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Smart Home

Campoint brings your home security footage into a central point

Over the past decade, home monitoring and security systems have been reduced from elaborate systems requiring hundreds of dollars of start-up and maintenance costs to just a few in-home, Internet-connected cameras requiring less money to maintain. Problems still abound, though, namely in the form of monthly service fees to store and view a user’s own video, false alarms, and privacy.

CamPoint’s in-home monitoring system is looking to address those problems. The device connects via Wi-fi to up to three HD cameras, allowing a user to enjoy the features of a monitoring system without a monthly fee. What’s more, CamPoint uses an algorithm that constantly learns what’s important by sending alerts to a user’s smartphone for review. Once decided, CamPoint will never send another alarm about the event again. CamPoint also liberates users of the worry associated with streaming video to unknown places for review by unknown people with both local and cloud storage depending on the user’s location. Even then, it doesn’t eat up all your bandwidth with the capacity to schedule your day into the system. Potential backers can go all in with a pledge of $279, which nets them a CamPoint with three cameras. If the cameras are unnecessary, a CamPoint solo can be had for just $149. The company is looking for $50,000 for mass production and assembly.

The elephant in the room when speaking about home monitoring is certainly Dropcam and all of the privacy issues the company has spurred. Addressing privacy concerns with smart design is good business sense, and CamPoint has hit the nail on the head. Although users of the system will appreciate that, the included seven days of cloud storage and its three camera maximum might be problematic. CamPoint has potential, but the company will need to keep innovating: the features they present can easily be copied.

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Home

Odor-eliminating toilet seat fans your stink into the wild

Without getting into specifics, many people have a certain degree of embarrassment or even panic about dealing with the aftermath of using a restroom, particularly at a friend’s or date’s house. Many a comedic movie scene or shameful story has been made about these moments of desperately opening a window or finding a chemical spray to mask the smell.

The Fresh Air Plus is a toilet seat designed to prevent this situation from ever happening again  by pumping the foul air out of the toilet before it ever has a chance to escape. Powered using a nearby electrical outlet, the Fresh Air Plus uses a hose to an outdoor vent to remove the smell discreetly and privately. The Fresh Air Plus fits any standard toilet and replaces the existing toilet seat. It also includes a no-slam system that eases the lid down gradually.

This product offers people who are sensitive about bathroom matters a chance to avoid the stinky subject entirely, as the odors never even have to leave the bowl. Adam Payz, the inventor of the Fresh Air Plus, is trying to raise $80,000 to move the product from the prototype phase. It only costs $160 to get rid of the dirty bathroom smell forever, once the Fresh Air Plus ships in March 2015.

There’s a subtle contradiction in purchasing an item for your bathroom to hide the evidence of smelly behavior when that item requires hooking up a hose to your toilet, plugging it in, and adding more lights to the toilet than the average pachinko machine. The Fresh Air Plus is certainly doing its best to innovate, but when you have to drill a hole in the wall and run a hose to hide something that everyone goes through, maybe, just maybe, the issue is more mental than physical and odiferous.

Categories
Home Safety

Burglar Blocker reinforces your windows against the bad guys

Home and small business security appears to have gotten a bit simpler and easier.

Burglar Blocker offers the typical homeowner and small business owner the opportunity to burglarproof home and office with locks that help to deter those who would sneak around the backdoor and windows with the intent to steal, destroy and possibly worse. The gadgets appear to be relatively easy to install, though installation will require a drill. It appears that all the other pieces necessary for installation are included. The lock also comes with a steel cover and key as an added security feature, and seems like it would work well alongside a security alarm system.

For burglars who are more rude and actually bash in windows or doors, more aggressive self-protection measures may be required – although communities in some countries may frown on such measures. For €17, backers can get two products with an expected delivery of December 2014.

