Universal Translators, Pong In The 3rd Dimension And All The Tech You Need For 2020
Armed & Dexterious
I know you’re exactly like me and have always wanted your very own robotic arm to mess around with. The INNFOS GLUON is the answer to this dream. It’s a modular desktop collaborative robotic arm, perfect for prototyping, photography, STEM & nerds like us.
It can do camera tracking, grab stuff, paint, 3D print things, laser engrave and even do processing assembly.
It’s got collision detection and weighs just 2.5kg. Bolted down it has a 1kg lift strength and with the help of zero force control and a clever teaching mode, you can move the arm around by hand to program it’s movements if you just need something simple achieved.
One of these will only set you back about US$579.
Stellar Views
That old telescope you inherited as a kid doesn’t have nothin’ on Stellina, the portable observation station. It has automated star pointing, so finding a nebulae or galaxy to marvel at has literally never been easier than this. With the help of a high performance Sony CMOS image sensor, a refractor-reflector system (whatever that is), and an internal 4 core 1.4Ghz GPU you can capture startlingly great images of the universe we inhabit. Make a night of it with friends, sharing what Stellina has spied with up to 20 other people on their phones.
vaonis.com/stellina
Never Lost in Translation
It’s a new year so that’s enough of an excuse to get out and see the world. If you feel yourself being a little cautious about visiting a non-English speaking country, maybe take your new friend, Pocketalk with you. It’s a two way translation device which can pipe a multilinguial conversation between 74 different languages, which gives you access to 128 countries.
With dual microphones and noise cancellation, you can speak like normal in public. It has seven hours of usage time or 10 days in sleep mode. Unfortunately, it does require a WiFi or mobile hotspot to reach its full potential. So you’re really up sh*t creek if you try using this up the Amazon.
pocketalk.net
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Start your morning with the Barisieur Rubber Wood Coffee and Tea Alarm Clock. It’s the one alarm clock you won’t chuck across the room when it goes off, waking you up to the bubble of hot water and aroma of freshly brewed coffee. It can store a week’s worth of coffee in its reservoir and its smart refrigeration keeps milk perfectly chilled and ready to go at a moment’s notice. When you aren’t making coffee with it, you can also pretend you’re in a laboratory.
joyresolve.com
Sounds That Look Good
I can see you doing a double take already. Bose? Sunglasses? Aren’t they the sound guys? They are and these sunglasses are firmly in their wheelhouse. You can’t tell from a casual glance, but these stylish classic sunnies have built-in Bose speakers hidden in the temples. Bose promises that you’ll be hearing rich, immersive sound, while passers by will hear practically nothing. Of course, these things are going to have more audio leak than your bog standard earphones, so you’re still going to be annoying on the bus. But damn, you’re going to look good strolling down the beach relaxing to your own tunes without having your ears completely blocked up.
bose.co.uk
The Wallet of Power
If your wallet ONLY contains your bank accounts and proof of your identification, then you’re living in the past. These days a real wallet can also charge your phone. That’s what the XWallet tries to achieve at least. Made by Plusus the XWallet might be the worlds only wirelessly charging wallet. It can charge any Qi compatible phone (iPhone 8 and up, Samsung Note 8 and up) through 3mm phone protectors with its 3200 mAh capacity, 5 Watt output/input battery. When it runs out of charge, just wirelessly charge it back up again (with your other wallet!). Made of genuine Italian leather, it can also store up to 4 cards, fancy that.
plusus.com.au
Typewriters Gone Bluetooth
Are you a harrowed and haunted writer, dipping your cigarettes in your whisky, waiting for a dame to come through the door and blow your writers block away? Don’t let a regular computer keyboard ruin the look. The Qwerkywriter mechanical keyboard brings the noir look into the 21st century. Sure, it isn’t lightweight and transportable (although you can get a classy carry-case for it), but you’ll feel way cooler typing onto your iPad now. It’s built from a new scratch resistant aluminum alloy and comes with an integrated tablet stand. The scroll knobs on the side aren’t just for show, they can control volume and page scrolling, depending on what you want to achieve. This is the keyboard you buy when you want to make a statement.
qwerkywriter.com
Music in Style
Add a little style to your living room with the R5 High Fidelity Music System. Based off the larger flagship model of the R7, the R5 has all the bells, whistles and style of its big brother, but in a slightly smaller package, allowing it to work in a range of spaces. It’s also multi-room ready and can sync with its counterparts spread around the house. This isn’t your standard Bluetooth unit. It’s built with quality in mind, from the subwoofer all the way through to its lightweight cone assembly. It also comes with a dial remote that matches the one embedded into the unit itself.
ruarkaudio.com
Straps for the Strapless
Wires on your earphones are a contentious subject and if you’re still using an iPhone, you probably don’t have a whole lot of choice when it comes to the matter. Apple may have taken your wires, but Nordstrom has taken the whole thing full circle with these AirPod Carrying Straps.
Just magnetically lock your AirPods to these classy leather straps and party like it’s 2016. Available in black or white, the memes you’ll get out of these things are priceless.
shop.nordstrom.com
The Big Reveal
At this point, this only thing in your house that hasn’t been fully automated is your curtains. Oh wait, yes they have. Meet the SwitchBot Curtain robot. A little wireless device that latches onto your curtain rails and opens and draws your curtains for you. Controllable via your phone, you can open and draw your curtains from anywhere on the planet. Handy for deterring burglars, or at least convincing them your house is possessed. Compatible with devices such as Amazon Echo, you can even control them via voice control!
It has 8 months of charge, but an attachable solar strip can keep it charged indefinitely. Now that’s what I call no fuss!
switch-bot.com
Pong In the Third Dimension
It’s a walk in the park to embed a digital screen into a coffee table and add a couple buttons on either side. But the lads at the Table Pong Project are engineers with no time for software that’s been around forever. They’ve brought pong to life via motors, rails, pulleys, and magnets. Five motors drive the mechanism combining logic to simulate the 2D physics of the original game. The ball and the paddles are all controlled by magnets underneath. Panels on either side of the table flip out to reveal the controls, which are tidily tucked away when you’re using it as a regular coffee table. A bluetooth speaker is built in, as well as 6 USB slots so everyone can charge their phones while having a yarn, or doing a game.
tablepongproject.com