Block ads and charge your phone with InvizBox Go

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InvizBox Go is a portable privacy device that can connect to public Wi-Fi and act as a Tor or VPN gateway.

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In the form of a small box, InvizBox Go solves true problems that people face on a regular basis. Although just about every hotel, airport and coffee shops has a hotspot these days, browsing the web while connected to one isn’t necessarily secure.

Fortunately, InvizBox Go was created to safeguard your activities from anywhere — whether that’s online, at home, or while out and about — by serving as a security gateway to wireless networks for computers and mobile devices. Not only was it designed to protect, but it boasts several other features like the ability to block ads without installing anything, recharge your portable gadgets, and even extend your Wi-Fi network. The connection keeps you from being tracked and profiled by people, governments, companies and hackers using a connection to VPN or the Tor anonymity network.

“You can simultaneously connect every Wi-Fi-enabled device in your house to the InvizBox Go to secure them all. You connect just like you would with your normal Wi-Fi,” the team explains. “You can also take it with you while traveling to keep all of your devices safe from untrusted public networks.”

InvizBox Go serves as a Wi-Fi access point and a power source for smartphones and tablets when plugged into a USB port. What’s more, it enables you to view blocked content from anywhere in the world, as well as gain full access to TV shows, sports and programming in areas where it would otherwise be nearly impossible to receive.

“One of the great features when using our fast VPN network is the ability to watch all your favorites online media anywhere you are — making the Internet truly global. Believe it or not, some services restrict or block content depending on where you are. We’ve designed the InvizBox Go to work in those scenarios by the utilizing our global VPN service,” the crew adds.

InvizBox Go’s software is entirely open source, providing two major benefits. First, it gives other security experts the ability to examine the project, ensuring optimal security, and secondly, it lets the user see that there is nothing malicious in the code. Aside from the standard Tor client, the device can also use Tor’s “pluggable transports” in the form of obfs2/obfs3/scramblesuit to mask Tor’s traffic signature and prevent its detection by deep packet inspection firewalls.

Beyond that, InvizBox Go packs a few more privacy features. These include built-in “HTTPS Everywhere,” which attempts to elevate insecure HTTP to secure HTTPS whenever possible, along with optional blocking of the Windows 10 “tracking domains.” Intrigued? Head over to its official Kickstarter page, where InvizBox is seeking $113,377. Units are expected to begin shipping in February 2016.

Angee is an autonomous home security system

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This smart system doubles as both your security guard and personal assistant.

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Did you know that every 13 seconds, a home is broken into in the United States? In fact, 41% of burglaries happen when a system isn’t armed. Although it’d be nice to have guards protecting our homes, not all of us have that luxury or the convenience.

Angee is an advanced security and communication system that changes how you protect and connect to your humble abode. The device provides a 360-degree view of your household and is loaded with several valuable features, including voice recognition, at-the-door identification, motion-detecting rotation, advanced learning and cordless portability. By learning the daily habits of your family members, Angee can autonomously arm and disarm herself.

Setting up Angee is easy — you simply connect the device with your smartphone and add security points around throughout your rooms to secure your home. The unit provides full perimeter protection by using security tags on your doors and windows so the system knows exactly who comes and goes. In fact, it can determine suspicious activity such as movement by someone it doesn’t recognize through detecting entry and exit patterns, changes in background noise, Bluetooth signal in phones and voice differentiation. If Angee happens to sense suspicious activity, a notification is sent to your smartphone (or smartwatch) via its accompanying app so you can stream video in real-time. Plus, you can receive updates on temperature, humidity or just take a look around, if you so choose.

At roughly five by three inches, Angee boasts an ARM processor at its core and weighs about 1.3 pounds. Angee’s camera rotates to provide full coverage of a room and employs an array of six passive infrared sensors for 360-degree motion detection. The security tags are powered by two AAA-batteries and feature Bluetooth connectivity, which is not only used to wirelessly communicate with Angee, but also sense nearby phones to identify who is home. And should the power go out, not to worry. The gadget’s built-in battery enables it to sustain energy, and more importantly, continue monitoring. Similarly, if your Wi-Fi goes offline, Angee will alert you while still recording any activity and saving the footage to its local storage.

