Botvac Connected lässt sich per Sprachsteuerung durch Alexa kontrollieren

Newark, CA / München, 22. November 2016 – Neato Robotics, einer der weltweit innovativsten Hersteller von smarten Haushaltsrobotern, hat heute angekündigt, dass der mehrfach ausgezeichnete Neato Botvac™ Connected als erster Roboterstaubsauger von Neato jetzt auch mit der digitalen Sprachassistentin Alexa von Amazon gesteuert werden kann. Die Anweisungen werden über die stationären Lautsprecher Echo und Echo Dot ausgegeben.

amazon-alexa
„Die Innovationen von Neato lassen das Smart Home Realität werden. Der Botvac Connected mit Alexa-Unterstützung manifestiert unsere Vision des SmartLife™ – der Weg zum Smart Living führt über modernste Technologien, die das Leben einfacher machen sollen“, erklärt Giacomo Marini, Chairman und CEO von Neato Robotics.
Das Smart Home wird für Konsumenten ein immer relevanteres Thema, denn sie erkennen die Vorzüge intelligent vernetzter Geräte, mit denen sie ihr Zuhause verwalten können. Alexa zum Beispiel hilft dabei, auf Zuruf das Licht auszuschalten oder eine Pizza zu bestellen. Jetzt kann Alexa auch den Neato Botvac Connected per Sprachsteuerung dirigieren. Dafür braucht es nur einen Sprachbefehl wie „Alexa, sag Neato bitte, dass er mit dem Staubsaugen beginnen soll“ – und schon erledigt. Einfache Dinge zu tun, ist erst der Anfang.
Die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten sind unerschöpflich. Wenn der Neato Botvac Connected bereits am Saugen ist und das Telefon klingelt, reicht die Ansage „Alexa, bitte sag Neato, dass er eine Pause machen soll“ – nach dem Telefonat einfach wieder den Befehl zum Weitermachen geben. Das Zusammenspiel von Neato und Alexa macht es möglich, andere Dinge zu tun und gleichzeitig den Botvac Connected via Sprache zu steuern – und damit dem Ziel des SmartLife näher zu kommen.

Der Neato Botvac Connected
Die Unterstützung von Amazon Alexa ist sofort bei Neato verfügbar. Der via Alexa Sprachsteuerung kontrollierbare Botvac Connected ist der aktuell leistungsfähigste Roboterstaubsauger von Neato. Um die Vorteile der neuen Alexa Skill nutzen zu können, muss nur die Alexa App auf dem Smartphone gestartet werden. „Smart Home“ im Navigationsmenü auf der linken Seite auswählen, dann „Get More Smart Home Skills“ und anschließend „Neato“ suchen. Neben dem Neato Botvac Connected ist ein Alexa-fähiges Gerät wie Amazon Echo oder Echo Dot erforderlich.
Dank der patentierten LaserSmart™-Technologie scannt der Botvac Connected den Raum und teilt ihn in Reinigungsquadrate, um ihn anschließend systematisch zu reinigen. Auf diese Weise wird jeder Raum kartiert, sodass sämtliche Möbel, Durchgänge sowie Treppen von erfasst werden. Die Kombination aus Laser Scanning, Room Mapping sowie einer Echtzeit-Hinderniserkennung garantieren eine effiziente sowie gründliche Reinigung. Sollte sich dem Roboterstaubsauger plötzlich ein Hindernis in den Weg stellen, wird dieses anhand der Echtzeit-Raumerkennung sogar im Dunkeln erkannt und sofort umfahren. Gepaart mit der einzigartigen D-Form des Neato und der CornerClever™-Technologie wird das Kraftpaket zum unentbehrlichen Helfer im Haushalt. Durch sein Design gelangt er problemlos in alle Ecken des Raumes und fährt besonders nah an den Wänden entlang. Dank der extra großen Bürsten und des großen Schmutzbehälters schafft der Neato Botvac Connected in einem Reinigungszyklus mehr Quadratmeter als jeder andere Roboterstaubsauger.
Verfügbarkeit
Alle aktuellen und neuen Besitzer eines Botvac Connected haben Zugriff auf die Amazon Alexa Skill – in den USA und Großbritannien sofort und in Deutschland Ende des Jahres.

