Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve ever gone on a long vacation (or hidden from someone at least once in your life) there’s a chance you’ll find high-tech doorbells useful. A new device called iDoorCam, in particular, claims to be able to notify you via iPhone or iPad whenever there’s someone at your door — even if you’re not at home. Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve seen a similar technology called DoorBot in 2012. Like DoorBot, iDoorCam’s camera-equipped device connects to your home internet through WiFi and attaches to your existing doorbell power wires. It beams a video of your visitors to all connected iOS gadgets, and you can even talk with them, assuming it’s not a crazy ex or a pushy solicitor. iDoorCam’s website has yet accept preorders for the $165 system, but those first in line could get their devices as soon as October.

Filed under: Household

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Source: iDoorCam

Microsoft has released the first beta version of Lab of Things (LoT), and it’s much more than just a fun name. LoT enables researchers to access data from connected devices around the world, collaborating and sharing it as they see fit. If, say, someone in the lab at University of Michigan wanted to determine how much TV people watch in London, all they’d need to do is install sensors as they please. Well, that and install a computer running HomeOS onsite to collect and transmit said data to an Azure Storage account. In theory, this gives academics a robust set of deployable tools without requiring coding knowledge to use them. The Windows company is taking a hands-off approach to the info, too — researchers retain all rights to whatever they collect. The catch is, the LoT license doesn’t allow for commercial use. The source link has a cute video explaining everything, but you’ll need Silverlight to play it.

Filed under: Household, Microsoft

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Via: The Next Web

Source: The Lab of Things

The internet of things is growing, friends, and Intel knows it. From WiFi lightbulbs to smart thermostats and door locks, it seems that most everything in our homes will have some sort of connectivity in the not-so-distant future. That’s why chipzilla’s research arm has been working on a way to program all of those devices and make it easy enough so that any do-it-yourselfer can get her home working the way she wants it to. The key is getting all of these future devices to work together, and Intel’s plan is to build a platform that’ll talk to most any PCB (Arduino, Beagle Boards, etc.) over any wireless protocol (WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, et al.).

A layer of middleware lets the bits of hardware talk to each other on an ad-hoc basis, so that say, when a baby monitor hears a crying child, it can tell a nearby stereo to tee up some soothing tunes to put him back to sleep automagically. The system actions are crafted using an easy-to-use HTML 5 programming environment, and will be deposited in a software library of modules that can be accessed by end users. Then, home automators can utilize a simple GUI editor to tailor their system to their wishes. We got to see a proof-of-concept system in person today, so head on past the break for a full video explanation and a demo of it in action.

Nicole Lee contributed to this report.

Filed under: Household, Intel

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To say SmartThings‘ Kickstarter campaign was a success is an understatement: the Internet of Things outfit, which offers a clever array of home automation sensors, routers and smartphone apps, raised more than $1.2 million (over four times the company’s original goal), nabbed over 6,000 backers and quickly sold out of its first batch of kits. Naturally, the company isn’t stopping there — it’s making good on its goal of providing an open-source platform for developers, as it announced the availability of its Developer and Inventor Toolkit. Now, interested parties can create and develop their own SmartThings, and can collaborate with like-minded folks to come up with even more ways to take advantage of the platform. Additionally, it supports several types of wireless standards, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and Z-Wave, giving it interoperability with various home automation systems.

As a refresher, SmartThings connects a large number of household items — appliances, automatic door locks, thermostats, humidity sensors, presence sensors, power outlet switches, IR remotes, secret bookcase doors and plenty more — to a central router which then can be controlled through a smartphone app. Thanks to the openness of the platform, the number of use-case scenarios is rather significant, which certainly makes it more appealing to users. If you’re interested in learning how to get started, head below to the press release and go here to get the whole enchilada of information.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile

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Those who already own Google Glass are more likely than most to embrace new technologies like Nest’s thermostat, so it only makes sense that an especially eager adopter would find a way to combine the two. That would be James Rundquist and his new Glass Nest app: Glass owners now just have to announce that they’re coming home (or heading out) to make their Nest units change the climate. More exacting homeowners can fine-tune the temperature, too. While the utility is both unofficial and quite limited at this stage, Rundquist has posted source code that lets anyone expand on the project. If you’re in the rare position of owning both gadgets, we’d suggest giving Glass Nest and its code at least a cursory look.

Filed under: Household, Wearables, Google

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Via: Slashgear, SelfScreens

Source: Glass Nest, GitHub