The makers of Angee built the system by learning from people’s experience with early versions of smart security systems. The team has focused on creating the smartest home security system ever — one that is useful, convenient, and tailored to each individual’s needs. And that’s not all. It can double as a personal assistant by recording all-too-often missed moments for a family member who is away, answering calls, checking the calendar and even reminding you to close the windows if rain is in the forecast.

“In the future, smart hardware and technologies will be omnipresent. They will be easy to use and perfectly integrated into our environment. These systems will understand and predict what we need, saving us time and energy, and making our lives easier and more productive. Angee is a big step toward this future,” explains CEO and co-founder Tomas Turek.

Sound like the system you’ve been looking for? Head over to Angee’s Kickstarter campaign, where the team is currently seeking $250,000. Delivery is estimated for October 2016.

Salto is a wearable suit that captures your every move

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On a mission to democratize motion capture technology, one Danish startup has crammed an entire studio into a wireless suit. 

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As its name would suggest, motion capture refers to the process of recording the movement of objects or people. This technique is commonly used throughout the military, entertainment, sports and medical industries, as well as for robotics and validation of computer vision. However, its price and required expertise has kept the technology out of reach for most people. With aspirations of democratizing it, Copenhagen-based startup Rokoko Electronics has developed a sensor-laden, plug-and-play suit that can be used in a wide range of applications that extend well beyond virtual reality.

The wireless motion-capturing garment, called Salto, is embedded with 19 sensors along with a central hub. A glove-like extension for the hands is also available, which is comprised of an extra seven sensors that pair with the textile suit for additional interaction and finger tracking capabilities.

As mentioned before, VR support is only one of its many intended uses; in fact, the suit is designed to be intuitive, simple-to-wear, and most importantly, accessible so that anyone can start working with motion capture technology. The idea is that, if you know how to put on your clothes, you will be able to use Salto. To date, the wearable has been employed by everyone from film producers looking to test characters and scenes, to golfers and tennis players wanting to track and improve their game.

Here’s how it works: 19 sensor nodes are attached directly to the suit, strategically placed over all moving body parts. Data from each sensor is collected by the hub and transmitted via Wi-Fi or cable to your computer. Using the Salto Studio program, data can be easily streamed, recorded, played back and exported to another device. What’s nice is that Salto can be seamlessly integrated with third party applications as well, like Unity, Oculus, Samsung Gear and MotionBuilder, which ideally will allow people to engage in all kinds of virtual spaces.

“With our mocap suit Salto you get all the unique features in your body — the way you look when you take a deep breath, the way you articulate with your arms when you talk, etc. — all of these details accurately transferred to the virtual world,” the Danish startup writes.

In terms of hardware, each node is equipped with a 9-axis IMU board and an Atmel | SMART MCU for calibration and data processing. Looking ahead, the team says that it will make an SDK and an assortment software plugins available for developers. This SDK will contain all of the necessary code and libraries to get an app up and running with the C#, C++, Java and Python programming languages. Beyond that, the software plugins are compatible with many third party services.

“The virtual reality experience is not going to be complete with just the visual side. You absolutely need to have an input and output system that is fully integrated, so you not only have a really natural way to view the virtual world but also a natural way to interact with it,” its creators explain.

Interested? Head over to its Kickstarter campaign, where Rokoko Electronics is currently seeking $100,000. Delivery is slated for April 2016.

Industruino Proto joins the Arduino AtHeart program

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Industruino Proto is a robust DIN rail mountable, Leonardo-compatible industrial controller with an LCD display.

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Now the latest member of the Arduino AtHeart program, the Industruino Proto is an Leonardo-compatible board housed inside a DIN rail mountable case. The unit itself is comprised of two parts: a self-contained, AVR powered main controller and a baseboard.

