This smart candle lets you connect with loved ones

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The Lovlit Candle is a new way for people to keep in touch with loved ones, without having to pick up the phone. 

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Wouldn’t it be nice if a loved one could send a quick gesture letting you know that they’re thinking of you? Or, if you had an easy way to communicate without having to make long distance calls while away on business in a different country? That’s the idea behind engineer Joshua Jameson’s latest device.

When the 26-year-old Georgia Tech grad was given an assignment to design a product that conveyed a human emotion, he decided he wanted to create a technology that not only could relay one’s affection without having to pick up the phone, but could still establish a sense of closeness in spite of the distance. The result? An Internet-enabled, flameless candle called Lovlit that can light up whenever held — even if that means being separated by thousands of miles. A single Lovlit can also be illuminated remotely using its accompanying mobile app.

Ultimately, Lovlit Candles are intended to act as a symbol of love for those who are away from those they care about the most, whether they’re studying at school, traveling on vacation, serving in the military or recuperating in the hospital. After a few seconds of being held, it will slowly begin to emit a warm white light. As it remains in one’s hands, it will fully illuminate and start flickering like a candle. The longer the gadget is held, the longer both your candle and the one it is connected to will stay lit.

“When you know a loved one is going through a tough time and you’re not able to be there with them, it can be hard to let them know you care. Words escape us, flowers die, cards don’t always capture our true feelings. But the warm glow of candlelight from the gentle touch of caring hands could quite literally light up their day,” Jameson explains.

If you need to “put out” the candle, you can simply place your hand over the top of it, causing it to fade within a few seconds. However, if you lift your hand off the candle before it is fully extinguished, the Lovlit will spring back to life, as bright as it was before. It should be noted that extinguishing yours does not turn off the other paired candles.

Designed with people of all ages in mind, the Lovlit is super easy to set up and even easier to use. To configure, all you need to do is access your Wi-Fi router and download the companion app on your smartphone. From their, the app will walk you through the process, such as entering your credentials and selecting the friends and family members you want to connect with via the candle.

At the heart of each palm-sized unit lies an Atmel | SMART SAM D Cortex-M0+ MCU along with a WINC1500 Wi-Fi module. On top of that, the Lovlit Candle is packed with a rechargeable battery, an underglow ring-of-light, as well as sensors to detect one’s touch.

Sound like a device you’d like to have to stay connected with family and friends? Head over to the Lovlit Candle’s Kickstarter campaign, where Jameson and his team are currently seeking $75,000. Pending all goes to plan, delivery is expected to get underway in February 2016.

NFire 1 is a completely modular 3D printer for Makers

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This modular 3D printer adapts to your needs, whether that’s doubling its height or upgrading to a dual extruder.

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We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: modularity continues to rise in popularity amongst the Maker crowd. Cognizant of this, UK-based NFire Labs set out to develop a 3D printer that would be truly scalable and adaptable to its user depending on the job at hand.

“If you purchase a small 3D printer and then want to print larger objects, currently you would have to buy a new 3D printer. Not anymore,” its 19-year-old creator Alex Youden explains.

Have you ever wished that you could quickly upgrade your printer’s Z-axis and double its build volume on demand? Or, have you found yourself in need of printing two colors at once? All that is now possible, thanks to the NFire 1 — “the world’s first truly modular 3D printer.” The latest delta-style printer to hit the rather competitive market is equipped with a sturdy aluminum frame, a Z-axis that can be extended from a height of 150mm to 300mm, as well as a dual extruder.

“Consumers are becoming frustrated with printers which are breaking due to poor quality parts. They end up spending more time fixing them than printing with them. This is why we are using the highest quality components to build the NFire 1 3D printer,” Youden shares. “Our mission is simple: Create something that can have every aspect upgraded and uses the highest quality materials and parts.”

Among the other notable features of the machine is its E3D-v6 Lite metal hotend that can reach 245°C and can be swapped out for the E3D Cyclops, allowing you to print in two. Beyond that, the NFire 1’s acrylic paneling comes in 21 different colors, divided into four different categories: the default black and white frosted, standard frosted (sapphire blue, jade green, chili red, saffron yellow and crystal clear, premium frosted (slate grey, Earth brown, aurora violet, azure blue, mandarin orange, citrus yellow, polar white and blush pink), and fluorescent (neptune blue, celestial blue, acid green, helios yellow, lava orange and Mars red).

