Goji Is A Smart Lock For Your Home That Has Nothing To Do With Berries

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Welcome to the era of the round, shiny in-home automation system. While Nest led the charge early on, a new device, called Goji, is taking up the mantle. The Goji is an automatic deadbolt that looks like HAL 2000′s eye and can take pictures of folks who come to your door and allows you to lock – and unlock – your door anywhere in the world.

The system logs all entries and exits and can notify you when someone opens the bolt. It has a small, round readout on the outside facing part of the door and a larger, more traditional-looking interface on the inside. The system allows you to give one-time keys to visitors and even unlock the door remotely over Wi-Fi.

Wireless deadbolts are nothing new but few are as handsomely appointed as the Goji. Clad in a metal case with blue LED readout, the bolt attaches to any standard door and simply retracts when unlocked. It has a keyed backup system and also supports low power Bluetooth “dongles” that allow you to unlock the Goji without a smartphone.

Founded by branding expert Gabriel Bestard Ribas, the Goji offers little that the incumbents like Schlage don’t already have. However, the Goji looks far sexier than any of the keypad and remote locks I’ve seen thus far. While I don’t know how many more round, shiny things my old, ratty home can take without looking like a gussied up sow’s ear, it’s nice to know these things exist.

The lock will retail for $278 but is available for a $235 pledge. They are looking to raise $120,000 and have already hit $97,000 with 47 days to go. I just hope these things don’t become sentient and lock us out of our homes.



RoboRoach surgery kit comes to Kickstarter: a remote control for real cockroaches

RoboRoach surgery kit comes to Kickstarter: a DIY remote control for real cockroaches

What DARPA does with animal test subjects behind closed doors is one thing, but here we have something else entirely: mad-scientist kits that allow anyone at home to control the movement of a real-life cockroach. Backyard Brains, the crew behind Twitter Roach, have been selling RoboRoach sets for creating cyborg insects for some time. But today, after getting as far as they can on their own, they’re seeking Kickstarter funding to improve their design and develop “educational materials” to go with it. The project will go live in the next 30 minutes or so, and pledges of $100 or more will get you a surgery kit consisting of a PCB “backpack,” battery and three sets of electrodes. The PCB pairs with mobile devices via the Bluetooth LE profile and a companion app delivers commands to the ‘roach, allowing you to steer the creature by swiping across your screen. Cough up $150 or more and they’ll send you a dozen ‘roaches to get you started.

The electrodes we mention need to be implanted into the cockroach’s antennae so directional triggers can be sent to the nerves within — effectively fooling the creature into thinking it’s hit an obstacle and needs to change course. This is where it starts to get uncomfortable. Backyard Brains are touting the RoboRoach as an educational tool, specifically stating that “this product is not a toy.” Something that’s glossed over on the Kickstarter page, however, is the allegedly painless surgery step: how you attach the electrodes to the insect. People can make their own minds up regarding the ethics of the campaign, and can start by heading to the Kickstarter source link once it goes live at 9am ET. We’ve also embedded an old tutorial video below we found on the company’s site, which demonstrates the surgery process. Be warned: there’s antenna-clipping and other mutilations involved, which make our skin crawl even more than the thought of handling the cockroaches in the first place.

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Source: Kickstarter, Backyard Brains (1), (2)

JumpStartCity Crowdfunding Site Tries to One-up Kickstarter

I’m a fan of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing of products. However, sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo don’t really let the community decide what sort of projects make the cut for a funding opportunity, so alot of similar – and sometimes downright crummy ideas make it to the stage where they can be funded.

JumpStartCity is new arrival on the crowdfunding scene, which wants visitors to help pick which projects are even eligible to ask for funding.

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The biggest thing makes JumpStartCity unique is the addition of its “Elevator Pitch” stage – which allows those with products and services to convince readers that their projects are worthy of funding. Personally, I love this idea to help weed out the riff-raff before any money changes hands, and should help keep the number of projects which make it to the funding phase down to the cream of the crop. Members of the community can be notified whenever new ideas are submitted, providing greater visibility to each and every project than competitors.

Another step along the way is the Promotion Stage. This is a phase which occurs prior to funding to allow creators to promote their products and services and build buzz before fundraising begins. After they’ve built up some momentum during this stage, only then do they move on to the “Active” or funding stage. Unlike other crowdfunding sites, the funding stage is short – only 20 days – focused on producing the biggest impact in the shortest period of time. Creators can extend this by another 20 days after successful funding if they so choose. One other nifty feature of the platform is called “Cash at Goal” – which allows creators to immediately receive their funding as soon as the goal is reached, with any overages coming at the end of the fundraising period. This gives creators the ability to start their projects earlier if their goal is met early.

