Tag: iOS

Categories
Lighting

LIVING room lamp moves around at will, boasts presets and dimming power

Lighting can make a huge difference in any household. Great furniture and fixtures are lost when there’s not enough light to illuminate them.

Most households use lamps to provide that bit of extra light, but don’t move them once they’re in place. As we move around and use our rooms in different ways, light may have to move as well. That’s why the LIVING room lamp is a pivot lamp with integrated Bluetooth technology. It syncs up with any Android smartphone for complete control over the light’s position. Either move the light around at will or take advantage of the preset timed options available.

The light looks like a typical silver pivot light and reach up to six feet and ten inches. In addition to its height, it also boast a rotation of up to 120 degrees. There’s little information on how bright the light gets or what kind of lightbulb it calls for, but it is able to be dimmed. The creators hope that they’ll soon integrate iOS into the lamp as well.

As an added bonus, the LIVING room lamp is made up of modular parts which can be replaced easily if necessary. The creators of this product may want to consider adding some kind of detector that will prevent the light from smashing into walls if its preset demands it. This light is going for a donation of $850 (!) for delivery in November 2015. The LIVING room lamp is looking to raise $80,000 with the help of Kickstarter.

Categories
Connected Objects Cooking

ChefBot helps you whip up your next delight; prevents burning

Generally, there are two ways a kitchen can be thought of. It can be the soothing, relaxing part of the home where delicious, homemade meals are prepared. Or it can be the part of the home where the refrigerator, toaster oven, and microwave are located. Unfortunately, the latter rings true for most. As easy as any cooking show makes it seem, the process of creating a meal from scratch is loaded with subtlety essential to the recipe itself. However, most people don’t have the magic touch, making cooking difficult and arduous.

The ChefBot may look like a regular kitchen scale, but hiding within is a Bluetooth-enabled kitchen assistant. This device weighs ingredients, provides a running calorie count of them, and leads users through any recipe uploaded into the device with the ChefBot companion app for iOS or Android, all while streaming music through Bluetooth. The device’s stainless steel construction houses multiple voices or a TFT display that communicates this information a user, and everything is built to be water-resistant to avoid unseemly accidents from seriously damaging the unit. The Bluetooth version of the ChefBot is $99, while the Wi-Fi unit is $149. ChefBot is expected to ship April 2015 provided the campaign raises $50,000.

The glut of connected kitchen objects makes it seem like no one in America can cook. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but there is certainly a variety of them. The ChefBot’s design is underwhelming, but the actual product is priced well, offering just enough functionality to be valuable. Its choice of material makes it superior to Drop, another scale that seeks to lend a helping hand but it does so while connected to an iPad, a device people might not want in the kitchen at all.

Categories
Connected Objects

Programmable laziness is just a tap away with Flic wireless smart button

Ownership of a smartphone gives users control over their environment that at one time in the past seemed unimaginable. That awesome level of control is unfortunately tempered by the need to have to fish it out of a purse or pocket for every little action. Voice control was touted as the answer, but has only proven to be mostly ineffective.

Programmable one-touch button solutions have offered users a tactile alternative, and Flic is another entry into the space for iOS and Android. It uses Bluetooth LE to do whatever a user would like, from placing a usual phone call, ordering a pizza, sharing a GPS location, taking pictures, or skipping a track. A full list of the possibilities would be impossible, but suffice it to say the Flic is incredibly versatile. Hold options along with single and double clicks increase each button’s functionality.

The product featurs a reusable sticky base and a 150-foot range from the smartphone, so buttons can be placed pretty much anywhere inside or outside the home to streamline normally cumbersome actions. Contrarily, most wireless buttons like the Gyzmo or Qblinks aren’t made to be placed in the home but rather be taken with you. A single Flic is $27, while six can be had for $99, and is expected to ship in March 2015. The campaign is looking for $80,000.

Categories
Connected Objects Sleep

Hush smart earplugs offer tranquil sounds, noise masking

After a long day’s work, most people want to just lay in bed while the silence and calm of the room around them take them off to slumberland. However, for many people around the world, this scene itself is a dream and almost impossible to experience. College students in hectic environments long for the same type of restorative sleep business travelers do, but unfortunately none of them get what they want. People in these situations usually opt for earplugs or noise canceling headphones, but most don’t work after a while or are just plain uncomfortable.

