Tag: remote control

Categories
Wearables

IRring is the one ring to rule them all, your devices that is

It would be great to just point a finger at the TV to turn it on or off. Especially if the TV remote can’t be tracked down.

IRring enables users to do just that. The wearable remote control ring can be used to control a TV, DVD player, Blu-ray player, cable box, lamp or almost any other appliance. The IR-enabled ring works with most models and infrared receivers, according to the New Mexico-based company E-Innovations’s Kickstarter campaign. The initial run of the ring will be made using a 3D printer. Backers who pledge $20 will get one ring when it ships in March. Regular pricing isn’t given at the Web site. The new company is hoping to raise $15,000 to finish the ring’s design, order minimum quantities of chips and other components, and start developing other wearable devices as part of a home automation line.

Even if the company’s universal compatibility claim proves true, IRring pales in comparison to several other rival smart rings, including the Nod. For one thing, its functionality is rather limited. It obviously lacks the functionality of most universal remotes. At this stage, IRing looks much cheaper than comparable products. This product will need to up its game in function and style in order to compete in the market.

Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 3, with Ross Rubin and Steve Sande

Steve and Ross, your two favorite crowdfunding connoisseurs, check out three innovative products in this leaner Episode 3 of The Backerjack Podcast:

  • The promising Neeo thinking remote that turns an Android app into a true universal remote.
  • The ambitious, Immersis entertainment projection system that turns your liing room into a half-sphere of video entertainment.
  • The potentially useful Vikaura e-paper displays that turn a pricey Kindle-like screen into a home for helpful messages or other information.

All the campaigns are still active so check them out our thoughts before signing up to back them.

Not an iTunes user? You can download the podcast by saving this link, subscribe via RSS, or listen to it with the player below:.

 

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Technology

InstaMote instantly turns your smartphone into a remote

Consumers continue to be attracted to new solutions that reduce the need for multiple remote controls in their homes. The InstaMote from Switzerland is the latest device that allows a smartphone to be used as a remote control, eliminating the need for all other remotes cluttering the couch and coffee table.

InstaMote attaches to a smartphone and transforms it into an infrared remote. Every infrared electronic device in the home is compatible with InstaMote, including air conditioners, fans, DVD players, Blu-ray players, game consoles and TVs. InstaMote is compatible with all iOS 5 and newer smartphones, as well as all Android 2.3 and newer smartphones. InstaMote has a built-in battery that will last about six months under heavy usage, and can be easily replaced. The device also has a larger working range, at up to 15 meters, than typical remote controls and more compatibility than standard universal remotes also. The first functional prototype of the device is ready now, but its maker doesn’t say at the campaign’s Indiegogo site when the final version will ship. The early bird price is $9 and its regular price is $12. Its maker is looking to raise only $500 by mid January.

Once upon a time there were easily a half dozen such devices on the market. There is little about InstaMote that breaks new ground and users of Windows Phone and other smartphone devices that aren’t Android or iOS are out of luck. But the price is right for Android and iOS smartphone owners and should make it worth a try for many of them.

Categories
Smart Home

EZ Wand has the magic touch to motorize blinds

One part of the home that has unceremoniously been ignored by smart home fever is the window blind. As such, automating them is an involved process that usually costs home owners lots of time and money to properly do. The EZ Wand makes the entire process as simple as replacing the wand on horizontal or vertical window blinds. When that’s done, the supplied remote control can control up to eight different wands either individually or in groups, making what used to be an annoyance as easy as a button press.

With the EZ Wand as easy to install as it is, it makes for a low-cost no-brainer for most home owners who are looking for this sort of thing. The 4 AAA required powers the wand for nine months while the remote for two years at a distance of up to 45 feet away, a fact that would make it pretty versatile were it not for its lack of color options. Unfortunately, the EZ Wand is limited in what kind of blinds it can control and doesn’t feature smartphone interaction. Other types of blinds can be outfitted with the ShutterEaze or Tilt My Blinds instead. In any case, $59 gets backers one wand and a remote, with an estimated delivery date of December 2014. The company behind the campaign is looking for $35,000 to make this product a reality.

Categories
Connected Objects

Game of Drones quadricopter survives fire, shotgun blasts, your ex’s scorn

GameofDronesThe robots destined to rule Earth as our indifferent masters will one day chuckle at how we primitive humans enabled them to resist our weapons.  Two guys in Northern California have developed a prototype indestructible drone with a four-pronged body that can survive multiple falls, flying through glass plates and fire, landing in water, and being shot. For $125, you can get the unassembled parts of the product and put it together yourself. Or for $600. you can get one fully assembled. Perhaps the only thing it can’t resist, though, is a ticket. If you’re flying unmanned aircrafts, make sure you abide by your local drone laws. Happy piloting!

Categories
Connected Objects

PowerUp 3.0 turns your smartphone into a paper airplane pilot

The Premise. Paper airplanes are great fun, but no matter how good you are at folding them, there’s only so far they’ll go. Furthermore, it can take a great deal of effort and practice to control them with any degree of accuracy.

The Product. PowerUp 3.0 is a battery-powered, lightweight transceiver, control module, propeller, and rudder mounted on a carbon fiber frame designed to resist crash damage. The idea is to clip it to your paper plane (you provide the paper and mad folding skillz) and let it soar around as you control it with the iOS or Android app. The lithium polymer battery charges via micro USB connector, just like a phone. PowerUp 3.0 uses low-power Bluetooth wireless technology, enabling control from up to about half a football field away.

The Pitch. PowerUp 3.0’s campaign is worthy of such a fun product. The humorous pitch video explains how the PowerUp 3.0 came about as the result of a challenge to build upon Shai Goitein’s earlier experiments with propellers for paper airplanes. The 3.0 version of the paper airplane module makes things “magicaler” and Shai needs 50,000 of your “magic beans” to bring it to market. The campaign page also goes into more depth on the device’s specifications. shows some impressive raw flight footage, presents a closeup of the iPhone control app and highlights some inspired suggestions for paper airplane designs. The enticing stretch goals include an Android client at $150,000 raised, the ability to control two modules on one plane from a smartphone at $800,000 raised, the ability to have dogfights via proximity sensing at $1 million raised, and plane-mounted video capture at $2 million raised.

The Perks. While even $5 an actual paper airplane signed by the designer. At $30 and up, backers get a PowerUp 3.0 control module due in May 2014. Bonuses include an extra battery pack, extra control module, wall adapter, pilot hat, even a personalized flight jacket as the donation levels climb.

The Potential. Paper airplanes are the great toy equalizer, easy and accessible at their most basic, and this looks like a fun (and still affordable) way to extend the idea. The PowerUp 3.0 fits nicely between the paper airplane alone and model planes that need lots more talent or energy to build, or lots more money to buy. It’s also a great way to get a kid interested in model planes, but let’s be real. This is for the kid or the geek in all of us.