Über Neato Robotics:
Neato Robotics mit Sitz im Silicon Valley, Kalifornien, wurde 2009 mit dem Ziel gegründet, Roboter zu entwickeln, die Hausarbeit so intelligent wie Menschen erledigen. Neato arbeitet an der Verbesserung der Zeitersparnis der Verbraucher, sodass weniger Zeit für Reinigung und dafür mehr Zeit mit Familie und Freunden zur Verfügung steht. Mit seinen Staubsaugrobotern bietet Neato innovative Produkte, die intelligenter, leistungsfähiger und effektiver sind als andere auf dem Markt erhältliche Staubsaugroboter.
Weitere Informationen zu den neuen Modellen sowie zu weiteren Geräten der Neato-Familie erhalten Sie hier: www.neatorobotics.com/de

Revolutionizing Consumer Technology: a Robot that Doubles as a Self Moving Suitcase

Technology is rapidly evolving and changing the way that we go about living our daily lives. We’re living in an era were phones are able to do thousands of different things and cars can drive by themselves. Yet for all of this innovation, traveling and carrying things with you has remained relatively the same over the last couple of decades. Luggage hasn’t benefited from the rapid technological advances of the 21st century.

That is until now. Travelmate is a new type of robot that doubles as an affordable self moving suitcase. It moves by itself and thinks for itself thanks to a variety of sensors and integrated artificial intelligence. It’s fully autonomous, meaning that it moves on its own through all types of terrain. Travelmate easily navigates through crowds, uneven environments and other obstacles.

This robot doesn’t need any extra accessories and uses your smartphone’s location to follow you around. It adjusts to your speed and can go up to 6.75 mph, so it’ll never be far behind. It also has LED indicators which will show you where it’s planning to go.

David Near, Travelmate’s CEO, says that, “one of our top priorities is to make sure that Travelmate is as secure as possible”. That’s why you can see exactly where it is at all times through the Travelmate app on your smartphone. If someone else wants to take your Travelmate, it will sense that it isn’t following you anymore and will lock its wheels, which will prevent it from being moved. You can also activate audible alarms through the Travelmate app. These security features mean that it’s virtually impossible to lose it.

Travelmate has plenty of features. It has managed to re-invent the wheel – literally. Travelmate uses unique omni wheels that allow for precise adjustments in movement. It has such an incredible range of movement that it can turn 360 degrees without moving from its place.

You can tell your Travelmate to follow you from the side, from the front or from the back through the Travelmate application.

Travelmate is an autonomous suitcase, but it’s also the first affordable all purpose robot. It has the potential for hundreds of features and real world applications. It can be a camera operator, security robot, or a robot companion. There’s no limit to the potential that Travelmate has.

That’s in large part due to the team behind this one of a kind suitcase. Travelmate Robotics was formed as a separate company to launch consumer robots at an affordable price point. They’ve been developing Travelmate for over a year before officially announcing it. Their team consists of developers who have been manufacturing autonomous commercial robots for 8 years. They include robotics specialists, designers and even people who’ve worked on prototypes for space exploration rovers.

So it’s no wonder why Travelmate is so innovative and unique. You can pre-order a Travelmate right now through indiegogo at a starting price point of 399$. However, this price might not last long, because distributors are already in contact with Travelmate Robotics.

Distributors in more than 30 countries are already in negotiations to carry their suitcase in their stores. What that means is that pre ordering now may be your only chance to get one at such a low price. David Near says that, “we’re very happy that investors and distributors have expressed interest in our company. We are always open towards new partnerships and proposals”.

In any case, traveling is about to get a whole lot easier. Technology is constantly moving us forward and Travelmate is at the forefront of that.

https://igg.me/at/travelmate/x/4781251

WiLoader: The WiFi Programmer for Arduino & AVR

WiLoader is the new generation of programmers that uses WiFi instead of cables to Program, control and monitor Arduino boards and AVR based Robots over WiFi.

Introducing WiLoader, The new generation of programmers:

WiLoader easily connects to existing WiFi network, so developers can program their AVR microcontrollers, Arduino boards and Robots over WiFi. It doesn’t need any kind of cable for computer connection, especially USB ones. Because it employs WiFi, even smartphone can be used to configure, communicate, control and monitor targets via a WiFi-UART bridge.

WiLoader is embedded inside Arduino IDE

WiLoader is easy to set up, use and control. Since Arduino is an open source software and also has a lot of cool features and rich libraries, PetuniaTech will release a software patch for Arduino IDE to support and handle all WiLoader capabilities. WiLoader can be chosen like any other programmers inside the Tools menu. It is compatible with all operating systems and it performs flawlessly.

