Hasta La Gadget!

Here’s another project aiming to make DIY robotics as easy as child’s play. Moti is a smartphone-controlled smart motor, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, that can be attached to everyday objects like cardboard boxes or more elaborate 3D printed creations to let kids (or big kids) build robots that are controlled via a smartphone app. Think of it as a DIY Sphero.

“It’s an ideal servo that has a built-in Arduino-compatible microcontroller, a bunch of on-board sensors, continuous rotation and encoding, io pins for adding electronics, a web-API, instant networking with each other, and control over bluetooth,” explain Moti’s Toronto-based makers on their campaign page.

Moti’s makers have built very granular control into their device, so the user can dictate a specific number of rotations and have the motor “stop on a dime”, as they put it. That granularity allows for or program a sequence of movements to be programmed via the corresponding Android app.

For controlling live movement, the app includes a graphical interface so that the user can, for instance, spin a wheel on the touchscreen to turn the motor, or move a slider. It’s that instant connection between software action and hardware movement that Moti’s creators reckon will capture kids’ imagination and turn your playtime munchkins into little hardware hackers.

Multiple Motis can be daisychained together to allow for the creation of larger robot projects. Or used singly to control individual objects — use-cases Moti’s makers have hacked together in the latter scenario include a remote control for angling the slats on a household blind, and for moving a camera situated on a dolly for stop motion capture.

Additional electronics can be attached to Moti to build out more elaborate robotics, if that’s your bag — each Moti has an Arduino-compatible microcontroller inside so it can be reprogramed or extended by adding sensors and shields.

There’s also a web-API so developers can create other apps and websites that control Moti-powered robots. “We picture new kinds of video games, visualizations and tutorials that integrate with real world contraptions,” they add.

All this is moot, for the moment. Moti’s creators are seeking a rather hefty $165,000 in crowdfunding — to pay for a first production run of 2,000 Motis and convince investors the concept has legs. They’ve raised just over $12,000 of that total so far, with only 12 days left on the campaign, so they’re going to need a big push to hit their target.

A minimum pledge of CAD$60 is required for backers to bag one Moti (sans accessories such as power supply). Or from CAD$90 to get a Moti with a Bluetooth shield so it can be wirelessly controlled. Shipping is pegged at June 2014.

In order to put our money where our hype is we like to take a closer look at Kickstarter products we’ve talked about on the site. Today we have the Bohemian Guitar Company’s “oil can” guitars, a Kickstarter project that raised $54,000 – $20K over their $32,000 goal. The company, based in Georgia, just started shipping their cleverly-designed gitfiddles and I got the chance to try one out.

The guitars have a single pickup controlled by a set of volume and tone dials. A wooden bridge at the bottom and a nice maplewood neck that continues into the oil can body. The body itself is ostensibly recycled and repainted and adds an excellent bit of twang to your picking. The machine heads are serviceable – the ones I tested were a little tight – and the pickup, while simple, seems to be nicely placed for resonance and sound quality.

How does it sound? Take a listen. Excuse the quality here – I’m not a good guitarist.

Generally you will get a twangier sound out of this guitar and it resonates enough to even act as a sort of steel acoustic. I’m positive a superior guitarist can use the unique body to positive effect. I showed it to Charlie Appicella of Iron City Jazz who found it playable and light, if a little too cute for his purposes as a professional jazz guitarist. That said there’s no shame in bringing this thing out especially if you’re a surf or country band and want a little Bo Diddley-like authenticity.

The guitars now cost $299 and a portion of the proceeds go to charity to help spread a love of music in children. It’s a noble goal and it looks like the team, Adam and Shaun Lee, have succeeded in building a business with the Kickstarter push. Most of the models are currently sold out and they’re working on their Boho line – complete with hipster-ish can designs – as we speak. It’s an interesting end to a compelling and surprisingly cool project.

Aly and Beth Khalifa have a vision: to “establish the new cutting edge of sustainability.” They’re doing it by creating products that can be easily broken down, repaired, or recycled and they’re starting with a simple pair of shoes. Called LYF, these odd-looking clogs are completely recyclable and can be repaired by anyone with a rudimentary grasp of fabric cutting and whittling.

These $150 shoes have one solid piece – a main connector – that holds down the outer shell and holds on the sole.

“Having worked in footwear, I have been exposed to nasty solvents like Toluene, which are used to assemble most footwear. These glues are bad for factory workers, bad for the planet, and ultimately prevent the shoes from being recycled,” said Aly. “We decided to address this head-on with a mechanical assembly and were inspired by Japanese Joinery which creates famously strong structures without glue or fasteners. Once we established the modular mechanical approach to making shoes, it allowed us to escape the centralized manufacturing model all together. In fact it allows us to make shoes in places as small and intimate as a retail shop.”

The company is based in Raleigh, North Carolina and aims to sell their shoes online and in stores. Their Kickstarter page is live now.

“Our product is made on-demand for the consumer and establishes the new cutting edge of sustainability. Our process utilizes the latest digital techniques to make truly custom footwear. Not only do we reduce our waste and carbon footprint in the way we make our product, but it is designed for disassembly so that we can keep it out of the landfill and allow them to be LYF-Cycled into new shoes,” said Aly.

If you wanted to repair these shoes you’d simply find the patterns and cut out, say, a new upper or build a new sole (eventually) on a 3D printer. While full recyclability is still a long way off, Aly sees these shoes as a way to empower small business to create, customize and maintain LYF Shoes. While I doubt these kicks will hit Air Dunk levels of popularity, it’s nice to know you can take these into the machine shop and come out with a nearly new pair.

What if you are camping or find yourself in the wilderness and you need to use your phone? Chances are you will need a charge. Good luck finding a power outlet out there. But that’s okay. FlameStower has your back. This device uses the heat from fire to charge cell phones and other electronics via USB, making it perfect for camping or during emergencies due to power outages.

In the worst of situations, you can almost always start a fire. It will work over a cook stove, campfire or any fire source, and starts charging gadgets in seconds.

This project is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter through October 24th, and it seems like a worthwhile investment.  A pledge of at least $80(USD) will get you your own FlameStower when it starts shipping this December.

[via Laughing Squid]

Finding out the time is as easy as simply looking at your phone, watch, computer or any other device equipped with a clock, which can make planning out your daily activities a ton easier. But what if there was a watch that could predict how much time you have left before you kick the bucket? We’re not sure why you’d want such a device, but for those who need to know when their time is going to be up, the Tikker has got you covered. (more…)

Tikker Wristwatch Counts Down How Much Time You Have Left To Live original content from Ubergizmo.