In terms of hardware, NFire 1 is unsurprisingly built around the mighty Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) and RAMPS 1.4 board. While it may not come with an LCD screen, Makers are welcomed to add a display at their own leisure. Looking ahead, Youden and the NFire Labs team hopes to include even more options, such as a heated build plate, improved firmware/software, a built-in 3D scanner and an add-on display.

As if the modularity of the machine doesn’t catch the attention of Makers, perhaps its affordable price will. Interested? Head over to the printer’s Kickstarter campaign, where NFire Labs is currently seeking $46,788.

Argentum is like a 3D printer for PCBs

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Cartesian Co.’s rapid prototyping machine is putting the “print” back in printed circuit boards.

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Despite how far 3D printing has come over the past couple of years, a number of startups have been looking for new ways to take it one step further. Rather than just spit out odds and ends in plastic, what if you could quickly extrude something a bit smarter, like circuit boards, on demand? That’s the idea behind Cartesian Co.’s rapid prototyping machine dubbed Argentum.

While it admittedly may not be the first startup to come up the idea of putting the “print” back in printed circuit boards, it is among the very few that have squeezed the price down to Maker-friendly levels. If the New York-based company sounds familiar, that’s because there’s a good chance you may have come across their incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2013 — called EX¹ at the time — which garnered over $137,000. Since then, Cartesian Co. has shipped nearly 200 units and has worked diligently on improving the reliability of its inks and substrates

Simply put, Cartesian Co. is hoping that Argentum will transform electronics and prototyping in the same way that conventional 3D printing revolutionized traditional manufacturing. The gadget works by layering down silver nano-particles through an inkjet process onto almost any substrate you could imagine.

First, a user must generate the artwork for their electronics design. From there, the image is exported and processed by the Argentum’s custom control software, which generates code that the printer can directly interpret. The printer can then receive the command file via a USB interface, through the stock SD card port or even through a web interface if the user has the RasPiFi add-on. This enables a Maker to go from a circuit board design to reflowing solderable PCBs in a matter of minutes, without all the overhead costs of low production runs — something that is tremendously valuable for hobbyists, engineers and startups on a limited budget with time constraints.

“This lets you create electronics, just as you’ve envisioned — wearable electronics, paper circuits, printed computers or whatever you imagine. A 3D printer creates the objects of your imagination; the Argentum lets you create the electronics of your imagination,” company co-founder Ariel Briner explains.

So, how does the innovative machine work? Essentially, two inkjet cartridges (similar to the ones in a standard printer) print images on a substrate, but instead of ink they lay down two different chemicals. When these two chemicals mix, a reaction occurs, producing silver nano-particles, leaving a silver image. Aside from only conventional circuit board materials, the Argentum can employ a variety of other substrates that might not be commonly associated with electronic circuitry. These include paper, wood, ceramic, Kapton, fiberglass, and looking ahead, fabric.

Take this “Simon Says” game, for example, that the team printed on fiberglass. It has an ATtiny4313 running Arduino and capacitive touchpads for user input.

“One capability of the Argentum that we’re really excited about is the ability to print straight onto fabric. Anyone who has used conductive thread will tell you how frustrating it is when the thread breaks but you can’t find the break! With the Argentum, you can print circuits straight onto the material of your choice,” Briner adds.

The electronics, including an ATmega2560 at its core, are housed inside a sleek, black acrylic enclosure that would be an aesthetically-pleasing mainstay in any Makerspace. The Argentum boasts a build area of 6.7” x 4” with an overall footprint of 16.9” x 14.1” x 5.2” — meaning, it will fit perfectly on a workbench or desktop. On top of that, the Cartesian Co. crew offers complete flexibility with its software from importing an image with default settings and clicking print, to exerting control over every printing variable.