WiLoader has a WiFi-UART bridge called WiCOM. Users can send and receive serial data over WiFi by connecting WiLoader dedicated serial pins to AVR UART pins (RX, TX). Just like other COM ports that Arduino serial monitor uses for communicating and debugging MCUs.

Robotics is easier with WiLoader !

WiLoader is wise choice when developers and hobbyist are working with robots or any kind of portable devices. It can program target boards on the go without stopping and connecting it to a computer every time. Users can even create a customized app for PC or smartphones to control their robots by sending commands over WiFi. Also this WiFi-UART Bridge can be used to monitor robot status and sensor values.

PetuniaTech has launched WiLoader campaign on Kickstarter. WiLoader is selected as “Project We Love” by Kickstarter too. Backers can pledge to this project until November 7th and choose different rewards such as single WiLoader pack and WiFi Robot Kit. A free eBook named “Connected Robots” will be available for Robot Kit backers too.

WiLoader Campaign Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petuniatech/wiloader-the-wifi-programmer-for-avr

Building Internet-connected robots in an easy way? CORE2 is the answer.

February 2015. Kickstarter campaign of „RoboCORE: the heart of your personal robot” has just started. RoboCORE promises that building consumer robots based on this platform will be much simpler and cheaper than using existing alternatives. 30 days later, with almost $60 000 and 311 backers, campaign is successfully ended. Further R&D, manufacturing, beta tests and RoboCOREs finally goes into the hands of robotic enthusiasts around the world. Since then, thanks to the feedback from hundreds of people, Husarion ecostystem for IoT in robotics has highly evolved and improved. Now this is a stable technology, used by universities, makers and developers. It was time to improve the device and make RoboCORE 2.0. So there it is, named Husarion CORE2: controller for automation & robotics.

 

Husarion CORE2          RoboCORE

Building Internet-connected products, especially if they aim is not only to store the data, but also to control physical things in real-time, is challenging. Husarion’s mission is to lower entry barrier for new ventures in the area of automation & robotics, as much as possible. They shouldn’t focus on technical issues, but on their customers’ problemssays Dominik Nowak, CEO of Husarion.

Many Kickstarter funded companies decide to launch the next generation of their products also on this platform. Husarion has a different attitude: they don’t promise the miracles, but they give technology that simply works.

If you order now, on the next day your CORE2 will be shipped to you, and all ‘how-to-start’ materials, hardware & software documentations are already available at docs.husarion.com.  
Husarion ecosystem overview:

What is special in Husarion’s product? It is not a single product, but a coprehensive solution for companies and developers who build various mechatronic Internet of Things products. Mechatronic means combinations of mechanics and electronics. This is a wider concept than robotics, beacuse apart from robotic lawnmower or telepresence robots, it also includes Internet-connected door lock, electric roller blinds etc.  

Husarion provides 3 elements for IoT mechatronic design:

  1. reference hardware, such as CORE2, RoboCORE and other available in the near future,
  2. cloud platform to control, update firmware, manage and share connected devices,
  3. programming framework to write a code that runs on hardware and communicate with a cloud.

The users have access to many examples, professional Real-Time OS based C++ 11 framework and versatile hardware, therefore building working prototype is a piece of cake.

Product is adressed not only to makers, but also for companies. They could use CORE2 to rapidly prototype  a preliminary design, and Husarion would help them to elaborate the prototype to mass production ready version. This way they would create the version of CORE2 suited for their product.

Husarion provides also an interface for people who don’t build robots, but just use them. By logging to cloud.husarion.com you can simply add a Husarion-powered device(e.g. made on CORE2) to your user account and see list of your devices:

When you click on device name in the cloud, you will be moved to the user interface specific for this device, created by robot vendor using Husarion framework. If you log into telepresence spy robot, you will see something like this:

If you log into your Husarion powered home automation system, it can look like this:

Husarion enables sharing of user’s devices. It can be done in two ways: by sharing with other cloud user or through the link. Especially the second option is convenient because you can easily give somebody the access to your robot without logging into Husarion cloud.

Husarion provides solution for makers, robot manufacturers, universities, and non-engineeres who want to play with controllable robots. Husarion’s platform is the first one of this kind on the market.


