From Droid Life: Sensordrone for Android, a Kickstarter That Actually Looks Worthy of My Money

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We recently came across the Sensordrone project on Kickstarter, and frankly, it looks pretty awesome. With the sensor hardware that connects through Bluetooth to your device, checking the carbon monoxide levels in an area, natural/artificial lighting, and even your BAC is made possible. The hardware comes with a ton of various sensors onboard which is what makes some of the following things possible:

Application examples:

  • Air quality
  • Breath alcohol
  • Color matching
  • Non-contact thermometer
  • Weather monitoring
  • Crowd sourced Sensor Data
  • Games (totally new concepts)
  • Flatulence (use gas sensors for both serious and not so serious measurements)
  • Totally new applications/Multi-sensor mayhem!

To receive a beta of the Sensordrone you only have to donate $99, which isn’t too bad. The project has already reached its goal, so this will in fact come to fruition. Does checking your BAC before you drive home from the bar interest you at all?

Via: Kickstarter

Cheers Isaac! <3

from Droid Life

From Autoblog: Report: Disco ball-inspired side-view mirror eliminates the blind spot

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The view behind a Drexel University professor has never looked better, wider or less distorted than with his all-new rear view mirror that eliminates blind spots.

“Imagine that the mirror’s surface is made of many smaller mirrors turned to different angles, like a disco ball,” said R. Andrew Hicks, a mathematics professor at Drexel, who received a patent on his mirror in May.

Hicks developed an algorithm to control the angle light bounces off the mirror making his curved mirror not act like a curved mirror. The mirror has a field of view of 45 degrees, while most regular rear view mirrors on cars have a field of view between 15 and 17 degrees.

While offering a much wider view, the mirror will not make it onto new U.S. vehicles any time soon. Mirrors on the driver’s side must be completely flat. Ford has one solution for federal regulations with its blind spot mirror, which is regular mirror that includes a convex spotter mirror in the upper left-hand corner.

But judging by photos, Hicks’ mirror offers a much cleaner and less distorted view. It can be sold as an aftermarket accessory, and Hicks has had some interest from manufacturers in producing it.

 

from Autoblog

From Lifehacker: DIY Automatic Wearable Turn Signals Make Sure Everyone Knows Before You Turn

When you’re biking, it’s important to signal the other vehicles on the road—cars and bikes alike—when you’re going to turn, change lanes, or make any other movements that may put you in harm’s way. Unfortunately, few people know hand signals anymore, so Instructables user CTY1995 decided to make hiw own wearable turn signals that he could put on his arms and turn on by lifting his arm up from his side. More »
 

from Lifehacker

From Engadget: VIA Technologies’ $49 Android barebones PC available for pre-order, ships in July

VIA Technologies' $49 APC Android barebones now available for preorder, ships in July

VIA Technologies‘ small — but not bitesized — Neo-ITX-based barebones Android PC is now up for pre-order. Folks willing to plunk down $49 now will be among the first to play with the APC’s version of Gingerbread that’s been modified for use with a mouse and keyboard. When can you expect the return on investment? Well, it’s slated to ship in early July, meaning you’ll get your hands on its 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 2GB of storage before the end of summer.

 

from Engadget

From Engadget: Insert Coin: Sensordrone lets your smartphone monitor temperature, air quality, inebriation

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Insert Coin Sensordrone lets your smartphone monitor temperature, air quality, blood pressure

Sensordrome is an attempt to pair a sensor-heavy dongle with your smartphone. The result is something slightly Star Trek, with the device connecting across Bluetooth to share a wealth of data on what’s going on around you. Pledging over $149 to the Kickstarter project will net investors a spot on the first production run, while over $99 will land you a beta version for slightly zealous devs and testers. The sensor array includes some standard offerings like temperature and humidity but it also throws in a light sensor, non-contact IR thermometer and barometer. It can also analyze breath alcohol levels, and detect Carbon Monoxide and even gas leaks. Throw in an expansion connector to open up even more options, including medical equipment like blood pressure monitors, and you can see why it’s piqued our interest.

Sensors aside, the gadget will hook-up with Android (other platforms will be considered in the future) and will be able to connect to the likes of Twitter and Facebook. Sensordrone can offer up its data in three different ways; call-respond mode will give you immediate read-outs, while streaming mode will send continuous data to your phone. Data logging mode will store the same data in its built-in memory which can be downloaded later as a .csv file — and should mean graphs abound. Sensordrone’s application software will also be open-source, allowing plenty more apps to utilize that sensor medley in the future. We’d still love a built-in radiation detector though. That aside, you can take a tour of Sensordrone’s talents after the break. How can you say no to that face?

Previous project update: Motion-controlled sword-em-up Clang has just under a month left to go and has notched up just shy of $160,000 for the project — all from under 3,100 backers. However, plenty of support is still needed to reach its heady $500,000 target.

 

from Engadget