monitoring
Cameras
Vue Wireless Home Video Monitoring Lightning Review
6:20AM Jason Chen | The Gadget: A wireless monitoring system called Vue that consists of one central gateway and two tiny battery-powered wall-mountable wireless cameras. They’re meant to let you monitor your house from anywhere, as long as you have a network connection. More »
Gadgets
UV Monitor Assures Extra Tasty Crispy Tanning
2:04AM Mark Wilson | If you’re like me, your skin boils in the presence of anything brighter than a 40W bulb. While my self-prescribed cave dwelling generally keeps me safe from the harsh glow of the sun, this UV monitor deals with those times we’re forced to go outside by tracking solar radiation levels in real time. Enter the SPF on your sunblock, and the device will calculate your safe window of remaining time in the sun. Plus, you can set a counter to alert you for when it’s time to call a beach bunny over to reapply. Pro tip: set the alarm for one-minute intervals. [techchee via coolestgadgets] More »
Gadgets
12:14PM Nick Broughall | Having kids is hard work. I mean, you have to go to work to feed them, and by the time you get home of a night, you don’t really want to have actually engage them or monitor their activities, do you? Especially when TV or video games can do just as good a job without your help, leaving you to sit back and relax with a good book and a glass of chardonnay.
Of course, some people say that too much TV is a bad thing, and you really should limit the amount of time your little devils spend glued to the set. But how to do it without actually having to give up your glass or chardy and your book?
With BOB, of course! A device that plugs into any monitor, and switches the screen off after a period of time determined by you. You can set it up for up to six kids, so once your kids have reached their hourly, daily, or weekly quota, the screen snaps off, leaving the kid to occupy themselves otherwise.
Which will probably involve going to a friend’s place whose parents aren’t jerks, joining a gang, or cutting on BOB with a pair of scissors. Whichever way, your kid isn’t going to be happy with you.
[UseBOB via Kotaku AU]
More »
Let BOB Do Your Parenting For You
12:14PM Nick Broughall | Having kids is hard work. I mean, you have to go to work to feed them, and by the time you get home of a night, you don’t really want to have actually engage them or monitor their activities, do you? Especially when TV or video games can do just as good a job without your help, leaving you to sit back and relax with a good book and a glass of chardonnay.
Of course, some people say that too much TV is a bad thing, and you really should limit the amount of time your little devils spend glued to the set. But how to do it without actually having to give up your glass or chardy and your book?
With BOB, of course! A device that plugs into any monitor, and switches the screen off after a period of time determined by you. You can set it up for up to six kids, so once your kids have reached their hourly, daily, or weekly quota, the screen snaps off, leaving the kid to occupy themselves otherwise.
Which will probably involve going to a friend’s place whose parents aren’t jerks, joining a gang, or cutting on BOB with a pair of scissors. Whichever way, your kid isn’t going to be happy with you.
[UseBOB via Kotaku AU]
More »
Gadgets
Exmocare BT2 Allows Your Employers To Monitor Your Emotions, Arousal Level
8:00AM Jason Chen | Exmocare’s released emotion-monitoring watches before, but this BT2 model seems to be directed at the service industry, meaning that bosses can use these wristbands to monitor their employee’s emotional states. The control panel (screenshot after the jump) displays a summary of each person’s heart rate, location, body temperature and skin moisture levels reported by an individual’s device. If you thought your boss didn’t know when you were looking at porn while you were supposed to be working, well, think again. And in our case, the watches would probably break from overuse, thanks to our constant state of arousal. [Exmocare via io9] More »
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Teen Driver Cam Keeps Tabs on Horrible Teenage Drivers
5:45AM Adam Frucci | Look out, horrible teenage drivers: there’s a new device out there that your justifiably concerned parents can purchase to not only track where you are while you’re driving, but to actually see you. Yeah, now you parents can bust you smoking pot or pleasuring yourself in the car without happening to drive up next to you. Bad news for you, good news for people who want to survive their commute home from work. Teen Safe Driver is a camera provided by insurance companies that attaches to the windshield and points right at the driver. Since it can be used to keep people safe by ensuring kids stay off their damned cellphones and keep their illegally purchased beers closed and away until they get to Steve’s parents house, it’s free if you live in a number of states, even giving you a healthy 15% discount on your premiums if you use it. It’s a win-win for the insurance companies, who save money by not having to pay for car repairs/funerals all while looking like saints who just want to keep the roads safer. And really, who doesn’t? I know it sucks, teenagers, but if you could drive without crashing this wouldn’t be necessary. You have only yourselves and your still-developing brains to blame. [Yahoo News via Uber Review] More »
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GraGraph Earthquake Meter Lets You Know When The Earth Moves Under Your Feet
3:07AM Charlie White | Next time you’re wondering if the earthquake of the century is starting to hit, this GraGraph earthquake meter will let you know just how bad that tremblor is, in real time. Once an earthquake starts (it doesn’t say how strong, could mean a lot of false alarms), this little alarm-clock-sized device lets out a powerful wail, and then helpfully suggests what you might do next. Presumably this gives you time to get out of your house before it falls down around you. It’s peace of mind for $85, but come to think of it, if there’s a really bad earthquake, do you really need an alarm to tell you to get the hell out of there? [Sci Fi Tech] More »
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Skiing Speedometer Gives You Bragging Rights in the Lodge
8:30AM Adam Frucci | As a former ski instructor (best high school job ever) and resident of the mountains of New Hampshire now living in the relatively mountain-free areas of Brooklyn, skiing gadgets bring a tear to my eye. One the one hand, they’re awesome; like this speedometer for skiers and snowboarders that clips onto your chest or boots, telling you just how fast you ripped up Organgrinder, that run with the wicked steep headwall that they never groom. On the other hand, I haven’t been skiing in two years due to there never being snow when I’m home for the holidays. Sigh. Hey Blam, let’s do a skiing/snowboarding gadgets test trip this winter, OK? Let’s make it happen. Please? [Product Page] More »
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IBM to Monitor the Hudson River with Solar-Powered Underwater Vehicles
4:40AM Ben Longo | IBM is gathering some goodwill points by partnering up with a nonprofit to help monitor a 315-mile stretch of the Hudson River. They’re going to be using a combination of sensor-laden buoys and solar-powered robotic underwater vehicles numbering in the hundreds. The vehicle, which sort of looks like a yellow sting ray covered in solar panels, will monitor things like the rivers temperature, pressure and pH levels. With this info they hope to be able to analyze the amount of pollutants in the river and better asses the risk to marine life. First things first, change the solar vehicles’ colour from yellow to murky brown. That way it will blend in with the Hudson a little better. [TreeHugger] More »
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Smile Measuring Software Helps You Smile To Full Capacity
1:20PM Gizmodo US Edition | Don’t you hate accidentally smiling at 17% capacity and having no one tell you? Omron has released what they’re calling “Smile Measurement Software,” which tells you what your smile factor is on a scale of 0 to 100%. The software uses 3D face mapping technology to, “ensure accurate smile detection and measurement even when the subject is not looking into the camera”—which is great for when you’re really trying to get 83% joy out of someone. The software can be used on digital cameras, mobile phones and things of that nature to —well, I’m not sure. It’d be a useful little gadget to put in a screening room for a comedy, or measure how happy your friends are in your company. Either way, I eagerly await to see what creepy uses are thought of for this technology. [Akihabara News] More »
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