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Jun 26

StickNFind Releases An SDK For Its Clever Bluetooth Tracking Sticker

Think of the possibilities, developers. Find lost keys or the TV remote or a child. Make an electronic Marco Polo game! Embed the StickNFind Bluetooth sticker in a museum exhibit as a sort of supercharged RFID educational system. The world could be yours.

With StickNFind’s new SDK, the company behind the novel Bluetooth sticker is hoping developers will make the little device more than a one trick tiny horse.

Right now StickNFind is more of a proof of concept than practical consumer electronic. Attach this little Bluetooth sticker to something and then find it using the Android or iOS. It’s like an RFID tag but slightly thicker than a quarter.

StickNFind uses Bluetooth technology, so it still works in situations with limited cell phone reception. The company said it has a range of about 100 feet. Other features include a “virtual leash,” so you’re alerted when something moves a certain distance away. It plans to sell two stickers for $49.95 or four for $89.95.

The company demoed the technology at our CES booth earlier this year. It works as advertised. And now with this SDK, hopefully developers can take it from a novelty to a practical device.

Jun 26

StickNFind launches SDK, lets coders harness its Bluetooth stickers

Posted in: Today's Chili

When StickNFind burst onto the scene at the start of the year, the company promised that an SDK wouldn’t be too far behind. True to the company’s word, the toolbox has arrived, enabling developers to turn the Bluetooth location stickers into museum triggers, track conference attendees, or even turn the small discs into rudimentary pagers. The software’s now available on the StickNFind website, while interested parties can dip their head below the break to learn a little more.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

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Source: StickNFind

Jan 13

Never Lose Your Keys Again Thanks To StickNFind’s Bluetooth Stickers

Posted in: Today's Chili

Here’s a novel way to keep track of your wallet, your cat, or, yes, your keys.

Jimmy Buchheim stopped by the the TechCrunch booth at the Consumer Electronics Show to demo StickNFind, a bluetooth sticker technology that you can use to track almost anything. Once you’ve attached the sticker to an object of your choice, you can track it down again using the StickNFind iOS and Android apps, which tell you whether you’re getting farther from or closer to the object in question — basically, it’s the tech version of that that hotter/colder game.

In the video, you can watch me track down a sticker that the TechCrunch crew has hidden. It took the app a little while to refresh as I walked around, but I was eventually able to find the “keys.” (Full disclosure: They told me the sticker’s location ahead of time.)

StickNFind uses Bluetooth technology, so it still works in situations — like CES — with limited cell phone reception. The company said it has a range of about 100 feet. Other features include a “virtual leash,” so you’re alerted when something moves a certain distance away. It plans to sell two stickers for $49.95 or four for $89.95.

StickNFind is also in the final stretch of an Indiegogo campaign. It has already blown past the goal, raising $734,000 on a $70,000 target, but you can still support the campaign and pre-order the product.

Jan 02

StickNFind Bluetooth stickers let you tag and locate your goods with a smartphone (hands-on video)

Posted in: Today's Chili

We’ve all misplaced keys, gadgets and occasionally even children. Well, no more. StickNFind is a nifty, inexpensive solution for tagging and locating electronics, keys and pets. For roughly $25 a pop (estimated retail), you get a small adhesive disk that can be affixed to any flat surface or attached to a keychain. Inside, there’s a replaceable CR2016 watch battery that’s said to last more than a year, a Bluetooth module and antenna, an LED-lit ring and a piezoelectric speaker. A free Android or iOS app then lets you hone in on any stickers within a roughly 100-foot (line of sight) range. The current version can only display distance, but an update, set to hit before StickNFind ships, will add direction, leading you directly to your target. You can also activate a (fairly faint) beeper, and an LED ring around the perimeter of the sticker, further helping you to find the device, even in a dark room. The app will offer several other features, including a “Virtual Leash” that alerts you when the sticker goes out of range — a “Reverse Virtual Leash” will make the device (perhaps attached to your keys) beep, letting you know you’ve left your smartphone behind.

The product designers will also be offering an SDK, so developers can even create their own apps for StickNFind. For example, you could write an app that uses the stickers as triggers — apparently one museum plans to affix the device to art, so as visitors approach, a text notification will pop up describing the piece. Another company is considering using stickers at an upcoming conference, and with Bluetooth transmitters placed around a venue, they can track the precise location of attendee badges (and the individuals wearing them), and even send “pages” by triggering the beeper and light. During our hands-on, StickNFind worked quite well, though as we mentioned, the current alpha version of the app only displays distance, not direction. The device is currently available for “pre-order” on Indiegogo, with an estimated March ship date. You can snag a sneak peek of it in action though, in our hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: StickNFind Bluetooth Location Stickers hands-on