Hush manages to combine sound eliminating foam with noise masking sounds like white noise or a soothing waterfall, avoiding the use of noise canceling technology that can eventually become a problem itself. The earplugs have gone through much tweaking to ensure they are ergonomical, and side sleepers will especially enjoy the padded insides that make the product easy on the ear canals. One of its most important features is that it still keeps users informed as Hush connects to your iOS or Android smartphone and therefore to their most important contacts. With that, users can always have the option of catching some shuteye no matter where they are without sacrificing alertness. Unfortunately, it’ll be another rechargeable device that needs added to the roster.

From what it seems, the team behind Hush has a winner on their hands. Their attractive design and future potential as a study or therapeutic aide points to a bright future. Backers who plunk down $115 for it, though, need to be weary of potential shipping issues they bring up in their $100,000 campaign. If all goes well, they can expect it on their doorsteps by June 2015.

Categories
Smart Home

Aquanta smart water heater controller quantifies savings

Many Americans are quick to turn off the lights or the air conditioner in an effort to save money on energy bills, but not many think about their water heaters as a culprit. As the second leading consumer of energy in most homes, the water tank is oddly left out of advice found on morning news segments and in About.com articles. With the rising trend in home automation pretty much everywhere, Sunnovations has taken the water heater to task with Aquanta.

The Aquanta is a smart water heater controller that works over Wi-Fi and instantly raises the IQ of the water heater in most people’s basements. The product is able to learn the usage patterns of the tank in question and use the resulting information to automatically control its heating element to best use energy. The option for users to do it themselves is also available as well, an attractive route considering the level of information its companion app provides about every aspect of a home’s energy usage along with the suggestions it offers too. The app also alerts users to malfunctions and leaks to prevent them from getting out of hand. The $99 Aquanta will be on backer’s doorsteps by July 2015 provided Sunnovations meets their $75,000 goal.

The Aquanta is a very polished smart water heater controller when compared to another, more low-tech option in the Jul Bujh. However, its installation is somewhat involved and the product doesn’t work with older, mechanical models of water heaters that may be in the minority but are still owned by many. In that way, the Aquanta is a little too smart, but ultimately a solid option for those with whom this is a good fit.

Categories
Lighting Smart Home

BeON deterrent lighting system allows you to be on alert 24/7

Home security has seen a resurgence in the past few years thanks to how easy it has become to install and use smartphone and tablet-based systems. As such, the ubiquity of low-cost hardware and Bluetooth connectivity along with smart devices have made home monitoring a largely automated experience that relies on video and motion sensing to set off alarms. As effective as these approaches are, most companies have forgotten that deterrence is the first line of defense in protecting the home, an idea the BeON burglary deterrent system is based on.

The one thing common to every household is the humble lightbulb, maybe a little bit too humble. The BeON system takes lightbulbs to task injecting them with smarts that allow a combination of Bluetooth LE, microphone, sound processor, and rechargeable battery to protect your home. The BeON bulbs installs like standard bulbs and simulate a full home when users are gone by learning lighting habits over time. Constantly shifting lights give off the impression of an occupied, so burglars will think twice before trying to break in. Doorbells also activate the lights when users aren’t in, making it seem like someone is stirring within.

Its four-hour backup battery inside allow its lighting and security features to work through a power outage and that, along with its 20 year battery life, ensures a user’s peace of mind. The companion iOS and Android app will also let users enable Away mode, set lighting patterns, or teach BeON to hear their doorbell, all while still softly lighting a home with 60W of power. A three pack of BeON lightbulbs goes for $229 and is expected to ship in April 2015. The campaign is looking for $100,000 to make it happen.

A connected lightbulb isn’t anything new, but the BeON does far more than others like the AirBulb or even Philips Hue. Its modular nature will eventually allow users to add on functionality, which extends its utility. That said, it is pretty wasteful to randomly turn on lights but that won’t be a convincing point for those who treasure their security.