Husarion CORE2

General overview of Husarion ecosystem is described in the previous section. Now let’s dive deeper into Husarion CORE2 hardware details. Specification shown on https://docs.husarion.com/hardware/core2_1_0_0/index.html gives you a glimpse on what’s inside:

The unique feature of CORE2 hardware is a direct support for DC motors with quadrature encoders. Up to 4 motors can be connected at once, and Husarion framework is optimized to control them in real-time without wasting processing power of CPU. It could be done thanks to hardware encoder interface peripherals integrated into timers of STM32F4 microcontroller – the brain of Husarion CORE2. Motors are controlled by PID regulators implemented in background RTOS tasks, separate for each motor. In many professional applications the popular RC servos aren’t enough. Thanks to CORE2, you can easily convert any DC motor with encoder into servo-mechanism that works in accordance with your requirements. If built-in H-bridges don’t suffice, external power driver can be easily integrated.

CORE2 has also the interfaces that allow connecting almost every market-available sensor, or external electronic module. These interfaces are: UART, I2C, SPI, CAN, ADC, microSD card slot, USB host, GPIOs, ADCs, external interrupt inputs, and servo ports powered by built-in DC/DC converter with selectable voltage level.

There are two ways to develop software for CORE2:

  1. a) offline – using any IDE and SDK downloaded from https://husarion.com/downloads,
  2. b) online – using a Web IDE integrated to cloud.husarion.com.

Especially the second option is very comfortable, because it allows you to start writing code immediately, without struggles with configuring IDE, installing drivers etc.

Husarion team is doing their best to create comprehensible hardware and software documentation with a lot of examples and ready-to-use templates. They also opened public profile at hackster.io, where Husarion team and community share tutorials on how to use CORE2 in various IoT mechatronic projects.

Robomotive Labratories introduces immersive reality robot

Cincinnati-based Entrepreneur launches Kickstarter campaign to bring ‘mimic’ innovation to more people

Cincinnati, OH (Oct.1, 2016) – Robomotive Laboratories is changing the way the world sees robotics with the introduction of their transformative new robot, mimic. Today, the Cincinnati-based small family business launched a new Kickstarter campaign (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/713401305/mimic-immersion-robot) to help advance the development and production of the new technology.

Mimic represents a technological breakthrough in the way people interact with a robot. Through a series of interfaces and controls, the user is transported and able to see what mimic sees, do what mimic does, feel what mimic feels, and go where mimic goes.

“After a successfully-funded Doorbell Phone campaign on Kickstarter, I began to indulge in my love of robotics and introduced the Cortex:Robot Arm controller,” said Brett Pipitone, founder of Robomotive Laboratories. “We continued to develop the technology by adding joints, cameras and motion and soon realized that we had developed something truly unique: The mimic robot was born.”

The key to bringing mimic to life is the mimic arm controller with patent-pending Posi-Feel grip controllers. The user wears a device that allows the seamless control of mimic’s arms and grippers by moving his or her own hands and arms in natural ways while holding two simple handles with trigger style grip controllers. A series of joints, pivots and sensors are built onto the mimic Arm Controller to make this possible.

Mimic can also move around on its own power, controlled by the user with an IRS based foot controller. The user places both feet on the controller and tilts the device forward, back, left, or right to command mimic’s movements in natural, hands free ways.

To complete the user’s sense of immersion, immersion goggles receive 3D video from a pair of cameras in mimic’s eyes. Not only does the user see what mimic sees in vibrant 3D, but using a series of sensors and motors the user’s head motion is duplicated by mimic’s head, allowing the user to change view by simply moving his or her head.

This assemblage of new technologies allows the user to see the world from a fresh, new point of view- that of a 12 inch tall, wide-eyed, rotund little robot. In the words of Robomotive Laboratories founder Brett Pipitone „mimic represents a technological breakthrough in think about human interfaces by adapting the robot to the user, rather than the other way around.“

Robomotive Laboratories realized early that a single version of the mimic robot would not fit all users needs, so backers have a choice of four versions of the robot, each design with a different use in mind.

