Nerd Stalker

Autonomous Releases World's First AI Trash Can  What goes in the Blue container? What goes in the Green container? What goes in the Black container. Well, Autonomous has got your back with the launch of OSCAR.  Known for their ergo office furniture, Autonomous has launched OSCAR on Kickstarter. Autonomous points out that " At the moment, roughly  1 in every 4  items we put in our recycling bins isn’t actually recyclable, so it contaminates what can be recycled, so we send off the whole lot to the landfill."  The Kickstarter site says " Powered by  Artificial Intelligence , and using a custom-built neural network to identify each piece of trash, and sorts it into two compartments -  Recyclable and Non-Recyclable." We rate this 5 stars on the Nerd Index. Check it out.

SHIKUMI DESIGN's Launches a Motion Music Composer Called KAGURA KAGURA Screen (courtesy of SHIKUMI DESIGN) No musical talent? At the last  J-POP SUMMIT Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco, we found a unique musical composer called KAGURA (KA-GU-RA) that does need knowledge of a major or a minor chord. KAGURA is a motion interface for musical sounds where one uses the motion of the body to initiate sounds. Sounds can be defined in many ways. The demo at J-POP SUMMIT was percussion or drums but can be defined with many different instruments and instruments you can import through. You can also use KAGURA if you know music as well. With a Digital Audio Workstation(DAW) and KAGURA and a mixer an interesting mix of dance and music can be created.  The key technology for the KAGURA motion interface either by webcam or Intel's RealSense technology which uses three cameras - an HD camera, IR camera and Laser projector. SHIKUMI DESIGN in partnership with DMM-make has an act...

Perseus Mirrors Launches Smart Mirror on Kickstarter Today Everyone’s favorite topic? Themselves, of course!  So it’s no surprise that a recent poll found that the average person spends more than 38 minutes in front of the mirror every day. Perseus Mirrors , a startup based in New York, is claiming that they can help users look and feel better by making the most of this time. The team has recently announced plans to release the world's first consumer focused smart mirror. This device features a built in display and wifi connection, allowing users to display relevant information and to stream audio and video straight to their mirror.

Girls Pursing Science Introduces a Cosmetic Beauty Chemistry Kit to Encourage Young Girls into Science Today, we talk about STEAM - no not the gaming platform. It means S cience T echnology E ngineering A rt & M athematics which promotes the intersection of art and technology. One of the organizations leading the way for young women and girls, especially those in the disadvantaged minority category, is Girls Pursuing Science . We talk with J acquelyn Thomas , founder of Girls Pursuing Science on the Kickstarter campaign - BOS Chemistry Kit . This kit is built to encourage young girls towards science using their lifestyle as a backgrop. Check it out!

Indie Game Developer Chris de Castro Shares Lessons Learned In another episode of Kickstarter Unboxed, we talk with indie game developer Chris de Castro who shares five big learnings of crowdfunding wisdom about his successful Kickstarter campaign with his indie game "The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods". Check out below what Chris can share with other indie game developers on crowdfunding.

This Kickstarter Unboxed segment takes on a different twist. First, we will introduce Philipp Sonnleitner of Mikme and he will talk about the genesis of Mikme as well as the product itself. If you haven't heard of Mikme, it is a high-quality bluetooth wireless microphone. Mikme  doesn't look like you traditional microphone...it actually looks like the mini-me version of a Crate Amplifier  or a small speaker and this is by design. But, Mikme is not just a microphone but Philipp says it is a shortened process to make music, podcasts or video. We also got Philipp to share their product journey and insights going from the popular Kickstarter platform to their successful Indiegogo campaign. If you are thinking of a crowdfunding campaign, Philipp has some lessons-learned for you.

We get some interesting people and products come across our nerdy desk. What if you had a input device that would work on you smartphone, pad , TV and computer? And...what if that same input device doesn't have to touch our phone or tablet screen. Well, that's what Phree is. Phree is an input device that actually works on any surface via patented optical technology. We caught up with co-founder and CEO, Gilad Lederer of OTM Technologies , the designer and maker of Phree at the popular Galvanize Cafe in San Francisco on a quick 48 hour drop-in visit. The Phree device (sounds strange huh?) detects motion in three dimensions unlike mice or touch pads which only have two dimensions. Currently, Phree is on its last legs of its successful Kickstarter campaign  which has shattered its initial goals. Get some insights from Gilad as he talks about the technology and Kickstarter.

Dark Deception is back on Kickstarter Help support their quest to build an amazing VR horror experience! Dark Deception has been completely rebuilt and is better than ever. They've added a ton of new features and levels, but they need your help to make sure they can deliver the best experience possible!   Go back them   and help spread the word to other gamers oh and enjoy the nightmares.

We continue our Kickstart Unboxed series on Kickstarter entrepreneurs and their stories. Earlier this year, a supposed unvalidated claim of a refrigerator sending spam email was reported. In the Internet of Things(IOT) era, security, virus and malware vulnerability is a possibilty. We found a product on Kickstarter, called  iGuardian , which stops viruses and malware before they enter your home network device. We speak with Jock Breitwieser (Bright-wise-er) and Daniel Ayoub of itus Networks and creators of iGuardian. Daniel and Jock give a glimpse of their so-far successful Kickstarter campaign. Listen to their learnings about Kickstarter.

How do you track your things that have legs or wheels? You need real-time GPS, cellular and Bluetooth tracking. This is the product promise of the Total POM. We talk with Shaun Alexander of Total POM where he discusses Total POM and also his insights into their first Kickstarter campaign. 