There are also benefits to community members for being active, including greater influence, extra points you can “spend” for your favorite elevator pitches, and potentially cash for receiving and watching elevator pitches. Early project backers also get a 10% discount during the first 24 hours of funding. Community members also get 1% of their purchase price back in the form of credits which can be used on future projects.

Since the site is in its infancy, JumpStartCity does face an uphill battle convincing consumers to participate in their site instead of the already-established players in the crowdfunding market. However, they do offer a unique approach with benefits to both creators and buyers which could set them apart.

You can sign up for JumpStartCity here, and then check out the current projects in the funnel here. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Blumoo turns mobile devices into RF remotes, streams music via Bluetooth (video)

DNP Blumoo

If you hoard gadgets like us, then your living room is probably covered with a plethora of remote controls. Flyover Innovations’ Indiegogo campaign aims to streamline your home audio experience and minimize your mess with Blumoo, a small hardware platform that turns your mobile device into an RF remote. The IR-equipped Blumoo pod connects to your stereo via standard 3.5 mm jack or RCA connections, and allows you to control your home theater system with your mobile device through the magic of Bluetooth. The Blumoo app — coming soon for both iOS and Android — pulls from a database that Flyover claims is comprehensive enough to ensure your home theater equipment is covered. Flyover plans on retailing the device for $79 but is offering an early bird special for supporters starting at $45. To check out their rewards and watch their cartoon mascot, Blumoo Bob, shake it a like a polaroid picture, head over to their Indiegogo page. For a more informative — if slightly less entertaining — video, watch the preview after the break.

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Source: Indiegogo

Play-i building educational, programmable robots for kids

Playi building educational, programmable robots for kids

We’ve seen software and even TV shows that teach younger kids about technology, but we haven’t really seen ready-made educational robots for that age group — and no, AIBO and Furby don’t count. Play-i, a new startup involving former Apple and Google employees, thinks it’s time that the younger set receives some truly helpful mechanical companions. The company tells AllThingsD that it’s developing robots that 5 to 8 year olds can program through mobile devices, teaching them about code in a more tangible way than a device screen would allow. While details of the robots are scarce, the team is shooting for sub-$100 prices that parents could afford: these bots may not be limited to classrooms. We’ll hopefully discover more when Play-i starts a crowdfunding campaign in the summer, although it will still be a long while before we’re picking up Junior’s First Automaton.

[Image credit: Alonso Inostrosa Psijas, Flickr]

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Source: AllThingsD

Sqigle’s Earl tablet brings Android to the wilderness with e-paper, solar power

Sqigle's Earl tablet brings Android to outdoor trekkers with epaper, solar power

Although there’s no dearth of rugged tablets, most are still built on the assumption that civilization is close at hand. Sqigle, however, suggests that its upcoming Earl tablet could work even if there’s no civilization left. The new, crowdfunded Android 4.1 slate centers on a light-up, 6-inch e-paper screen that both extends the battery life to 20 hours and makes the 5 hours of solar-powered recharging sound reasonable — theoretically, Earl never needs to see a wall outlet. It’s also built to do as much as possible without leaning on either WiFi or a PC. Along with both analog and digital radio, the design should incorporate ANT+ sensor support and preloaded topographical maps. The project isn’t ideally timed for outdoorsy types when it’s expected to reach backers in the late summer, but the $249 advance price is low enough that it might justify a camping trip in the fall.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Earl

Hands-on with the Delta Six gun controller (video)

Hands-on with the Delta Six gun controller (video)

Glimpses of the Delta Six have been teasing an ultra-realistic and motion-enabled gaming controller since last fall, and now that it’s back on Kickstarter, we’ve gone hands-on with a prototype to see just how it handles. Though hardware and software tweaks have been made since it first surfaced, its creator David Kotkin says the peripheral is roughly 80 percent complete. For example, the beta version we took for a spin was only compatible with the Xbox 360, but the final product is set to play nice with the PS3, PC and Wii U, in addition to next-gen consoles via a software update.

