head orientation generate optimal sleep conditions. Proper Pillow Plus costs $60 and ships in April. Its maker is hoping to raise $375,000 via an Indiegogo campaign by April 18.

The product holds promise if it can truly and accurately measure sleep patterns and, more importantly, if it’s comfortable. That said, these two variables are impossible to gauge from a campaign video. Those are two of the same issues faced by similar products that have sought crowdfunding, including ThinkPillow.

Categories
Apparel Connected Objects Sports

Turning Shoe helps athletes avoid injury and perfect their form

When playing baseball, golf or other similar sports, stress is often placed on the body when swinging a bat or club, throwing a baseball, or making other unnatural motions that the body is unaccustomed to.

patent-claimedThe Turning Shoe is a smart shoe designed to reduce this type of stress and impact to the body by promoting a more natural swinging motion for baseball and golf players. The Turning Shoe eDrive Plus adds a sensor that sends information about users’ movements to their smartphones via a mobile smartphone app. Its maker plans to ship the shoes in six color designs. Turning Shoes for baseball and golf will cost $299 each, while Turning Shoe eDrive Plus for the same two sports will cost $395 each. All will ship in October provided that a campaign goal of $50,000 is met by April 16.

 

Categories
Connected Objects Wallets

Self-charging Woolet prevents you from losing your wallet

While misplacing a wallet at home is a major inconvenience, losing a wallet in a public place can be a major cause for alarm, especially if it houses credit cards and lots of cash.

The Bluetooth-enabled Woolet is a smart wallet which aims to prevent this type of problem. Woolet notifies its owner when a wallet is misplaced or lost. Woolet is currently Android and iOS compatible, and its makers have plans to perhaps support Windows Phone devices later on down the line.

When in use, Woolet is able to show users where their wallet is within 1.3 feet. Like the similarly designed Where’s Wallet, Woolet can also notify users when they’re separated from their wallet beyond a pre-specified distance. Woolet costs $99 and is slated to ship in May provided its goal of $15,000 can be met by April 2.

Despite an increasingly crowded market for similar products, Woolet holds a lot of promise. One feature that gives it an edge over rival products is that it’s self-charging, which is to say that no battery replacement is needed. Woolet charges itself through a process called electricity harvesting, meaning that when the beacon senses movement, kinetic energy is activated, subsequently building an electrical charge. Notably, its maker is also testing recharging by movement and body heat. Woolet’s makers plan to update Kickstarter backers once a final implementation method is chosen.

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Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Proscan scans food for nutritional content

It’s always best for everybody to know exactly what’s in the food they’re eating -– especially if they’re on a diet or have a serious allergy to foods such as peanuts. Unfortunately, a list of ingredients isn’t always available.

Proscan is a water resistant device that quickly scans any food and displays a list of the calories, energy, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol and dietary fiber that it contains. The device works by using a load sensor, optical sensor (spectrometer), other advanced sensors and complex algorithms to analyze food and then display its nutritional content on the device’s touch-sensitive display screen or on a Bluetooth-connected iPhone, Apple Watch, Android device, or Windows Phone. In speaker mode, all scan results are read aloud via Proscan’s speakers.

Provided that a $50,000 goal is reached by April 14, Proscan will ship in December in a choice of a Beam (rectangular) model or a round version. The entry price is about $349 for a regular model. Proscan Mini versions will cost about $238, while customized versions with color options and engraved wording will cost about $419. The Indiegogo campaign is slated to end on April 14.

There have been other food scanner campaigns in recent memory. The SCiO is one product that comes to mind, although that product was designed to analyze surrounding environments as well. If Proscan works as easily and seamlessly as it appears to in its Indiegogo campaign video, the product may very well hold some promise. Still, a pocket device like SCiO seems much more practical, especially when dining at a restaurant or traveling, which would seem to be when users would want it most.

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Connected Objects

A digital frame, Pigeon carries photos and videos to loved ones

Once upon a time, the digital picture frame was a popular product category. But consumers quickly grew tired of them, in part because they were too difficult to be used by many of the people who often received them as gifts, such as grandparents.

The Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled Pigeon largely resolves that problem as it allows photos and videos to be automatically downloaded to the frame via an Android or iOS app. As a result, users, and grandparents in particular, won’t be stuck staring at the same 10 photos for years on end, which was sometimes the case with older digital frames that often relied on memory cards. The 10-inch frame has built-in speakers, 2 GB of onboard storage, and USB connectivity for when Wi-Fi isn’t available. It can also be hung on the wall or onto a refrigerator via its magnetic back. Notably, photos and videos are also stored securely via Pigeon’s cloud service while a a motion sensor cleverly ensures that the frame is on only when somebody is nearby.