 

Categories
Smart Home

The Room Central Bluetooth controller keeps the temperature just right

The more ubiquitous Bluetooth technology becomes, the more the disparate elements in people’s lives are united so as to be easily controlled. Things all around and outside the home used to be governed by mechanisms needing physical action, but now can be adjusted with simple taps of a button. This technology, along with the sensors that work in tandem with it, allow users a level of control previously unfamiliar.

A good example of that is the Room Central Bluetooth controller. It connects to heaters, coolers, or anything with a mechanical heating or cooling controls (like greenhouses or rice cookers) and relays temperature information to an iOS or Android smartphone. Its companion app allows for scheduling and remote control from up to 25 feet and imparts lots of smarts on previously dumb items in the home. An LED display on the unit itself ensures users won’t need to unlock your phone every time they need to check on temperature, too. The Room Central controller goes for $100 and is expected in March 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $64,900 goal.

Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness Lighting

Sunn smart LED fixture fights off winter blues

It’s been proven that natural light is key in maintaining the body’s internal clock. Unfortunately, most people don’t get the exposure necessary to keep their internal rhythms in check, which can lead to a myriad of physical and psychological health issues. The team behind the Sunn is looking to bring the sun indoors to address the issue.

The product is a smart LED light fixture that replicates the rhythm of the sun, bathing any room in a person’s home with diffuse light of gradual strengths throughout the day. Sunn gradually brightens to gently waken users in the morning, produces cool, white colors to stimulate focus and productivity during the afternoon, the lights wind down to during sunset, and at night Sunn glows warm like the embers of a fire, a natural indicator it’s time to go to bed.

A companion app places total control of Sunn in a user’s hands, and can be used to sync the light to a location, change lighting conditions, or set alarms using gradual light. It can also be used with Philips Hue and LIFX lighting, as well. The science to support a product like this is there, so the idea definitely warrants a backing. The standard 19-inch Sunn is $289, and the 24-inch Sunn Plus is $349. Backers can expect the Sunn in April 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $50,000 goal.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects

HIRO connected tag swoops down and rescues your lost things

Bluetooth tags or tiles that help people find their things are a dime a dozen nowadays. They come in an extremely small portable form and usually connect via Bluetooth or GPS in order to lead distracted denizens back to their misplaced goods.

The HIRO is another one of these devices that essentially fits the mold of most Bluetooth trackers, offering iOS and Android compatibility along with the option of using a loud buzzer to help find things in piles of clothing, for example. A proximity sensor works to inform users about HIRO’s Bluetooth signal range of 200ft. While it’s not as good as having full GPS support, packing these features in its extremely diminutive size is impressive. The HIRO Bluetooth tag can be had with a $10 backing, and is expected to ship in February 2015 provided the campaign reaches it $5,200 goal.

The HIRO doesn’t offer anything out the ordinary when compare to similar tags like Tile, TrackR, or FIND 2.0. What it does offer interested parties is a break in price, something anyone can agree with.

Categories
Kids/Babies Smartwatches/Bands

Jumpy jumps beyond the tracker with a kids’ smartwatch

The new generation of toys is far different than anything previous generations have experienced. Sporting LCD screens and wireless connectivity, these toys offer connected environments where children can interact not only with the objects around them but with other children as opposed to staring into a pixelated abyss all day.

Jumpy is another one of those toys, coming in the form of a Android-based, Bluetooth-enabled smartwatch for children. With it, children can stay connected with their parents through Wi-Fi and send messages, play games with the device as a controller for tablet games and connected toys, and stay on top of events like waking up for school with the friendly dog avatar. An open SDK makes Jumpy an constantly evolving platform so new ideas will transform it into something new. A set of Jumpy can be had with a $99 backing, due to be shipped March 2015. The campaign is looking for $100,000 to make that happen.

Parents can keep on top of their children’s whereabouts with the included activity tracker but since the device lacks GPS connectivity, it won’t do much good should the child wander off too far. The absence of multi-lingual support and battery life claims make this a bit suspect, too. If a company is introducing a platform like this, they have to make it worth it and truly push kids to do more, like the Hybrid Play. If not, it’ll be another toy thrown to the side pretty quickly.