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Connected Objects Imaging

Enlaps Tikee enables endless time lapse photography

Time-lapse photography is a popular film and video shooting technique that allows viewers to see a long event completed in just a few seconds, such as the full blooming of a flower or the construction of a building from start to finish. But there are three common obstacles to shooting over an extended period of time with a digital camera: battery space, storage capacity and processing.

patent-claimedEnlaps Tikee is a plug-and-play device that removes all of those constraints and allows unlimited time-lapse photography, according to its Kickstarter campaign. It’s powered by an integrated adjustable photovoltaïc solar cell that allows for long-term time-lapse capability. Once captured, photos are wirelessly transmitted to the cloud, which provides a theoretically endless amount of storage space.

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Technology

Baseload Buster uses PV panels to lower electric bills

Who doesn’t want to reduce their electric bills? But shifting one’s house entirely over to a solar panel energy system from a fossil fuel-based energy system can be costly.

The Baseload Buster from Amsterdam company Sun Invention offers a third solution that uses photovoltaics (PV) to convert solar energy into direct current electricity. The system includes four solar PV panels of 250 watts each that collect sun during the day to create a maximum of 1,000 watts of pure energy during daytime harvesting. Excess energy is then stored in Lithium batteries to deliver energy during the night or during especially cloudy weather. The PV panels run with an extra cell optimizer to avoid large losses during energy production.

Users can adjust the storage setting on their own based on factors including the region it is being used in, what season it is, and personal consumption level. Sun Invention is looking to raise €20,000 (~$24,200). Backers who spend €2,950 (~$3,600) will get the four panels including a new solar cell optimizer, and a 20-meter connection cable that connects the Baseload Buster connection box to the user’s existing home grid energy system. Country-specific AC connectors are ready to order also and versions for both 50 Hz and 60 Hz grids can be offered by the company.

The system sounds promising. But while the Baseload Buster is clearly less expensive than switching over entirely to a solar energy system, it is still too costly to attract mass consumer adoption. It is also hard to gauge just how much savings the user can expect to see each month.