The device prints at a native resolution of 300DPI, which can be enhanced to 600DPI using its software. What’s more, Argentum can print, assemble and test a circuit board in less than two hours, while eliminating the hassle and dangers typically associated with hazardous chemicals.

“This means you will be able print footprints as fine as TSSOP (0.65mm pitch) on our treated G10 substrate and SOIC (0.8mm pitch) on all our other materials including polyimide, linen paper, stone paper and more,” the team writes.

Circuits printed on G10, polyimide and paper can be hand soldered as well. This will, of course, require a bit more skill and needs to be done relatively fast to avoid damaging the silver traces.

Intrigued? Head over to Cartesian Co.’s official site to learn more, and pre-order your own unit for $1,599. Delivery of the next batch is slated for September 2015.

 

Buddy is the smartest dog collar ever

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Buddy is a fully-integrated LED dog collar that’s connecting humans to their dogs like never before.

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Currently live on Kickstarter, Buddy is a fully-integrated LED dog collar that does a whole lot more than simply light up with vibrant colors. The latest wearable for pups from Squeaker uses GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies to keep our four-legged friends safe while tracking and organizing their activities in real-time.

Did you know over six million dogs are injured or killed on our roads each year? Unfortunately, a large number of those incidents occur at night where visibility is hindered. We can’t always trust the judgement of others, so why take a chance with your beloved pets safety and well-being? That’s why Buddy offers owners a peace of mind by monitoring their daily activity and whereabouts in real-time via GPS, so you know where they are and what they are up to at the press of a button.

While up until now LED collars have been a one color proposition, Buddy is changing the game with a stack of individually programmable lights that allow the device to display an almost infinite amount of unique patterns and color combinations. Meaning, not only will it keep your dog illuminated and clearly visible from potential mishaps with cyclists, vehicles and other hazards, it can do so in style. These hues and sequences can be selected and managed via an accompanying app on your iPhone, Android smartphone or Apple Watch.

In terms of hardware, Buddy is equipped with a microprocessor, a Bluetooth Low Energy module, an OLED display, a three-axis accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a light sensor that can detect the time of day, and a rechargeable battery life of 14 days. Like a Fitbit for dogs, the collar can also track steps, distances traveled and activity loads by collating data from its accelerometer and gyroscope, as well as analyze sleep patterns and vital signs.

To conserve battery power, the Squeaker team developed a Wi-Fi charging dock that communicates with the collar while handling all of the Wi-Fi power demands. Not only does the Buddy base station have its own nifty RGB lighting effects, it can visually alert you if a pet has left the geo-fenced area.

Speaking of which, Buddy enables users to set custom safe zones for their pet. This creates a virtual boundary around specific areas that you setup and control, using geofencing technology built right into the collar and app. Should good ol’ Fido venture out of these pre-defined areas, you’ll be notified instantly and prompted to their location with step-by-step instructions.

Additionally, the Buddy app has built-in barcode scanning functionality and contains an up-to-date database of the most popular pet foods by vets and other dog professionals. In other words, you can input their daily calorie intake so Buddy can offset this against their daily exercise for a clear picture of their health. This information can then be provided to your vet.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Buddy was designed with the Internet of Things in mind. And so, the intelligent collar easily integrates with your smart home devices. For instance, its embedded temperature sensor will let a Nest thermostat know if your canine companion is either too hot or cold, then adjust accordingly. The wearable can even alert you via your LIFX or Phillips Hue smart bulbs if something goes wrong.

Whew… that’s a lot. But as those with pets know, there’s no such thing as having too much safety and fun when it comes to man’s best friend. Interested? Hurry over to its Kickstarter campaign, where Squeaker is currently seeking $281,233. Units are expected to ship to backers in December 2015.

The LightBlue Bean+ is an Arduino-like BLE board

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The LightBlue Bean+ is an Arduino-compatible board that can be wirelessly programmed using Bluetooth Low Energy.

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Last year, the Punch Through Design crew introduced the LightBlue Bean to the Maker community, an Arduino-compatible board with built-in Bluetooth Low Energy support. Unsurprisingly, the microcontroller became an immediate hit as Makers were able to upload their codes wirelessly and manage their projects right from their smartphones. Now with over 25,000 Beans sold since its debut, the team has once again returned with its bigger, better and bolder brother: the LightBlue Bean+.