There are two versions of Pigeon to choose from along with a choice of five frames: the entry-level Winkie version costs $159 while the White Vision model, with backlit LED lighting and a rechargeable battery pack, costs $205. Its maker is hoping to raise $50,000 by March 19.

As mentioned in a recent Backerjack Podcast, there have been a few challenges to digital picture frames. The Pigeon digital frame, however, holds some promise thanks to its enhanced and more modern features. But there is still at least one fundamental cause for the declining interest in digital frames that no new frame –- including this or Fireside — will be able to address: the ubiquity of tablets which many grandparents can use with ease.

Categories
Smart Home

Kumostat controls temperature, saves money and energy

The Premise. Traditional thermostat controls are incapable of adjusting to the constant fluctuations in temperature throughout the house. There have been a few temperature sensors that make the heating and air conditioning more responsive to the environment, but most of them are incapable of gaging the different temperatures throughout the house.

The Product. The Kumostat is joining the market of Internet-connected thermostats, but expanding the range of possibilities. By connecting with cloud-connected “Kumo Sensors” and existing Wireless Sensor Tags, the Kumostat gives a more accurate and precise reading of the environment in all the different parts of the house. You can customize the setting of the heat and air conditioning to reduce your energy bill while also guaranteeing a comfo-rtable temperature whenever you’re in the house. For example, the Kumo Sensors can automatically turn off the air conditioning when three or more windows are open. All of this can be done through the seamless interface of the iOS or Android smartphone app.

The Pitch. The video starts off in a Kumostat utopia (Kumopia?) where all the walls an windows are equipped with Kumo sensors. It explains how the sensors sense motion, and automatically adjust the temperature to benefit the room with the most activity for optimum efficiency. It switches to graphics of the smartphone controls that allow for the customization of your environment; the seems like a simple app for anyone to use, yet complex in the ways it can be personalized. Lastly, the Kumostat video makes a pitch to businesses by highlighting the fact that the Kumostat can work in large buildings—and reap large energy saving benefits.

The Perks. There are many different combinations of sensors that best fit your needs. If you already own Wireless Sensor Tags, the Kumostat itself only costs $36 and is compatible with Ethernet Tag Manager revision 5 or higher. If you don’t know what any of that means, it probably means you’re building your connected thermostat from scratch. The best option for you then is the $136 pledge category that includes a Kumostat, a Reed Kumo Sensor (door/window, temperature, humidity), a PIR Kumo Sensor (infra-red occupancy, temperature, and humidity), and one Wireless Sensor Tag Hub. That should be more than enough to get you started, and you can expand your collection of sensors if you enjoy the benefits of the connected thermostat.

The Potential. The Nest brought connected thermostats into the mainstream of the public eye, and now others are looking to join the market. These thermostats are going to start appearing in more and more homes as more people realize how much money and energy they save. Kumostat adds an interesting twist by factoring in the possibility of there being different temperatures in the house. It doesn’t have the same aesthetic appeal as the Nest, but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be able to succeed in the market of people with larger homes and a desire for more control over their home environment.

Categories
Connected Objects Smartwatches/Bands

Haloband taps into smartphone features from the wrist

The Premise. When you’re in a rush and on the go, it can be difficult to access the key features on your phone. Fumbling through the process of unlocking your phone, opening the the app, and waiting for it to boot up can often end up being a waste of time. This can make accessing smartphone apps a problem.

The Product. Using NFC technology, simply tap the phone to your Haloband to access your favorite apps. You can quickly unlock your phone, change the song, turn on the flashlight, check in to social networks, open the camera, and access many other features all with a simple wrist movement. The silicone band is not only flexible and waterproof, but it doesn’t require any batteries either.

The Pitch. Product Manager Sam Luo starts off the video by showing some of the Haloband’s main features and how they’re accessed with a simple tap. At around the 50 second mark, the video suddenly takes a turn towards the realm of high school video projects. If you can get past the cringe-worthy awkwardness of the acting, the video turns back to Luo who asks for a donation to put the Haloband into mass production.

The Perks. For just a $19 donation on Kickstarter, pledgers will receive a black Haloband, and for $22, you can choose your color as well. This is one of the cheapest options for wristband technology today, so it may be worth checking out. If you want to pledge more than $2000, the Haloband team will take you out to dinner along with a tour of Shanghai, China (travel fee not included).

The Potential. Smartphones have incorporated software that improves the accessibility of their phones already, so the Haloband’s purpose of improving their efficiency falls short of the mark. However, if accessing applications on your phone still remains a challenge, the Haloband may very well be an effective and economical solution for your needs.