Tonight we interviewed Jason Browne, CEO and co-founder, of SPOR Chargers . His SPOR team has developed a portable battery charging device which is recharged by solar or wall charging. This product is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign which is running till June 30. The interesting part of this story, is that Jason is a business major from Drexel has learned the ins and out of his product just by access to the internet and learning from makers. Yes, you can learn from the internet. Listen to his great entrepreneurial story below.

Shot Stats Challenger fits on any tennis racket and reveals key stats about your swing. Challenger finally allows you to instantly view your stats after every swing. Off court, you can sync Challenger with your phone or computer to view and track your improvement over time. Challenger fits onto your racket like a normal dampener. An integrated latch lets you remove Challenger from your racket in seconds, but ensures that it will never come off on its own. The angular design and matte black finish resemble an object that’s constantly in stealth mode. Turn Challenger on and a bright display appears – your window into your game. Your racket takes a lot of abuse – and so can Challenger thanks to its high-strength aircraft aluminum body. DATA APP Unlike other activity trackers, Challenger can be used standalone. You don’t need to have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop to see your stats! However, if you do have a mobile device, your data can really be brought to life. Tracking ...

We start a new segment on the entrepreneurs and dreamers who are on Kickstarter. Kickstarter, which is known as the " Lab for Daring Prototypes and Ingenious Products", recently won the best overall startup at this year's Crunchies. But, data recently has been exposed only 1 in 3 Kickstarter games actually deliver on the promise . Nevertheless, we interview the entrepreneurs and their stories on their Kickstarter campaign. In this episode, we interview Zach Vorhies and Murat Ozkan, founder and co-founder of Zackees the maker of the turn-signal glove about the mysteries of Kickstarter and their desire to be on the " Shark Tank " TV show.

listen to ‘Petcube - The internet of things, and pets? #appsworld’ on Audioboo Nerd Stalker interview with Yaroslav Azhnyuk CEO of  Petcube . Petcube is a gadget that allows people to watch, talk and play with pets remotely, using the smartphone. It consists of a video camera, a movable laser pointer and a microcomputer, connected to via wifi. The smartphone app displays a video stream from the camera, allowing user to talk to the pet and move a laser dot – a favorite toy for cats and dogs. Withe the Petcube app one can share access with friends and family or even make the device public for a limited time. Users can take photos or short videos of gaming sessions and share it. Form Factor Cubic form (4 x 4 x 4 inches), aluminum and glass with customizable skins. Petcube uses low intensity laser which is not harmful for pet's eyes even in the case of direct contact.

Nerd Stalker interview with Dennis List of Dutch startup Rocki , forgive the video quality (or just listen to the audio version under the video above) we were at the mercy of hotel lobby wifi. Rocki has created a very clever small and lightweight device that can jump on wireless networks and execute instructions via the web to play audio to any speaker it's connected to. Want to connect speakers all over your compound? Just connect more Rocki's and your all set. With Rocki you can have more than one phone controlling the music and create a music queue together, think dj battle. The silicon like cover comes in seven different colors and (as of this post) the device is sold for the very less than Sonos price of $49 (plus version) or $89 (play plus version). The device can fit in the palm of your hand and is extremely light. Some future plans for Rocki are to solidify some partnerships with as many music providers as possible, think Spotify and the others. Also they say...

This Week’s Nerd Stalker Picks: Yahoo Tells SEC: 31% Of Our Revenue Comes From Microsoft (Danny Sullivan/Search Engine Land) http://bit.ly/18AUaKC Meet the pitcher: HOT Smartwatch CEO @Shariq_Hamid pitches on 12.11 at sfnt ow.ly/rwnea (SocialGreg/Nerd Stalker) Yahoo acquires QuikIO, yet another startup to add to its video team (Hamish McKenzie/PandoDaily) http://bit.ly/18ATaWT Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner (Steven Shankland/CNET) http://buff.ly/18lhePG Microsoft may finally bring back full Start menu with Windows 8.2 http://bit.ly/19eUW0D The Pirate Bay (Domain) Flees To A Volcanic Island (Luke Plunkett/Kotaku) http://buff.ly/18lho9I Speed Round: "Meet Kubo, The Crowdfunded Electric Cargo Scooter Made By Lit Motors" (Colleen Taylor/TechCrunch) feedly.com/k/1hLoOWS The 9 best-selling smartphones in Japan are all iPhones http://bit.ly/1f4FN28 Zackees: Bicyclist's Safety Just Went Up a Couple of Notches nerdstalker.com/...

Episode 1 of Everybody Game is live! Watch it now and kudos to Carlos Rondela for getting this Kickstarter project off the ground and running.

listen to ‘Track your posture via iOS with Lumo #ifan13’ on Audioboo Listen to our interview with Charles Wang of LUMOback and see our Unboxing below. If you are a biohacker your gonna dig the LUMOback. Watch the video below to see how cool the ui is because me telling you its a stick figure who changes color based on your posture does not do it justice. The LUMOback is a clever device that tracks your posture, you wear a sensor belt which sends the information to your ios device via Bluetooth.

Most of the time when you think of the "Digital Divide", you may think more of the economics of the "haves" and "have nots." The "Digital Divide" is really about accessibility for groups no matter what the cause. A release caught my eye this week that will address this divide for seniors. It has been documented that getting grandma and grandpa on-line can help things like depression and cognitive skills .