Tag: temperature

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Sponsored

Award-Winning Device Makes Health Tracking Simple

The following is a sponsored post from Kinsa and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backerjack’s editorial staff.

IoT just got a little more personal. The Kinsa Smart Thermometer is a durable, lightweight and battery-free tool that connects directly to your smartphone. Powered by your smartphone, Kinsa is FDA-cleared for oral, underarm, or even rectal use (after a thorough cleaning!). The accompanying Kinsa app (iOS and Android) also allows you to easily track your health data, including temperature readings, symptoms, medication history and any other notes or images.

For parents of young kids, we all know memory space is valuable real estate. To help, Kinsa creates separate profiles for everyone in the family and automatically records any fever readings or symptoms, and allows you to send data directly to the doctor. Taking into account age and fever, Kinsa’s app also offers medical guidance on best next steps, like hydrating and taking acetaminophen, or heading straight to a doctor. But possibly the best part about Kinsa is that it makes the whole temperature-taking process fun for kids. There’s a bubble popping game built into the temperature-taking experience so kids will actually sit still long enough for an accurate reading.

Kinsa aims to be much more than just an innovative connected thermometer. It is one of the first technology products to leverage anonymous, crowdsourced health data to track contagious illnesses. The company’s larger mission is to stop these illnesses from spreading by creating a real-time map of human health. With this health map, Kinsa users can see what’s going around their area, local doctors can arrive at quicker, more informed diagnoses, and communities can be warned of spreading illnesses.

Initially launched via crowdfunding, the Kinsa Smart Thermometer has won numerous design, innovation and parenting awards and been featured in an Apple commercial. Now Backerjack readers can get their own Kinsa Smart Thermometer for just $19.99.

 

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Apparel Kids/Babies Sensors/IoT

Hoko smart comfort monitor keeps your toddler temperate

It would be helpful if parents could be quickly informed if their small child is too hot or cold, especially when engaged in outdoor activities for an extended period of time.

Hoko is a smart, portable comfort monitor that should enable exactly that. One side of Hoko is a small, circular device containing a microprocessor, along with temperature and humidity sensors, that gets placed inside a child’s clothing. That side of the product is attached to a piece of soft fabric with a cute doll on the other side that serves as Hoko’s interface.

Continue reading “Hoko smart comfort monitor keeps your toddler temperate”
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Sensors/IoT Smart Home

Koto trio of sensor cubes monitor your home’s environent

One of the keys to a healthier lifestyle is as basic as the air we breathe, but that can easily be forgotten because of hard it can be to know exactly what to do to make it better even in our own homes.

To help, the Koto family of smart sensors has been designed to make sure you have all the information needed to make the proper health decisions. The system actually consists of three products. The Koto Blink is a tiny box filled with sensors measuring temperature, humidity, light, and noise, all in an effort to make your living space more comfortable.

The Koto Air is an upgraded Blink, combining its sensors with an air pollution and dust sensor to create a fuller picture of the home and a more robust set of data with which to make the subtle adjustments to the home necessary to stave off mold in older homes, for example.

Continue reading “Koto trio of sensor cubes monitor your home’s environent”
Categories
Connected Objects Home

Planty monitors plants, makes sure they’re feeling well

Plants are an excellent way to brighten up any home. But they need lots of care in order to stay alive. Most plants die because their owners aren’t sure of how exactly to care for them.

Planty offers a solution to that problem. With a sensor that goes directly into the soil, Planty sends the plant’s information via Wi-Fi to an accompanying app. It monitors moisture, soil levels, temperature and light. If the plant is too hot, a notification will be sent to the app. When the soil gets too dry, the app informs the user who can then deliver water to the plant with the push of a button. Planty’s smart pot is simply designed with a white round base that plugs into the wall.

Backerjack has seen many other smart planters like the Daisy and GreenVase. Planty sets itself apart with a sleeker design and a more versatile sensor. One will cost backers a donation of $99 with delivery in November 2015. The company seeks $100,000 on Kickstarter by May 23.

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Sensors/IoT

HemaVision thermal imaging device helps you see temperature of everything around you

Thermal imaging devices can be handy because they can be used to accurately gauge the temperature of various objects all around one’s home. The problem with some of them, however, is that they don’t inform the user if the measured temperature is within a normal range or not.

patent-claimedThe maker of HemaVision, a computer vision-enabled thermal imager, is out to change that. HemaVision can be used to help users diagnose problems in their building or anywhere else where temperature levels are important. For example, it can be used to determine if a circuit breaker is running at an abnormally high temperature. Thermal imagers work because all objects give off a small amount of long-wave infrared light, with hotter items giving off more light than colder things. HemaVision will cost $295 and ships in October. Its maker set a Kickstarter funding goal of raising $40,000 by May 4.

HemaVision has potential but it’s not clear how many consumers are interested in adding a single-function electronic device to their arsenal of home safety products along with must-have, and much cheaper, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. It stands to reason that many consumers might be much more comfortable using a smartphone app or accessory that performs a similar function without the thermal imaging component.

 

 

 

Categories
Kids/Babies Wearables

Baby Check checks on your baby’s health so you can rest easy

When someone is sick, they tell the doctor what’s wrong. Babies, however, can’t communicate except through crying. So when there’s a problem, it can be hard to tell right away whether it warrants a visit to the doctor or not.

Baby Check is a wearable for babies. Like many adult wearables, it keeps an eye on health by monitoring temperature, sleep, position and medicine administration. It stays on the arm and is made from safe materials meaning that it’s fine for baby to wear all day and night. The information detected by the armband syncs up with an accompanying Android/iOS app. It tracks data over time and allows for high temperature alarms to be set so that parents know exactly when their baby’s fever spikes. Baby Check runs on a rechargeable battery with a life of about one year.