Built around the versatile ATmega32U4, the Industruino Proto features a prototyping area, an on-board LCD and a three-button membrane panel. This offers both Makers and professionals alike the ability take a breadboarded solution and quickly turn it into a neatly enclosed, finished looking product that’s ready for permanent installation. Whether employed for automation projects, data loggers or an interactive art installation, Industruino is a rugged, feature-rich and low-cost option for everyone.

Inside its enclosure lies the baseboard with a prototyping area for adding your own components, along with re-routable jumper connections for linking any point to either the MCU’s pins or external screw connectors.

“The Proto kit offers a large prototyping area to add your own circuitry as well as the following features: a 14-pin IDC expansion port to easily connect external modules, and a 2A switching voltage regulator taking any input voltage between 7-28V and generating a stable 5V output for the MCU and your own components,” its team writes. 

Meanwhile, the Industruino Proto’s integrated 128×64 LCD and membrane button panel enable accelerated UI development for visualizing and inputting your application’s data.

It should be noted that the Industruino Proto is sold in kit form, and according to its creators, can be assembled in less than three minutes. Key specs include:

• MCU: ATmega32U4 (or AT90USB1286)
• Operating voltage 5V
• Supply voltage: 7-28V
• Digital I/O pins: 17
• PWM channels: 6 (32U4 model) / 4 (1286 model)
• Analog input channels: 7, of which 6 are shared with digital I/O pins (32U4) / 5 (1286)
• DC current per I/O pin: 40 mA
• DC current for 3.3V pin: 50 mA
• Flash: 32KB (32U4) / 128KB (1286).
• SRAM: 2.5KB
• EEPROM: 1KB
• Clock speed: 16MHz

Intrigued? Head over to its official page to learn more, or watch its detailed overview below.

Talon is a smart ring for gaming

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Talon is a smart ring that allows you to play games and control apps with simple gestures.

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25 years ago, Nintendo unveiled the Power Glove. While the wearable accessory never lived up to its hype, one San Jose startup has developed something a bit less bulky and much more intuitive: a controller in the form of a smart ring.

No more than four millimeters thick, Titanium Falcon’s Talon is equipped with a 32-bit MCU at its core, a nine-axis motion sensor and connects to all smart devices over Bluetooth. When paired with a gaming console, computer, smart TV or mobile device, the wearable is able to convert a player’s finger gestures into actual commands. This can range from steering an invisible wheel for racing games, swinging an imaginary racquet for a Wii-like tennis match, or waving through a main menu in an application.

“Utilizing a real-time three-dimensional space, the Talon simply outperforms the on-screen two-dimensional controller and allows users to use quick and easy waves and gestures to control the application,” its creators explain.

Talon provides a hands-free user experience like no other, enabling wearers to play games from just about anywhere and on-the-go. What’s more, the ring is equipped with two action buttons (similar to the AB buttons found on more traditional consoles) that provide additional control options, such as jumping, firing and what not. Aside from using motion for input, the latest prototype boasts a battery life of around 12 hours before needing to be recharged.

While this may not be first so-called smart ring we’ve come across, it’s pretty awesome nevertheless. Not only is it sleek and stylish, its inner portion of is fitted with soft skin-feel silicone gels that makes for a comfortable yet snug fit. Once available, Talon will come in four different sizes (small, medium, large and extra large). Until then, head over to its Indiegogo page to learn more. Delivery is slated for June 2016.

ivee lets you control your smart home with your voice

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ivee Voice will make you feel like Tony Stark in no time.

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Voice recognition technology is in the house! While Amazon Echo, Google Now and Siri may’ve stolen the spotlight for voice-controlled IoT devices thus far, a new player is looking to enter the mix. The brainchild of one Bay Area startup, ivee Voice is a multi-room system that enables you to seamlessly connect all of the gadgetry and services throughout your smart home, and then command them using your words. Sounds like the ‘90s Disney flick Smart House, right?

