Every week we’ll be picking out some cool new projects that we’ve spotted on Kickstarter.
We think these innovative new designs will make great additions to any smart home worth their salt…
PIE: Smart Tape Measure
It’s well known in this day and age that scale weight alone doesn’t indicate how healthy you are.
A much better predictor of health — and indeed of visceral body fat — is your waist size.
Bagel Labs, Inc. have therefore created PIE, a ‘smart tape measure’ that allows you to measure your body and record your size — much like a smart scale does.
PIE will store your metrics in a handy app, record trends, allow you to set goals, and even provide you with motivation to lead a healthy, active lifestyle.
It’s super easy to use — all you need to do is wrap the retractable tape around the body part you wish to measure, then secure it using the easy-lock hook. Once you’re done, press the ‘save’ button and your measurements will automatically be recorded in the app.
Able to measure the size of any body part, PIE isn’t just for people looking for fat loss — those trying to gain muscle will likely get a lot from it too.
It was launched on Kickstarter in May and is expected to head into mass production in June.
At the time of writing, $49.035 had already been donated — well exceeding Bagel Labs’ goal of $30,000.
Pico U: Universal Brewing Machine
If you’re one of those people that gets a thrill from brewing the perfect cup of coffee, or the ideal pint of craft beer, then you’re going to love Pico U — the world’s first universal brewing machine.
With the tagline ‘BREW EVERYTHING’, this machine has really got you set: coffee, tea, craft beer, kombucha, yerba mate, horchata, flavored soda — practically anything you can think of.
All you need to do is load up the machine with the PicoPak — a fully compostable ingredient bundle — of your choice. You will need to order the PicoPaks online and have them delivered direct to your door. There are hundreds of different Paks available that recreate recipes from your favorite breweries around the world.
From there, the Pico U will create your beverage using precise temperature control to create the perfect brew.
At the time of writing, a whipping $344,486 had been pledged — going well above and beyond PicoBrew Inc’s modest goal of $50,000.
EARTH: Immersive AR/AI Experience
Our final Kickstarter project of the week is something a little different.
AstroReality have created this incredible 3D printed, hand painted miniature globe, which pairs up with an immersive app to help you explore the earth’s history, geological changes, wildlife evolution and more.
It looks like an incredible educational tool — not just for children in schools, but for anyone who wants to find out more about the world we live in.
All you need to do is to point the AR integrated app on your phone at the globe and get ready for a ‘deeply immersive learning experience’ in 6 different categories:
- Animals – the migration and habitats of animals past and present
- Plants – biomes, crops and key plants of the world
- Geology – the formation and evolution of our physical plant
- Environmental – climate change and our impact on the world
- Humanities – anthropology and the human experience
- Meteorology – the world’s weather systems
Plus, the globe can be explored using smart voice technology, thanks to Gaea (Mother Earth in Greek mythology!) powered by Microsoft LUIS.