All in all, Baby Check appears to be another great product for helicopter parents, much like the Fever Smart. While temperatures and sleep patterns aren’t essential for parents to keep super close track of, there’s value in being able to keep tabs on sleeping positions as babies aren’t supposed to sleep on their stomachs. Parents can donate $50 for their own with delivery in June 2015. Baby Check is hoping to raise $35,000 in funding on Kickstarter by April 1.

Categories
Home

Thermoneystat lets homeowners budget their energy usage, regulates temperature and cost

Utility bills are an inevitable part of life. It’s hard to keep track of how much money is spent on them and no one truly knows the cost of what they’re using until they receive the bill. Of course, by then it’s too late to do anything about it.

patent-claimed Thermoneystat is a thermostat that works in reverse. It lets the user set how much money they’d like to spend on heating and cooling for that month. In turn, the thermostat does its best to provide the most comfortable temperature at the best price. To do this, the system uses current energy prices, weather forecasts, and weather history to plan for the month. It also lets the user input their own scheduling preferences for maximum comfort.

All told, Thermoneystat provides an innovative way for homeowners to cut down on their energy costs, despite its cringeworthy name. To receive one unit, backers must donate $250, but it’s important to keep in mind that furnishing an entire house might require a few more. Estimated delivery is currently set for September 2015, provide the product can meet its $100,000 goal on Kickstarter by March 31, 2015.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Health and Wellness

Wishbone smart thermometer measures temperature without touching

Temperature-taking is one of the best ways to monitor one’s health. Various thermometers can be used to detect one’s temperature, including ones that go in the mouth, ear, or, well, other places.

Wishbone is a non-contact thermometer. The little green device plugs directly into a smartphone’s headphone adapter. With an iOS/Android-compatible app, one can measure temperature and store such data for reference at a later time. The Kickstarter campaign boasts how Wishbone is excellent to use with babies or any other finicky patient. In addition, this device can measure ambient temperature or the temperature of any object as well. One will cost backers $26 for estimated delivery in April 2015. Wishbone is looking to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter.

The market has been flooded with smart health devices, including MOCAheart which was recently covered on Backerjack. Wishbone will do well as an easy-to-use non-contact device. However, it would behoove the creators to look into adding some more features to their app.

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Sensors/IoT

Plant OS garden sensor and app gives your green thumb something else to do

Even if the exact scientific knowledge behind the processes behind gardening were unknown for thousands of years, deep human intuition would’ve figured it out anyway. As our understanding of the natural world continues to evolve, it’s been made clear how much the process is not only an art, but a science as well.

There’s a very intricate dance that plays out between light, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide that contributes to a plant’s growth. High Tech’s Plant OS uses a family of sensors and controllers to keep an eye on all of these factors. Every minute, the THC unit records levels of each variable and sends that information back to a user’s smartphone. This works together with the Plant Tachometer camera to provide a high-resolution photosynthesis reading to use as reference for the environment.

What good is all this information if a user can’t act on it? The Plant OS Power Controller allows just that, providing a space where appliances like air conditioners, CO2 machines, and dehumidifiers can all be plugged in and controlled remotely using the companion app. The app gives users a space to check out and share all their data, something High Tech encourages as a way to gain more understanding of the intricacies of plant growth. An $899 Plant OS Starter Kit is suitable for a small garden, comes with a THC meter, a Plant Tachometer, and a Power Controller. The Deluxe version supports two and goes for $1,999. Backers can expect their kit in March 2015 should the campaign reach its $50,000 goal.

Technology has creeped into every part of our lives, and gardening is one of the few areas where this isn’t true. Others in the gardening space, like the Blossom Wi-Fi, Sprinkl, and Eve provide ways to remotely water a few plants or even a small yard, but no other product is as fully featured, covers as much space, or is as exhaustingly detailed as the Plant OS. High Tech wants the Plant OS to be the premier consumer-grade gardening system and it shows.

Categories
Smart Home Technology

Habitat smart home protects, smoke detects, and opens your garage door

Home automation is enticing because it provides the ability to turn your electronic devices on and off from anywhere. But it needs to be easy to use and secure, and the Ottawa, Canada-based newcomer Habitat’s new automation system of the same name is both those things.

Like similar automation systems, including Linkio, Habitat is made up of several devices that can be connected to existing electronic devices in the home to control them. First is Habitat Hub, a mostly white desktop unit that takes up little room and serves as the brains of the system.

One key component separating Habitat from some other rival systems is that it includes a device, Habitat Park, specifically designed to automate garage door functionality. The third device is Habitat Protect, which integrates existing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors into the Habitat automation system, and informs users if there is an alarm or the battery in one of the detectors needs to be replaced.  It magnetically installs on a wall within range of a detector, and can easily be set up using the Habitat App on an iOS or Android smartphone.

The fourth device, Habitat Learn, comes with temperature, audio, motion and light sensors, and can monitor and react to events in the home, such as notifying the user when the refrigerator door is left open. Kickstarter pledges that include at least one of the devices start at $29, which includes one Protect. But there’s a catch: Pledgers must also back a pledge level that includes the Hub. For $89, pledgers can get one Protect and a Hub, and for $99, pledgers can get one Learn and a Hub. Shipment is expected in June and the company is looking to raise $80,000.

Habitat’s magnetic-locking system is appealing, and the Park device may be attractive to many consumers who own a garage door. But the $100 starting price tag is pretty similar to rival systems and the product will likely only find mass-market success if it can obtain major retail distribution. A lower entry-level price for each unit would help.