Seven Pieces of Tech to Spy and Entertain With
Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder
See a hot bird you like the look of? Wanna get up close with a camera but don’t know how to do it without scaring them away? The Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder solves all these issues by being fully rigged with cameras and microphones. It has solar charging, a water fountain, and a wall mount. Bird Buddy can recognise over 1,000 different birds and let you know when one has stopped in to steal all the bird seed. Not a single sparrow can double dip without you being sent into high alert as to its presence. Please note that high tech surveillance equipment will not dissuade bird thieves from taking your precious bird seed. We recommend keeping your precious seeds sealed for freshness and put at the back of the pantry where no winged thieves can get to it.
The Rabbler
Are you Simon Bridges circa 2018 having just any old conversation with Jami-Lee Ross? Terrified your evil plans are being recorded? You need The Rabbler! A little white noise machine that simulates a crowded room of people talking. It produces different tones and frequencies making recorded voices almost impossible to pick up in the hubbub. It uses a frequency range of 300Hz – 4600Hz. It’s compact (85x53x21mm) and runs on a single 9V battery. Whipping it out in an already busy cafe is a sure way to let people know “Oh wow those guys are up to something.”
Use it to put the kids asleep in a pinch!
Pricing starts at $400.
Bespoke AI Oven
Take the guesswork out of cooking stuff in the oven with the help of an AI developed by Samsung and a camera pointed right at your shepherds pie the entire time it carbonises. Installed in what Samsung calls The Bespoke AI Oven, AI can watch your meal for you as you set it going, even recommending settings for you, as it can recognise 80 different dishes and ingredients. If things get dicey inside, it’ll send you alerts letting you know you better deal with it ASAP. Other features include integrations with the SmartThings Cooking and Samsung Health apps which allows the Bespoke AI Oven to analyse users’ workout stats and diet goals to recommend meal options based on the ingredients they have at home.
Now when I muse to nobody in particular, “Now, what should I eat?” into the fridge, I can expect the oven to pipe up with a couple suggestions.
Design elements include a convenient Push to Open door and five different elegant options to blend the oven with any kitchen interior.
Mission Darkness Faraday Bag
I don’t need to know why you need to stop your phone’s signal from getting blasted everywhere. Perhaps you’re just sick and tired of getting pinged all day. This Faraday bag by Aus Security Products will have you sorted though. It completely blocks all wireless signals shielded, blocking anything from getting out, or more importantly IN to your phone. That means no access to your mic, camera, GPS, or data. Apparently law enforcement uses these bad boys to stop evidence tampering.
The outer layer is a water-resistant ballistic nylon. Inside it includes two layers of high-shielding TitanRF faraday fabric.
Prices start at a very reasonable $38.
LAAS Keyless O-Lock
Imagine a bike lock that didn’t need a key… Ok, imagine a bike lock that doesn’t need a code. Imagine a bike lock that needs your phone to unlock it remotely. Wow, well here it is, the LAAS Keyless O-Lock. Finally you can mess up even more of your day if you lose your phone. The O-Lock can remotely unlock your bike in about 3 seconds after a simple tap. Sharing the lock with friends and family is easy, as you can share the encrypted key with anyone you trust. It’s made of hardened stainless steel, bringing it up to specs of dumblocks.
Use of the lock will also log activity into your app. So you can see how often it’s used. With the minimum of electronics imbedded in it, the developers have tried making a device that won’t wear out anytime soon. Battery life is about two years and take those squat little CR123 batteries. It comes in three colourways to give you a few options to match with your bike.
Air Drumming
First synths removed the need for a bulky drum setup. Now they’re removing the need for any kit at all.
Airsticks look like a pair of bulky drumsticks that use three dimensional movement to trigger and morph their sounds. Slapping in different direction results in different mapped sounds while moving the sticks backwards and forwards away from your body is all you need to be able to tune, sustain and morph the samples as they’re played. They’re intuitive enough for beginners to pick up and play with, while having a high enough skill ceiling for seasoned musicians to bring a little something extra to their acts. You do look kind of like an insane person waving a bunch of sticks around in the air though.
Uphold The Spoon
Travel cutlery has never looked so high tech. Packing away into a tidy little package, the Uphold – Pocket-Size Reusable Folding Travel Cutlery is a little marvel of design. Simply whip out the small credit card-sized container and pop out all your required elements. Then origami together all the separate little pieces until you’ve constructed some cutlery that looks like it belongs to the Transformers. Sets cost roughly $60 and the build is made of a mixture of Titanium, Aluminium and food-grade TPU/TPE. This is perfect for people who want to cut down on single use plastics on long haul flights or people travelling abroad who are paranoid they may be served a meal without cutlery at any moment.
kickstarter.com/profile/uphold/created