Categories
Home

Tibio lamp answers hot air’s call to “blow me down”

TibioEveryone knows that heat rises, which can be annoying to deal with in the winter. The top of your living room is nice and toasty while the bottom where everyone sits is frigid. Tibio is a small product about the size of a roll of paper towels that hangs on your wall above the heater. A built-in fan helps to circulate warm air down to where the people hang out. Tibio is decorative with several options for its design and blends right into your home. It seems like a simple, but effective way to save money on one’s heating bill and much less bulky than the Hot Tube. One costs backers £55 with a campaign goal of £48,000 on Kickstarter.

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Home

Bee-Kind boots bugs out, without using the boot

The Premise. Bugs in the house can be a real nuisance. It’s never fun to have to kill a bug and it looks a little crazy to be running around the house with a shoe in hand ready to strike. Without actually killing them, it’s hard to get bugs out of the house unharmed.

The Product. Bee-Kind is a wand of sorts that uses suction and air to treat bugs humanely. It has a long clear tube and sucks bugs in. When they’re trapped, simply walk outside and use the button to release them again. The wand looks like a big yellow gun with a long tube on the end.

The Pitch. Bee-Kind’s creator discusses his product in slow words during the campaign video. He demonstrates Bee-Kind’s effectiveness with several different types of bugs. The rest of the campaign uses drawings to show how the wand works. It also discusses the advantages of letting bugs live, rather than just squashing them. Bee-Kind, a product from the Netherlands, hopes to raise €165,000 on Kickstarter.

The Perks. Bee-Kind only offers three reward tiers. The first at €5 gets the backer a thanks. The other two offer the Bee-Kind itself for backers inside and outside of the Netherlands for €38. 

The Potential. It’s always a great idea to find ways to be nicer to animals. Bees and bugs generally get a bad rap because they can sting us and it’s harder to remove them from rooms and houses without getting stung. Bee-Kind is a great solution for those looking to remove bugs from their homes without having to kill them and without getting stung. It may be scary to release an angry bee so close to yourself, but at least it’s a way to get the bee back to where it came from. All in all, Bee-Kind uses innovation to kick bugs out of the house without killing them.

Categories
Home Video

ISense offers a live look into your home on demand

The Premise. Nobody can be home all the time to protect their belongings and house from potential burglars or other threats, but the new wave of smart home monitors can record video and keep an eye out for intruders, alerting owners of any break-ins through their smartphones.

The Product. ISense is one such system that offers this level of home protection in a way that offers peace of mind so long as a smartphone is kept handy. The cable-free system equipped with high definition camera can be set up anywhere and can offer a live feed at any time through the app or start recording video and send a notification any time that motion is detected. Each unit has over a year’s worth of battery life and communicate over Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G. Each system also includes a Sync Module that allows the cameras to communicate with connected phones, as well as including onboard storage for recorded video in addition to cloud storage.

The Pitch. kaan tas put together a simple pitch for ISense highlighting the ease of setting up or customizing an ISense system and the level of monitoring the devices can provide on-demand from any location. For ISense to become a viable product, kaan tas wants to raise $40,000 AUD to fund production and fulfillment.

The Perks. Getting an ISense takes a pledge of $59 AUD, which includes the system with Sync Module and 16GB of video storage. The onboard storage can be doubled at the $66 AUD level, but both include cloud storage as well. Those that want to be among the first to use the product can get into the Beta program for $139 AUD, and getting multiple rooms set up with ISense is possible with plenty of tiers offering multiple cameras. All perks are shipping out in February 2015.

The Potential. The wireless setup, long battery life, and notification of any detected motion make ISense a great choice for any consumer looking to add a simple, effective home monitoring system. What ISense offers in simplicity, it lacks in subtlety. The bright LED on the front that is used when the camera is on makes it so that if set up in a place that can be stepped around or crawled under, the system could be moved by any intruders, still detecting motion as it’s set down, but not offering any identifying information. Take that big light off of the front, and there could be something that belongs in any home here. At the same time, the feature set is pretty much identical to existing options like Blink, albeit with a larger focus on video quality. The combination of the glaring light and the lack of distinction might make ISense a forgettable chapter in home security video.