  • The mimic:maker version comes in kit form for the user to assemble. The kit includes a robot with two arms and grippers, as well as a mimic arm controller. The kit does not include a body, however, so the user can tailor the robot to their needs or to make something new. For even more flexibility, all the electronic inputs and outputs are exposed to be manipulated or utilized by the user, including record and playback through an on board SD card. „The future is being invented in basements, garages, and maker spaces all over the world. That’s where mimic was born, and mimic:maker is a chance for other tinkerers to use and improve it,“ says Pipitone.
  • The mimic:play comes as a fully assembled robot, including the 12- degrees-of-freedom arm controller. While mimic:play doesn’t have as many features as some offerings, it’s just as adorable and its simplicity makes it more accessible for some users. Fun features like the mimic arm controller, Posi-Feeel grippers, and on-board SD card are included. As Pipitone suggests, “mimic:play is simpler than the other versions, but still offers intuitive control and a sense of feel. It’s great for younger users or for interactive settings.”
  • The mimic:social has all the features of mimic:play, but also adds the IRS based foot controller, 2D camera, and a video receiver to be attached to the user’s television. „People love the concept of interacting from a distance,“ says Pipitone. „It’s great fun to put mimic:social in a room and watch it’s interactions on TV with your friends.“
  • The mimic 3D is the most advanced and full featured version offered and includes the mimic arm controller with Posi-Feel grippers, the foot controller, and SD card, in addition to the immersion googles and 3D cameras. With this full suite of features the user can completely loose themselves in mimic’s world. „This robot really transports you to an immersive reality. Everyday things seem huge, and you can interact from an entirely new point of view,“ describes Pipitone. „I can interact with my baby daughter on her level as an equal, while it’s simple enough that my 6 year old son can pick it up and use it. It’s an indescribable experience.“

The implications of the mimic immersive reality robot are great, and users can be a part of it now by backing mimic on Kickstarter. According to Pipitone, „We’ve delivered the personal robot of the future. We’re still working on flying cars and jet packs.“

For more information, please visit: http://www.robomotivelabs.com/.

blinkgogo – Wireless program Arduino & Fun Robotic Learning Platform

I just received this information from the blinkgogo team:

Wireless program Arduino & Fun Robotic Learning Platform. Designed for STEM education, Open Source! APP controlled, based on  Arduino, supports Scratch. Let kids Play and Learn!

Blinkgogo is a open source fun STEM robotic learning platform based on Arduino. Blinkgogo supports wireless Bluetooth upload, APP controlled, Scratch.

This robot kit has everything you need to get started. You can demonstrate many standard robot functions right out of the box. It’s simple, easy to use and fun.

With Blinkgogo, you can build many standard robots for example Line Following robot, Light Seeking robot, Edge Detection robot, APP control robot.

It comes with 3D printed shell and compatible with LEGO blocks.

Blinkgogo also comes with a hardware expansion board for those who really want to go wild when it comes to trying new things and developing new robotics systems.

Blinkgogo comes with three step-by-step tutorials to help you learn programming.

  • Binkgogo play right out of the box Tutorial: Blinkgogo works right out of the box. You can demonstrate many standard robot functions. You can drive it by controlling it with your phone through it’s Bluetooth capability. Or have it follow a black line.
  • Blinkgogo for Beginners Tutorial:Blinkgogo comes with a number of step-by-step tutorials. It is easy to program with the scratch graphical programming language. For the more extreme programmers it also works with C++. And the Arduino IDE programming environment
  • Blinkgogo for Advanced Users Tutorial:Blinkgogo offers a lot for advanced users. Blinkgogo comes with a hardware expansion prototyping plate where you can mount servos and many other sensors.

Its perfect for STEM education:

In the home

Perhaps your home has many toys already. However we believe to prepare for the future children need toys that are made to be modified and programmed. Children need to learn not just to be consumers but to actively participate in the building and modifying of things around them.

In school

Everybody knows that STEM education is important however most robotics platforms do not come with enough easy to use tutorials out of the box to be used by most non-engineers and still have enough flexibility to be still useful to those who excel in programming.

Why we made this kit?

Ever since I was a child I have always wanted to learn how to make electronics. Now that I am an electrical engineer my dreams are now a reality. However in the past when friends and asked if they could do electronics, my only answer was you need to go to school to be an electrical engineer.

Luckily time to change. Thanks to Arduino and other open-source platforms it’s not only possible for my friends to start their own hobby electronics products I can now start teaching my two children Harry and Tina. I have selfishly developed Blinkgogo specifically to teach my children electronics. But due to enthusiasm from my neighbors I have developed Blinkgogo into a product to share with the world. I hope you have as much fun with Blinkgogo as I did developing it and share it with my children.