Hold the matte black prototype in your hands, and you’ll notice it has a fair amount of heft to it. Its weight didn’t take an immediate toll on this editor’s arms, but some light fatigue was noticeable after about 20 or 30 minutes of play. The hardware is actually a stock airsoft gun that’s been gutted and stuffed with Xbox 360 controller parts, a rechargeable battery and an Arduino. According to Kotkin, the faux firearm’s code will be made open source, and users will be able to program it to their heart’s content.

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Eternal Darkness Spiritual Successor ‘Shadow of the Eternals’ Seeks $1.5M In Crowdfunding

Fans of the cult-classic Nintendo Gamecube game Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem were probably pleased to hear Nintendo extended its trademark last month, but unfortunately, that has yet to spark any real interest in the company publishing a sequel to the game sometime in the near future. Since Nintendo doesn’t seem to be doing anything with the Eternal Darkness name, development studio Precursor Games has taken it upon themselves to release a spiritual successor called Shadow of the Eternals.

Speaking with IGN, Precursor Games says Shadows of the Eternals is expected to be released on the Wii U and PC initially and will be told through 12 episodes. Precursor Games will be launching a crowdfunding campaign, that is expected to launch later today, asking for a total of $1.5 million to develop the game and will include a variety of stretch goals. If Precursor is able to raise money beyond its initial $1.5 million, that additional money will help in contribute stretch goals that will include future episodes, additional characters, platforms and in-game perks. “The more money that we raise, the more we can deliver, which is a win for everyone,” says Precursor.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The Sims 4 For PC And Mac Release Confirmed For 2014, Leaked Microsoft Email Hints Next Xbox Won’t Need Always-On Internet,

    

Spark Core board adds WiFi to almost everything, takes input from anywhere (video)

Spark Core Arduino board adds WiFi to everything, takes input from anywhere video

Spark Devices wants the inclusion of WiFi in devices to be a matter of when, not if — and if its new Spark Core gets to market as planned, tinkerers might never have a moment of doubt. The tiny board combines an Arduino-compatible ARM Cortex-M3 platform with a TI CC3000 WiFi chip that not only simplifies getting online, but could save the DIY crowd from having to touch projects afterward. Owners can flash the firmware with new code over WiFi, for a start. A free Spark Cloud service also allows for custom apps that interface with the Core through seemingly anything with an internet connection: if you want to reconfigure a homebrew security camera from your phone, you can. While Spark Devices is relying on crowdfunding to fuel its connected strategy, the company is comfortably past its $10,000 goal and should deliver both the Spark Core ($39) and optional shields to new contributors around September.

[Thanks, Greg]

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Source: Kickstarter

Snapzoom Gives You A Smartphone Camera Mount That Turns Binoculars Into A Super Zoom Lens

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A lot of people don’t carry cameras anymore, now that they have smartphones. But that means that you could miss opportunities to capture great moments, especially when you’re missing out on the great optical zoom available on some more expensive or specialized dedicated camera devices. That’s what Snapzoom hopes to fix with its binocular mount for smartphone cameras, and the best part is that it’s completely universal, meaning it fits a wide variety of both phones and binoculars.

The project got started when Hawaii-based co-founders Daniel Fujikake and Mac Nguyen started using their own smartphones to film their surf escapades via a completely DIY, garage-made mounting device that they hacked together. They saw the utility, and other surfers asked them about it every time they went out, so they partnered up with a professional designer to form HI Resolution Enterprises and build a proper prototype using 3D-printed materials.



The duo took to Kickstarter to fund a production run for Snapzoom, and has already blown past its $55,000 goal in just over a week. The funding will help the two turn the 3D printed prototype into a glass-filled nylon injection molded retail product, which the company hopes to manufacture both in the U.S. and overseas.

“It’s going to be extremely tough, since it’s something that’s meant to be used outdoors,” Fujikake told me. “You can put it in your bag, you don’t have to worry about babying it, you can get it wet, you can drop it, it’s very very tough.”

Already, before even closing its Kickstarter funding, Snapzoom has had a lot of interest from well-placed retail partners, including U.S. camera equipment and accessory retailer B&H Photo. Based on funding interest and prospective retail partner enthusiasm, the team seems to have tapped a strong, unaddressed consumer desire, even if it is a bit niche. And it’s not just voyeurs who are interested; this is great for nature photography and action sports, too.

Snapzoom is looking to ship in September, and retail price for the mount is expected to be around $79.99, but currently pre-order backers on Kickstarter can get one for just $70. The team is working on stretch goals now, since it has already earned almost $10,000 more than its original goal.