Categories
Home Tech Accessories

iGuardian puts a stop to suspicious data before it ever reaches your device

The Premise. When even executives of globally popular antivirus software companies are saying that antivirus technology is at a dead end, there’s a serious problem. Internet security is no less important, however, and while businesses have protection designed for their networks, home consumers ought to have a line of defense as well.

The Product. iGuardian is a device only slightly larger than a pack of gum that connects to the network before any other device and monitors the data going in and out from connected devices. Using the most recent security protocols and with the ability to be updated as necessary, iGuardian serves as an Internet doorman of sorts, keeping an eye out for threats and denying them any kind of access whatsoever. iGuardian is easier to set up than any kind of software firewall, just needing to be plugged into the same network that others are plugged into. From there, iGuardian can protect not only computers, but smart home appliances, smartphones, and any other products connected to the network.

The Pitch. Itus Networks, creator of the iGuardian, lament in their video the lack of home network security on the level of effectiveness that businesses utilize regularly. With the attitude of any engineer, Itus set out to bridge that gap and give individuals reliable digital security that doesn’t get in the way, explaining how the iGuardian works along the way. Itus needs $125,000 for software development, beta testing, and manufacturing.

The Perks. A single iGuardian can protect a home network for $129 and will be out in February 2015. Sets of 2 and 4 can be grabbed at the $280 and $500 tier levels respectively, while eager backers can get theirs as early as September 2014 thanks to a beta/prototype kit for $750.

The Potential. Network security can be a headache for a lot of reasons, especially without a computer strong enough to handle defending against attacks and running applications at the same time. Because iGuardian is a physical device that monitors data being sent and received at the point of entry, it allows for strong security, peace of mind, and simple setup without sacrificing processor power or access to favorite social media sites. The presentation is very basic and no-frills, but the freedom that iGuardian opens up is enough to brag about once the home network is free from threats of malware and data theft.

Categories
Home Smart Home

Qhome runs your home, doesn’t need to get paid

The Premise. Smart home systems are cropping up everywhere, but tend to specialize in one particular concept or feature, whether it’s energy-saving, security, or climate control. These devices give the illusion of a smart home while leaving several components woefully unconnected.

The Product. Qhome is a smart home hub that offers a greater degree of functionality than the partial smart home devices that have shown up to swell the market. Operating through a series of distinct modes as well as individual customization, Qhome can open curtains, close windows, keep a running grocery list as things are removed from the fridge, and send cleaning robots out as needed to keep things tidy, all from a smartphone or through its own programming.

The Pitch. Developer Quatanium introduces viewers to Qhome by showing a young professional who can only focus so well on his job because his home monitors and operates itself. From getting him up in the morning all the way to notifying him that there’s no more jam in the fridge, Qhome steers the video’s hero through all the aspects of his home life right up to his date that night. Unfortunately, as viewers ask how all of this might be possible, the campaign page itself has no follow-through, focusing more on general discussion of the history of smart home technology and how it functions rather than explaining how the product itself works. Backers might be interested in helping Quatanium reach its huge $500,000, but will have to do so with several questions still in their minds.

The Perks. Getting started with a Qhome system costs as little as $99, to get the app and control components for two devices. A more complete system with a hub, 5 components, and a wireless music player costs $249. Those who are more concerned with security can add an extra 5 control components and a wireless security camera to their system at the $599, while anyone who wants their system designed to maximize effectiveness in their home can get a personalized system built for $1,999. All tiers except the personalized system will ship by March 2015, with the latter shipping in July 2015.

The Potential. When it comes to potential, the idea behind Qhome has an awful lot of it. However, without more details and more explanation, it’s easy to get the impression that nothing may ever come of all that potential. Qhome makes a lot of bold claims and is fairly cost-effective. Now, all that remains to be seen is if it can back up all of its talk.

Categories
Home Lighting

LightFreq uses Wi-Fi, lets your house get its freak on

The Premise. “Smart lighting” has become one of the latest trends to hit homes and offices. In the past, choices were limited to light bulb style and wattage – usually dictated by a lamp’s requirements. Luckily for us, light bulbs have fast-tracked it to evolutionary nirvana.