We are on kickstarter now!

We are now crowdfunding on kickstarter now. We got over 60% funds within 24 hours. Please support us and let more kids can enjoy this all-in-one robotic learning platform!

Website:  www.blinkgogo.com

Video:              https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgj2axca16VY3bHaIBzzzuQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blinkgogorobot/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BlinkgogoRobot

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/111819239969740793655

Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makerstudio/blinkgogo-wireless-arduino-and-fun-robotics-learni?ref=4a4oio

Trending on Kickstarter: ‘MOTI’ is your personal robotic companion for building healthy habits

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. —  Emerging from an industry saturated with apps and wearables, San Francisco based startup MOTI (www.moti.io) is seeing tremendous support on Kickstarter, exceeding a goal of $50,000 within the first five days of launching. At 23 days left on the campaign, MOTI has over 700 backers, and has now released additional “stretch goals” for their little robot. These goals include adding a wild card color that backers can vote on, integrations with Fitbit, Evernote, and Google Calendar, as well as a new top secret feature – should the campaign reach $175,000.

 

Who is this little robot and why is everyone so intrigued by him? First, MOTI is a physically present smart companion for building better habits. The device combines insights from behavioral science, social robotics and human-centered design, and is built to learn and react to human beings’ psychological triggers with the purpose of getting them to start practicing healthy habits (such as jogging, hydrating, meditating, etc). Second, what makes him different is that unlike a standalone app, MOTI’s very physicality, presence, and emotional AI contributes to his ability to effectively influence behavior. Standing at just under three inches tall, MOTI acts as an ever-present environmental queue that is meant to interact with you in the moments and places where you would normally start forming your habit (i.e. your kitchen, your work desk, your yoga space,etc.).

 

The science and design behind MOTI’s habit-forming influence draws from the habit-loop theory, which explains that in order to build any habit, three things are required: a trigger, a routine, and a reward. To help you form your habit, MOTI supports all three things through a combination of lights, haptics, human-like intonations and other sounds. In order to have the best effect on behavior, MOTI is also designed to form a bond with the user, and his personality is continually adapting to the users’ needs.

 

“What we found in early research is that apps and wearables rely on data, graphs, and tracking for motivation,”  says Kayla Matheus, Inventor and Co-Founder of MOTI. “But we’re human – we need more than just numbers. We need our technology to understand how we work at a psychological and emotional level. That’s why MOTI isn’t another device – he’s your friend, or your cheerleader, or even your mom.”

 

Live demos are available today at BulletProof Bio-Hacking conference, and customers can now pledge an order for their own MOTI at http://kck.st/2d8NBu2 , on sale for $99 each and available in light grey, dark grey, and turquoise.  

 

About MOTI

MOTI is a behavior change company combining science and design to create transformative products that help people live better lives, one habit at a time. Established March 2015 in New York City, the company is led by Founder and CEO Kayla Matheus (Yale BA’11) and Founder/COO Laura Day (Vanderbilt BE’02, Harvard Business School MBA ‘09). MOTI is an alum of Google 30 Weeks and Highway1 Accelerators. Connect with MOTI via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@habitMOTI) or visit www.moti.io to learn more.

People Power Announces World’s First iOS and Android Enabled Smartphone Security Camera Robot – Presence 360

Breathe New Life Into an Unused Phone With the Intelligent Motion-Sensing Smartphone Robot That Can Automatically Keep an Eye on the Most Important Locations in Your Home

DALLAS, TX–(Marketwired – Sep 13, 2016) – People Power, a services enablement company providing apps, cloud and mobile services for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announces Presence 360, the world’s first 360-degree smartphone security camera robot that reveals existing blind spots in home security. Presence 360 integrates with People Power’s free Presence app, which reimagines spare smart devices into remotely monitored video cameras and has already sent more than 80 million Presence Video Alerts worldwide. By downloading the Presence app on an unused smartphone and cradling that device in Presence 360’s adjustable arms, users can monitor their homes and loved ones in 360-degrees, control viewing angles remotely and automatically receive motion detected video alerts when they’re away from home. People Power will be demoing Presence 360 at the CEDIA Expo 2016, September 15-17, 2016, at booth 4171.