The latest addition to the LightBlue Bean family boasts solderless connectors, 16 GPIOs and a rechargeable LiPo battery, as well as a longer range than its sibling. This enables it to communicate up to 1,300 feet with its fellow Bean+’s or be remotely controlled by smartphone at a distance of 820 feet.

As expected, the Bean+ can be wirelessly programmed from any of today’s most popular platforms, including OS X, Windows, iOS and Android. Meaning, you can write code at the comfort of your PC using the standard Arduino IDE, or on-the-fly with its special iOS and Android Bean Loader apps. What’s more, you can even configure multiple Beans at once.

Once again based on the versatile ATmega328P, the newest Bean features a built-in accelerometer, a temperature sensor and an RGB LED. Aside from its 600mAh battery, the board includes a microUSB port for juicing up the Bean+ wherever you go, or hooking it up to a USB solar charger for optimal portability. (Keep in mind that the Bean+ is programmed over-the-air, so the microUSB connector is simply for charging.) On top of that, the Bean+ has a switch for selecting between 3.3V or 5V as the operating voltage, and ships with two types of connectors — 0.1″ pitch female headers and Grove connectors from Seeed Studio.

Kicking the functionality of the original up a notch, the Bean+ boasts several exciting capabilities: beacon, MIDI, HID, Apple Notification Center Service (ANCS) and observer role. For instance, you can easily configure your MCU to trigger events whenever a device is nearby, or employ the BLE advertisement packets and the observer role to send simple messages between your Beans.

Or through the MIDI profile, you can transmit MIDI data and use it as an instrument with apps like GarageBand. Not to mention, the ANCS allows the Bean+ to receive notifications from any of your iPhone, iPad or any other Apple gadget. Heck, you can even write a sketch to have it blink an LED when your friend sends a text and ring a bell as your Uber ride arrives. The possibilities are truly endless.

Aside from all that, the BLE unit also includes the start of a shield ecosystem with protoboard shield and Grove shield that lets you plug in up to 18 Grove accessories into a single Bean+.

For those who are still gung-ho on the original Bean, not to worry. The Punch Through Design team says it’s here to stay and will actually undergo a transformation of its own later this year. Not before long, it receive all the new Bluetooth Low Energy capabilities, including ANCS and HID.

Looking for a BLE Arduino-like board for your next IoT project? Look no further than the LightBlue Bean+. Punch Through is currently seeking $30,000 on Kickstarter, and the first batch is expected to ship in December 2015.

Node.IT is like the LEGO for building IoT devices

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Node.IT is a super small and extendable Internet of Things system for Makers. 

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It’s safe to say that one size does not fit all when it comes to DIY electronics. This has led countless Makers to embrace interchangeable, easy-to-use components like littleBits when beginning to tinker around with an idea. With aspirations of becoming the LEGO for the Internet of Things, Pontus Oldberg has developed a family of modules with different functions that can be stacked to create wide range of smart projects.

The concept for Node.IT was first conceived following the launch of the highly-popular ESP8266, an inexpensive, self-contained Wi-Fi SoC. Oldberg and his team had explored various ways of interfacing the device to other processors, but not before long discovered that the chip was already powerful enough to perform most tasks. And so, the ESP8266 was chosen to be at the heart of Node.IT’s base controller, which packs 4Mb of Flash, an efficient voltage regulator and can be programmed via microUSB.

“We quickly realized that if we created a base controller with a minimum set of features such as the ESP8266, a USB to Serial transceiver and a simple voltage regulator you end up with a completely autonomous board that can be hooked up to a USB port and programmed directly, without any other circuitry,” Oldberg writes.

This steered its creators toward the ESP210, a 27mm x 17mm module complete with everything needed to configure the device and hook it up to a wireless network. While the MCU itself was very expandable and provided easy access to all the GPIOs of the processor, it was rather cumbersome to build some of the necessary add-ons. Subsequently, Oldberg designed what he calls the +One and WorkStation boards to establish an entire infrastructure around the ESP210.

