Tag: iOS/Android

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Connected Objects Imaging

Pulse remote trigger may set photographers’ pulses racing

Remotely controlling a camera offers photographers significant benefits, but can sometimes be a complex and time-consuming process.

Pulse is the latest remote trigger designed to enable Bluetooth control of a camera from a smartphone. It can control up to three cameras at once and is designed for use with digital single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras via a USB port. Because Pulse uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), it’s able to communicate wirelessly with the smartphone from up to 100 feet away after being attached to a camera. Pulse ships in April and its expected future retail price is $99, although early bird backers can get one now at pricing as low as $69. Its makers are looking to raise $50,000 by Dec. 11.

There have been similar products, including MaxStone. But while that earlier product was targeted at iPhone users, Pulse works with Android and iOS devices and operates in conjunction with an app for both those operating systems. On the negative side, Pulse is only compatible with a limited number of cameras, including many Canon and Nikon models, as well as the Panasonic GH4. Users of cameras from other manufacturers need not apply, at least for now.

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Connected Objects Fitness

Skulpt Chisel helps body sculpting by monitoring fat

Having a device that can accurately measure one’s body fat can go a long way towards achieving fitness goals.

Skulpt Chisel is a device about the size of a typical smartphone that has 12 sensors on its back that can be used to measure 24 body muscles just by pressing it up against those muscles. It sends a tiny current past the subcutaneous fat and through the muscle fibers, picking up thousands of data points per second, according to its Indiegogo campaign. The technology then evaluates the flow of that current to accurately measure the fat percentage per muscle, and rate that muscle’s fitness.

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Connected Objects Travel

AirBolt will help prevent your luggage from disappearing into thin air

Luggage security is an ongoing concern for travelers. But traditional luggage locks are problematic for several reasons, whether they require keys or combinations. The keys are easy to lose, while combinations are easy to forget.

AirBolt is a smartphone-controlled travel lock that doesn’t require a key or users to remember combinations. The device is relatively small and features a die-cast zinc body, along with a rugged stainless steel rope that allows users to attach AirBolt to places that include a bag’s zipper. It operates on Bluetooth 4.2 and features a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that lasts for one year, according to AirBolt’s Kickstarter campaign.

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Connected Objects Health and Wellness

Wing helps those with asthma soar by catching early warning signs

Asthma inhalers are necessary items for those who suffer from that lung disease. But those medications can’t help users detect the early warning signs of an asthma attack.

Wing is a pocket-sized sensor that enables those who suffer from asthma and other lung ailments to monitor and manage their conditions, and also lets them know when an attack is coming, according to its Indiegogo campaign. The device can also be used by those suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis and other respiratory conditions, its maker says. Wing is made up of a small white device that the user breathes into.

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Automotive Connected Objects

SafFone was designed to keep drivers safe while making phone calls

Distracted driving remains one of the largest causes of car accidents in the U.S. The makers of SafFone are out to provide a solution to that problem.

SafFone (pronounced Safe Phone) is a small black device that easily clips onto a vehicle’s driver-side sun visor and allows the user to select any preset phone number at the touch of a button. The device uses Bluetooth low energy technology for RF communication using 2.4 GHz radio frequencies.

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Smart Home

Smitch smart light switch brings simplicity to smart home category

Smart home devices can make life easier for consumers, but too many such products are overly complicated to set up.

The same can’t be said for Smitch, a smart light switch that its makers say can be installed in a matter of seconds, and fits 90 percent of existing switches. It features an intuitive interface, and can control all of a room’s lights by just tapping on the corresponding picture that is shown on the companion Android or iOS app. Smitch begins shipping in November and will cost $69 each at retail, although it can be purchased via Kickstarter at reduced early bird pricing that starts at $32. Its makers set a Kickstarter goal of raising $21,949 by Sept. 8.

Smitch certainly seems easy to install and other features that should make it appealing to some consumers is its advertised long battery life of about 500 days. But Smitch may face an uphill battle because it just seems too much like many other smart light switches already available, including Switchmate.