Much like the others, ivee is a connected speaker-microphone combination that can help you boss around your in-home appliances,he lights, stream music, alert you of any traffic jams and even find answers to your inquiries on Wikipedia.

The hub, which kind of resembles an upside-down giant golf tee, is capable of processing voice requests up to 15 feet away. What’s more, commands can be customized “scenes” using an accompanying mobile app (iOS and Android). This means, you can configure phases like “bedtime” to close the blinds, dim the lights and emit some relaxing jazz music as you prepare to fall asleep. Conversely, you can set the term “party” to activate a series of multi-colored Hue lights, blast a few hip-hop tunes and unlock the front door for arriving guests. The possibilities are endless!

Not only can it tell you the weather and inform of your of your day’s agenda, ivee can play music via Spotify, summon an Uber ride, and alert fast-response emergency services for our elders. Plus, the startup says that its system is compatible with the likes of Hue, Nest, WeMo, Harmony, SmartThings and Wink, among several other of today’s most popular IoT platforms.

Standing at only five inches tall and weighing in at a pound, ivee will inconspicuously fit in — whether that’s on a nightstand, a coffee table or even somewhere near the entertainment center. The unit is built around a high-end ARM-based processor, uses Wi-Fi for communication and runs Linux. Aside from that, it is equipped with a light sensor, an LED ring, a 2.5W speaker and a pair of omnidirectional mics.

Using voice control is actually rather quick and easy. To get started, simply say “Okay ivee,” which will prompt its LEDs to illuminate in blue. From there, tell her what you need or ask your question. ivee will then process your request and voilà!

According to its creators, ivee was designed to be completely open source and flexible. And by 2016, the team hopes to launch an API that will let developers add and create their own voice applications. Interested in a Tony Stark home of your own? Head over to Ivee’s Indiegogo campaign, where the team is closing in on its $50,000 goal. Units are expected to begin shipping in April 2016.

Pico Cassettes are like NES cartridges for your smartphone

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One startup has introduced a small cartridge that plugs directly into your phone’s headphone jack to unlock games.

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Who could forget the days of whipping out their Nintendo system, blowing into the base of their Super Mario Bros. cartridge and then slipping it into the console for some 8-bit gaming goodness? Well, one Tokyo startup has come up with a similar platform for the smartphone era called Pico Cassettes. 

The team at Beatrobo have developed a tiny game cassette that plugs into a phone’s audio jack, acting as a physical key for unlocking old-school games. These cartridges are actually an extension of the startup’s PlugAir technology, which has been used to sell physical music and video content throughout Japan. (In fact, it was on display inside the Atmel CES booth back in 2014.) While the dongles themselves don’t actually store any software, each one serves as as an authentication key for unlocking content by sending out an inaudible sound to the device.

What’s nice is that, since each Pico Cassette has a unique identifier and can securely communicate with Beatrobo’s servers, players will have the ability to save their games and play each one on a number of gadgets.

“We’ve been thinking about gaming since we designed PlugAir,” Beatrobo founder and CEO Hiroshi Asaeda recently told Tech in Asia. “We thought it could be cool to plug a character-themed dongle into your phone and then unlock a special character in a game like Puzzles and Dragons. We had the idea before Nintendo announced its Amiibo figures, and we still think there’s an opportunity to make that kind of device for mobile.”

For now, Beatrobo’s first goal is to relaunch some classic NES titles like Super Mario Bros. and Pac-Man. In the process, the team is hoping that Pico Cassette can one day do the same for vintage gaming as Spotify has done for the music industry. While still merely at the demo stage, you can follow along with the project on Beatrobo’s website here.

[Image: The Verge]

CUJO guards all connected home devices from hackers

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CUJO protects your home networks against hacks, viruses, malware and other virtual intrusions.