Similar to the Microduino mCookie and several others, the +One boards can be stacked on top of one another with LEGO-like ease. There’s currently a handful of +Ones available, including a Li-ion charger, an enviornmental sensor, a GPIO expander, a four-channel 12/16-bit A/D converter, a battery-backed real-time clock, as well as a two-channel DC driver that is in the works.

The final member of the family, the WorkStation, acts as the carrier board for the entire Node.IT stack. Equipped with an Atmel | SMART SAM D10, these microcontrollers expand the ESP210 with up to eight analog (12- or 16-bit) ADC channels, eight normal GPIO lines, and six timer/counter/PWM pins.

“The +One boards works very much like Lego bricks in that they plug on to the headers of the ESP210. The WorkStation boards can be considered the reverse of the +One boards in that the ESP210 plugs in to the WorkStation board. This way we can build add-on boards that can build in every direction.”

Makers can code their devices using a custom Ecosphere program, which was built around the Arduino IDE. Oldberg shares, “Any software libraries that are required for +One or WorkStation boards or features required for the ESP210 to do its job will be developed for the Arduino SDK. By using the Arduino IDE and its vast library of functionality you as a developer have endless possibilities when it comes to develop functionality for your systems.”

Sound like an IoT system you’d like to try? Head over to its Kickstarter page here. You can also find all of the drivers and related software for the Node.IT project on its GitHub page.

Screwduino is an Arduino Uno-like board with screw terminals

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Screwduino takes the Arduino design and replaces the headers/pins with screw terminals. 

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Like countless other Makers out there, Doug Gilliland fell in love with the Arduino Uno for its simplistic functionality and rapid prototyping abilities. However, he quickly grew frustrated with some of their limitations, namely those associated with deploying a final project. What he found was that, as great as these boards may be, they lack useful mounting holes and fragility of pins in sockets, thereby making it difficult to implement in real world applications.

“We find most of the approaches to Arduino breadboarding annoying. They work okay if you don’t know what you want to make and you just want to mess around, but they are painful when you are ready to really make something useful,” its creator admits.

As a way to overcome this challenge, Gilliland did what any good Maker would do and decided to devise a DIY solution on his own. The aptly named Screwduino features four solid mounting holes, allowing for anywhere between four and 40 screws. Aside from that, it has 5mm screw terminal blocks that enable users to seamlessly wire up pretty much anything they’d like.

“We saw a screw shield and it looked like the ideal solution for loose wires and builder frustrations. Easy to connect with just a small screwdriver. No connectors to install for simple wiring but no accommodation for I2C connections. The stackup height has less of the same height problems as a sensor shield. The screw shields got me thinking,” Gilliland revealed when explaining his inspiration. “It’s a great idea, but why add the shield? Why not just take an Arduino design and replace the headers/pins with screw terminals?”

Based on an ATmega328, the Screwduino is equipped with an ICSP header for downloading programs, a reset switch, a recommended input voltage of 7-12V DC, a  power selection jumper (FTDI, regulator, screw terminals), a standard six-pin FTDI connector, as well as a four-pin I2C connector for easy attachment of an LCD display and other sensors. What’s more, Gilliland added 10K Ohm pullup resistors (R3 and R4) from the I2C SDA/SCL to +5V. This way, if the user chooses to forgo the resistors, they can snip them out of the circuit.

Gilliland advises using its through hole parts to make assembly a cinch. He adds, “The sole exception is the voltage regulator which is surface mount for heat transfer.”

Intrigued? Head over to the Screwduino’s Kickstarter page, where Gilliland and the Land Boards team are currently seeking $500.

Modulo is now based on the Atmel | SMART SAM D21

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Modulo is a simple, modular solution for Makers looking to build electronics.

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Back in May, former Pixar developer Erin Tomson unveiled a new set of plug-and-play boards designed to take the headache and hassle out of building electronics. Not long after its Kickstarter launch, Modulo flew by its $10,000 pledge goal having garnered over $50,000 from 315-plus backers. Since then, the Richmond, California-based startup has experienced tremendous popularity at Maker Faires and has even demonstrated its simplicity with some DIY projects of their own, ranging from a tea-brewing robot to a smart sous vide machine.