Traditional security cameras are costly and only let you see a single static view, which leaves users blind to anything outside of the camera’s visual range. Presence 360’s full pan-and-tilt and 360-degree rotation allows users to look all around. Users can customize how long the camera remains at each vantage point too. Set Presence 360 to automatically pan to the front door for 15 seconds, the kitchen window or any other area of the home. Presence 360 cycles through those vantage points automatically to search for intruders or activity — recording video the instant motion is detected. When motion is detected, a Presence Video Alert of the activity is sent straight to the user’s smartphone as well as to their trusted circle of family and friends.

“In an era where technology is helping workers make impressive strides in productivity, we still find a big need for technology that lets consumers know what’s happening at home when they can’t be there,” said Gene Wang, CEO and co-founder of People Power. “Unless you’ve budgeted for a complicated and expensive home surveillance system, you may never know what’s happening until it’s too late. By revealing those nagging blind spots, Presence 360 brings people peace of mind, and is paving the way for a new era of lifestyle security.”

The Presence Security Pack extends the value of Presence 360. It works through the Presence app and combines entry, motion, water, humidity, temperature and touch sensors to create a whole home monitoring solution.

Also announced today is a significant performance increase to the Android version of Presence, which comes as a result of a conscientious refactoring of the popular mobile application. Android users will experience an increase in performance 3 times greater with the new version of Presence, available today in the Google Play Store.

Presence 360 is compatible with iOS and Android smartphones. To pre-order Presence 360, visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/presence-360-smartphone-security-camera-robot-99-app#/.

About People Power
Founded in 2009, People Power Company is an award-winning software company with a successful legacy in mobile and cloud technology. The People Power IoT Suite enables rapid connection, engagement, delivery and management of IoT products and services for services providers, manufacturers and consumers searching for connected lifestyle enhancements. Its ready-made cloud and mobile software stacks connect people with networked devices to humanize the Internet of Things. Services from concept through commercial release enabled by People Power are available as white-labeled solutions for customers around the world. For more information, visit www.peoplepowerco.com

PONGBOT, The new way to play „Beer Pong“

SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS TURN TO LEADING CROWDFUNDING SITE KICKSTARTER TO LAUNCH PONGBOT, THE NEW WAY TO PLAY “BEER PONG”

Pongbot’s Moving and Spinning Targets Add Some Excitement To This Traditional Drinking Game

NEW YORK (Aug. 10, 2016) – The game of beer pong is getting a makeover, as Consumer Goods Veterans and Entrepreneurs Alan Dorfman and Jayson Esterow have teamed up to bring you Pongbot, a new challenging twist on everyone’s favorite drinking game, and it is now available on Kickstarter (add hyperlink). Pongbot is a robotic cup holder that creates a moving target as one attempts to toss a ping pong ball into the cup. This makes beer pong more fun, creative and challenging than the standard of simply throwing balls into a stationary cup that was supposedly, as is rumored, originally introduced at Dartmouth College roughly 60 years ago.

“Everyone loves beer pong. It is the go-to game at parties, pre-game events, tailgates and BBQs,” said Dorfman, who is also the founder and president of well-regarded toy manufacturer Super Impulse. “Jayson and I wanted to raise the bar on the beer pong challenge to make it more fun and exciting for players. Once we had the concept, we knew we had the experience and know-how to have it engineered, manufactured and brought to market. We’re really excited to bring a great new twist to [arguably] everyone’s favorite party game.”

Pongbot re-defines the game with moving targets. Players can shoot at a single cup or add a five-cup rack. Pongbot features edge-sensing technology to keep the bot from falling over the edge of the table and has two modes for play; in Auto-mode, the Pongbot will move and spin randomly in any direction at any time so that the shooter never knows where it is going, and in Manual mode, the opponent controls the motion with a tank-style handheld remote control.

“The Pongbot, in either mode, will shoot at stationary cups, as well as cups that dart, spin and move constantly. Whether you are playing against your friend or the bot, the challenge and fun is so much more than the traditional game. It takes real skill to master!” said Esterow. “While the basic premise of tossing ping pong balls into a cup remains the same, Pongbot adds much more dimension to an incredibly popular game. We think everyone who plays the game will LOVE this new challenge.”

Ideal for tailgating, college or fraternity parties, a backyard barbecue or really any type of social gathering, Pongbot is now available on Kickstarter for a special kick-off price of $39.99 and is suited for all drinking-age consumers.