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From Ashley Madison to Sony, the latest string of data breaches have demonstrated the significance of security in our increasingly electronic world. The days of protecting your home with just an alarm system or some anti-virus softwre are over; in fact, anything that is connected to the Internet has become a fairly easy target for malicious hackers. With this in mind, a California-based startup has introduced a gadget, called CUJO, that will guard all smart home devices against the most sophisticated virtual intrusions, from malware to phishing attempts.

One of, if not, the most intriguing attributes would have to be its simplicity. CUJO acts as a plug-and-play gatekeeper on the front end of your router with an Ethernet cable, blocking hackers and other threats before they can reach a home network and everything connected to it. The elegantly-designed unit will inspect all of the packets of data leaving and entering your home, and even analyze your device behavior so that it can detect anomalies as soon as they occur.

“CUJO goes beyond traditional security by using a multilayer approach that combines firewall, antivirus, and malware typically found in separate devices,” the startup writes. “Unlike traditional solutions, CUJO adapts and reacts when your home is attacked and does not rely just on libraries of known malware issues. We analyze a humongous amount of behavioral data in our cloud and push learnings from one home to all CUJO protected homes.”

Another thing you will notice about CUJO is that it decided to forgo a display and replaced it with an ambient interface. Instead, you can easily monitor activity from afar using its accompanying mobile app. And should your network ever be attacked, a notification will be immediately sent to your smartphone with more details.

In terms of hardware, CUJO boasts 4GB of Flash memory, two 1GB Ethernet ports, 256-bit AES encryption and cryptographic hardware acceleration.

“We use bank-level security to protect the communication between your CUJO and the CUJO cloud,” its creators add. “Our device will contain several layers of hardware security, making it difficult to break into it even with direct physical access to it.”

Ready to safeguard your home devices from hackers? Head over to CUJO’s Indiegogo campaign, where the team is seeking $30,000. Delivery is expected to begin in March 2016.

FLUID is a smart water meter for your home

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This smart device allows you to conserve water, save money and detect leaks by monitoring usage in real-time.

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Did you know that each person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day? Flush a toilet? That’s three gallons. Wash a load of laundry? That’s another 25 gallons. Brush your teeth? One more gallon. And this statistic doesn’t include outdoor water use by sprinkler systems either. With a vast majority of the U.S. west coast experiencing drought conditions, H2O consumption has never been so paramount.

Luckily, one Minneapolis-based startup has developed what they’re calling the world’s first learning water meter that will help you to become more mindful. The aptly name FLUID has been designed for easy installation — simply snap the device around the main pipeline coming into your home, plug it in and connect it to your Wi-Fi network.

FLUID will help you better understand exactly when, where and how much water you’re consuming on a regular basis by providing real-time reports on its accompanying mobile app. By employing ultrasonic pulses, the jig is able to measure the velocity, flow and transit time of the water without ever having to cut into the pipe. This can all then be visualized on your phone.

Whats’s even more impressive is that it can even identify and track usage by appliance or fixture. In other words, it knows exactly where the water is coming from and enables you to learn the flow pattern associated with that appliance or fixture’s run cycle. The end result? Quantifiable data that lets you to see just how much H2O you’re using in the shower, doing the laundry, flushing the toilet, irrigating the lawn and so forth.

“Amazing things can happen once you become more connected to the water you use. You’ll become more aware of how many loads of laundry you are doing weekly, the length of your showers and other habits and behaviors,” the FLUID team writes.

And that’s not all, it only takes one small would-have-been occurrence for FLUID to pay for itself! When it detects constant or erratic water use, a notification will be sent to your phone indicating that there may be a possible leak or water that has been left running.

“It could be as simple as a garden hose that was left on, a running toilet, or in a worst case scenario a pipe bursts when you are away from your home on a trip or an errand. FLUID gives you the peace of mind that you won’t return home to huge water bills or thousands of dollars in water damages,” its creators explain.