Essentially, Modulo is a series pre-made circuit boards that provides Makers with all of the necessary tools to bring their gizmos and gadgets to life, without the messiness of wiring and soldering. Each module is equipped with its own little processor (ATtiny841) that is tasked with handling its operation and communicating with a controller board. While the Modulo Controller had been built around the mighty ATmega32U4 for its crowdfunding debut, Tomson has since upgraded its design to include the much faster and powerful Atmel | SMART SAM D21 — the same Cortex-M0+ MCU at the heart of the Arduino Zero. What this means is that the Controller will work nicely with Arduino and will be well received by the flourishing DIY community.

“This new chip is four times faster, has eight times the Flash storage, and has 12 times the RAM of the ATmega32u4 used in earlier prototypes,” Tomson explains.

Using a connector on its back, Makers can slide their boards right into the so-called Modulo Base which securely holds them in place. Following a successful Kickstarter run, Tomson had decided to switch the connectors, both for attaching each Modulo to the base and for cables that link the bases together. These improved connectors are easier to assemble and more compact. Furthermore, those wishing to employ a Spark Core, Photo or Electron instead of the Controller can do so by selecting a Spark Base.

The Arduino-compatible Controller boasts six I/O ports that can be used as digital or analog inputs and digital outputs. Four of the six ports can even be used to control servos or output a PWM signal. Additionally, each port has its own power and ground pins to help keep things nice and neat, while circuitry on the board will protect it from any potential wiring mishaps.

Similar to other DIY dev kits like littleBits, Modulo features a number of different modules with varying capabilities. These include a color OLED display, a push-button illuminated knob, a motor driver, a thumb joystick, a temperature probe, I/O and extension cables, as well as an IR transceiver and a Blank slate that lets Makers devise circuits from scratch. Any four modules can be connected to the Base, or can be daisy chained together for larger projects.

The ARM Cortex-M0+ driven Controller can also act as a bridge, enabling users to manage their modules from Python running Raspberry Pi or a Mac, Windows or Linux computer. Beyond that, they can choose to use the Arduino IDE to reprogram the Controller or connect to the Internet via Spark. Communication between devices is accomplished through the standard I2C bus.

The Modulo Protocol allows for the Controller to dynamically discover connected devices, assign addresses, retrieve device capabilities and detect bus errors. It is an extension of I2C and can be utilized on a mixed ­protocol bus along with SMBus and traditional I2C devices.

“Modulo wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions of the open source community, so we’re giving back by open sourcing our protocols, hardware designs, firmware and libraries,” Tomson adds.

Those wishing to learn more, explore technical specs or pre-order a Modulo set can head over to its official website here.

15 smart crowdfunding campaigns you may want to back this week

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Every Friday, we’re taking a look at some of the smartest, most innovative projects that caught our attention on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the last seven days. 

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Opal

This countertop appliance can make a pound of chewable, craveable nugget ice in an hour. FirstBuild has already well surpassed its $150,000 goal on Indiegogo.

Arcano MIDI NES Chiptune Synthesizer

This AVR-based MIDI synth spark up some nostalgia by creating Nintendo-style chiptune music. Arcano Systems is currently seeking $1,000 on Kickstarter.

Mist

This smart sprinkler system tracks soil moisture, sun intensity and temperature data in real-time to automatically optimize irrigation for each part of your yard. Mist is currently seeking $45,000 on Indiegogo.

Bevel

This attachment turns your ordinary smartphone or tablet into an amazing 3D camera. Matter and Form is currently seeking $200,000 on Kickstarter.

CMYK 4.0

This electronic bike will inform you of the fastest, easiest and safest way to work. Brooklyness is currently seeking $30,000 on Indiegogo.

ZelosLaser

This open source desktop machine can engrave and laser cut a number of everyday materials such as plastic, wood, leather, paper and more. ZelosLaser is currently seeking $2,770 on Kickstarter.

AwareCar

This $9 BLE beacon and mobile app will let you know you where you parked and remind you to put change in the meter. AwareStack is currently seeking $15,000 on Kickstarter.