The Product. LightFreq is a multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb with built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and HD Audio controlled by a smartphone app. LightFreq gives consumers and business owners the ability to turn lights on, control dimmers, colors, and other unique abilities. For consumers there is a built-in “follow me” feature which will turn lights on and off as you enter and leave the rooms in your house (as long as your smartphone is with you). The same can be set for audio if you choose to listen to music. Different lighting motifs can be turned on so that LightFreq chooses the colors, which colors to change to, and how fast to change them to the beats of your tunes. Similarly you can set your LightFreq to flash in different colors when you receive a social media notification, text message or phone call. LightFreq also allows you to play God in a neat way with an intercom feature allowing you to speak into a specific LightFreq in another room OR into all LightFreqs in your house at once. LightFreq even works as a morning alarm turning on light, music, or both gradually until you are bopping around in a fresh new day.

The Pitch. LightFreq’s video showcases the many utilities of having the product in your home or business. Devon, Founder of LightFreq, presents his concept of putting sound and light together into one product. The video also features Colin and Rob, chief designers, who explain the importance of putting the best technology into the smallest space to create a powerful speaker. One screen even boasts better sound quality than Beats Pill, but there is no reference data source. Later down the page, Devon hosts a few demos of the product and there’s even a LightFreq soundtrack you can sample. The campaign is looking to raise $50,000 over 30 days on Kickstarter.

The Perks. For just $55 Early Birds can secure their own LightFreq, but a pledge of $70 will take care of late-comers. If you’re interested in the KickStarter special edition, there is a $30 premium for black matte and KickStarter green logo. For $10,000 the founders will come to your business and set up 60 LightFreqs at your office (travel costs not included).

The Potential. Smart lighting has become a very popular concept in the last few years and LightFreq should be able to capture a lot of interest. Backerjack featured a similar product, Whome, with a slightly different design but almost the same functionality as LightFreq. One major difference between the products is that Whome does not use Bluetooth, which could be one of the reasons that the project was ultimately not funded, besides an unnecessarily technical campaign page.

Categories
Smart Home

Kepler gas monitor helps keep homes from exploding

The Premise. Gas leaks are a common, dangerous occurrence in homes. It can be difficult to tell exactly when gas is leaking and often too late to fix the problem. In addition, when it’s known that a gas leak is occurring, it is unclear when the room should simply be aired out, or the house evacuated altogether. Carbon monoxide is another silent killer that can only be detected by technology.

The Product. A home gas connector, Kepler sits on the wall and features a rechargeable battery for maximum utility. It has an alarm for when gas levels reach a high level and the alarm gets louder as levels become dangerous. The product’s look seems a bit inspired by that of the Nest Protect, or perhaps it’s Honeywell thermostat, the Lyric. — gray, white and round with a monochrome display. The alarm beeps and also flashes red. When not in use, the display shows the time. It’s portable and can be transported into any room in the house. Since cooking leads to many gas leaks, Kepler also has a built-in timer to make preparing food safer. Kepler also sends alerts to your smartphone using an accompanying app.

The Pitch. Kepler’s creator talks about the dangers of gas leaks in the video, explaining that he has lost loved ones in such a situation. The rest of the campaign features detailed photographs displaying each of the product’s capabilities. This Chinese product hopes to raise $30,000 CAD during its 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Kepler offers two early bird tiers at $60 and $70 CAD. At a regular price with different color options, Kepler costs $80 CAD with estimated delivery in November 2014. Reward tiers go all the way up to $8,000 CAD.

The Potential. Kepler’s appeal comes from its all-inclusive design. Many gas/carbon monoxide detectors exist, but not all have as many features as Kepler does. The Kidde Gas/Carbon Monoxide Alarm Dector, for example, doesn’t have the kitchen timer, app integration and general portability of the Kepler. In addition, it simply doesn’t look as good. Kepler’s smart and stylish design make it a perfect addition to any home safety system.