Beyond making recommendations, FLUID empowers you to set monthly water consumption goals and keep tabs on your progress. In the future, the team hopes to integrate the tool with existing smart home hubs, such as Nest, WeMo and SmartThings, and provide a REST API so developers can design their own integrations.

Ready to become more mindful of water in and around your house? Check out FLUID’s Kickstarter campaign, where it is currently seeking $95,000. Pending all goes to plan, the first batch of units is expected to ship out sometime in May 2016.

Secure your Raspberry Pi and Linux applications with ZymKey

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ZymKey makes it easy to secure your IoT applications and manage them in the real world.

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More times than not, developers are faced with two bad options: either deliver a substandard product quickly, or reinvent the wheel and miss the market altogether. Luckily, one Santa Barbara-based startup has come up with a solution, not just a band-aid but a true fix to the all too common conundrum. Introducing ZymKey, a tiny, low-cost piece of hardware for authenticating and encrypting data between Internet of Things devices.

The key integrates silicon and software into a simple, ready-to-go package that will automatically work with Raspberry Pi and other Linux gadgets. What’s nice is that the ZymKey integrates seamlessly with Zymbit’s existing IoT platform, which includes Zymbit.Connect software, the Zymbit.City community and the Zymbit.Orange secure IoT motherboard that was on display back at Maker Faire Bay Area. Together, Zymbit enables IoT professional developers and Makers innovate faster with the confidence of data security and integrity.

“The Internet of Things will reach its full potential when real people like you and I begin to connect our devices and share data streams,” explained Zymbit CEO Phil Strong. “Then we can work together to solve real problems that impact our everyday lives. Funding our Kickstarter campaign is not just about building the ZymKey, it’s about enabling an entire community of people to collaborate around secure data streams and ideas.”

Ideally, Zymbit will make it easy to not only collect but to share data in a trusted manner. The platform embraces open technologies and gives people the freedom to innovate quickly without having to compromise security or performance. Aside from that, the so-called Zymbit.City will serve as a forum for those with common interests to collaborate on ideas powered by such verified and authenticated information.

ZymKey works by attaching to IoT Linux platforms like the Raspberry Pi. When combined with Zymbit’s Linux APIs, it offers true authentication and cryptographic services of remote devices, as well as a real-time clock and accelerometer to timestamp security events and detect physical tampering, respectively. For its Kickstarter launch, ZymKey is available in two versions: a header-mounted crypto key for the RPi and a USB stick that plugs into the port of a Linux board, including BeagleBone, UDOO and Dragon.

For the RPi model, the low-profile hardware attaches directly to the Pi’s expansion header while still allowing Pi-Plates to be added on top. Lightweight firmware drivers run on the RPi core interface with software services through Zymbit.Connect. Meanwhile, the USB version adds more functionality and is usable on any Linux unit with a USB host.

“Great security has to be designed end to end. From silicon to software, from point of manufacture through end-of-life. ZymKey brings all this together and makes it easy to manage your applications and devices out in the real world, without compromising security,” the team explains. “ZymKey integrates speciality silicon with firmware drivers on the host device and the corresponding software services in the cloud. The result is a robust and secure communication workflow that meets some of the highest standards in the industry.”

Both ZymKeys are embedded with an ATECC508A CryptoAuthentication IC for bolstered security, while the USB version also features an Atmel | SAM D21 Cortex-M0+ core. Once connected to the Zymbit platform, you will have the unprecedented ability to transparently manage all of your remote devices from a single console — upgrade over the air, configure admin rights, and so much more. Additionally, you will be able to publish, subscribe and visualize secure data. Each ZymKey comes pre-packed with dashboard widget that make it simple to customize and share with others.

So whether you’re connecting one Linux gizmo in your garage to a public forum or have tens of thousands of Raspberry Pis deployed throughout the world, ZymKey seems to be an excellent option for everyone. Interested? Head over to its Kickstarter page, where the Zymbit team is seeking $15,000. Delivery is slated for December 2015.