BlueMarble

This remote-controlled, modular irrigation platform delivers the right amount of water to your plants, flowers and grass. Deliberate Solutions is currently seeking $27,200 on Kickstarter.

Get It Back

This GPS tracking device allows skydivers to locate their cut-away canopies with any smartphone. Canopy is currently seeking $220,000 on Indiegogo.

Minim

This pocket-sized, wireless instrument is designed for making music on the go. Livid Instruments is currently seeking $40,000 on Kickstarter.

SunPort

This plug-in unit enables you to use solar energy instantly, without panels. SunPort is currently seeking $75,000 on Kickstarter.

Cerberus

This eight-slot 500 series chassis boasts an external power supply beefy enough to power 10 modules. Emanate Audio is currently seeking $40,000 on Kickstarter.

Heartpulse & Starpulse Headphones

This pair of headphones merges function and fashion with bright LEDs that pulse to the beat of your music. Jealous Angel Audio is currently seeking $38,000 on Indiegogo.

CydeKick Pro

This add-on, self-powered generator converts bicycling motion into electrical energy for charging your phone and powering your lights. Spinetics is currently seeking $85,000 on Kickstarter.

Thin Ice

This embedded weight-loss apparel hacks your metabolism to help you lose weight. Thin Ice is currently seeking $15,000 on Indiegogo.

Did you happen to miss last week’s notable campaigns? If so, you can check them out here. Also, if your project is powered by Atmel MCUs and you’ve been featured on our blog, be sure to download the respective badges here for use in your ongoing marketing efforts. 

Bevel brings 3D photography to your smartphone

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If a 2D picture can say a thousand words, how many can a 3D picture say?  

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Back in 2013, New York City startup Matter and Form launched a slick 3D scanner on Indiegogo. With aspirations of making the next-gen technology both affordable and accessible to everyone, the ATmega32U4 powered machine became an immediate hit garnering over $471,000 CAD. Two years later, the team has returned with hopes of putting the power of 3D into your hands, while capturing the world around you in new and innovative ways.

“When it comes to communicating visually, photos are great and video is even better. But the problem is we don’t live in a flat, two-dimensional world. It’s not our native dimension. When we communicate with ordinary photographs, we’re never really telling the whole story because the fact is, a photograph just isn’t the whole picture. But together, we can change that,” explains Drew Cox, founder and CEO of Matter and Form.

With this in mind, Bevel is the first attachment of its kind that transforms your smartphone or tablet’s 2D camera into three-dimensional tool. Simply plug the unit into the headphone jack of your Android or iOS device, and then pan the person place or thing, as if it were a regular photograph. Bevel uses an eye safe laser light, and the handheld gadget’s existing camera, to snap pictures in a whole new dimension. People, we’re talking 3D selfies here!

Just as digital cameras disrupted the popularity of 35mm film by providing an immediate type of photo processing and allowing for instant person­t-to-person sharing, 3D photography can potentially revolutionize the way experiences are shared across networks. Whether documenting for posterity, posting memorable events on social media, creating a character for a video game or inspecting an online purchase, the use cases for integrating 3D photographic technology into our daily lives are endless.

What’s more, you’ll soon be able to 3D print your images as well. However, the team admits that they are still working on figuring that out. “It’s important to us that there will be an integration with 3D printing in some way, but keep in mind Bevel is designed for creating Genuine 3D photographs. At the moment, the photos you take with the Bevel can be downloaded directly from Cashew as OBJ, STL, PLY and DAE. If Bevel is funded, we’re planning on working on a feature for Cashew, that will help make your models water tight.”

“My team and I think it’s ridiculous that 3D photography isn’t already a part of our everyday lives,” Cox adds. “The fact is that the technology exists, has been around for a while actually, but no one has taken the time to translate it into an accessible, user-friendly product. The Bevel will change the way we communicate by integrating 3D photography into our daily online conversations.”

Ready to capture pics in a new dimension? Head over to Bevel’s Kickstarter page, where the Matter and Form crew is currently seeking $200,000. Pending all goes well, delivery is expected to get underway in December 2015. 3D Christmas cards, anyone?