 

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Smart Home

LazyLocks smart lock secures your doors on the cheap

A friend or relative is knocking on the door. Great, now comes the wrenching decision to get up from the couch to let that person in. A connected door lock could come in handy, allowing couch potatoes to let somebody in with just a click on a smartphone app.

LazyLocks is an aptly-named and inexpensive connected door lock that works in conjunction with a free Android and iOS app. It can be easily connected to any door without replacing an existing lock, according to its Indiegogo campaign. LazyLocks uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and displays the status of users’ home doors right on their smartphones, wherever they are.

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Connected Objects Pets

Where’s Nellie? This GPS locator mixes radios to pinpoint your pooch

It’s a common nightmare for dog owners: their beloved pet has run out of the house and they can’t find the pooch anywhere.

Where’s Nellie is a GPS tracking device designed to ease a dog owner’s mind if their pet runs off and can’t be found. The Nellie Beacon attaches securely to a dog’s collar and works in conjunction with an iOS and Android app. The beacon communicates up to six miles away with the included Nellie Base unit. If a dog is missing, the owner just has to press the locate button on the app and, in a few minutes, Where’s Nellie will pinpoint the location of the dog on the smartphone. It costs $179 and will ship in January. Its maker is hoping to raise $100,000 by May 16.

The device has promise despite coming along after several similar products, including Lucky Tag and WUF. However, Nellie seems to be superior to several rivals in a few ways. First, it makes use of several radio technologies. If the base unit is near the beacon, it uses Bluetooth LE technology. But if the dog is out of range, Semtech’s LoRa long-range wireless solution is used instead. If the pet owner wants to pinpoint exactly where the dog is, GPS is used.

Second, there are no monthly fees involved. Third, its batteries will last more than 365 days because the Beacon’s patent-pending technology uses low-power components and software, according to its Kickstarter campaign. That’s far more battery life than most rival products.

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Connected Objects Sleep

Chrona slips in your pillow to size up your sleep

A good night of sleep is one of the most important things to maintain a healthy life. But all too often people have issues when trying to sleep, sometimes without even knowing it.

Chrona is a thin foam insert that transforms any pillow into a smart pillow. Combined with an app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone mobile devices, Chrona serves as a sleep optimization system that tracks and optimizes sleep using sound. The Bluetooth Low Enery device not only tracks users’ sleep by movement, but it also improves their sleep through the use of acoustics. Depending on where users are in their sleep cycles, Chrona uses low-frequency sounds to help them sleep more deeply or high-frequency sounds to prepare them to wake up. Chrona costs $169 and ships in December. Its maker has set a Kickstarter goal of raising $50,000 by May 18.

One of the product’s advantages is that it doesn’t require an uncomfortable wearable. But it faces competition from a growing number of products that promise pretty much the same thing, including Proper Pillow Plus and SliiP.

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Sensors/IoT

Air Mentor shows the lighted sides of contaminated environs

The carbon monoxide detector is a must-have device. But there are many potential toxins in the air other than carbon monoxide that can be dangerous to people also — especially the very young and elderly and those with compromised immune systems and respiratory ailments.

Air Mentor is a Bluetooth Smart device with built-in industrial grade sensors that measure home air quality and can detect pollutants including carbon dioxide, particulate matters and volatile organic compounds such as carbon monoxide, aromatic hydrocarbons and organic acids. The triangular device can be placed on any flat surface in the home or office, and is used in conjunction with an Android or iOS app. Cloud computing software automatically analyzes indoor air patterns.

One of five colors lights up on the device to signal the air’s quality: green for good air quality, yellow for moderate, orange meaning the air is unhealthy for sensitive people such as those with asthma, red meaning the air is unhealthy for everybody, and purple signaling very unhealthy air. The device costs $249 and ships in May. Its maker is hoping to raise $15,500 by May 8.

Air Mentor holds promise, especially for consumers with compromised immune systems and those with chronic respiratory conditions including asthma. But consumers looking for a more portable device that performs some of the same functions might opt for something like the Scarab wearable air pollutant detector.