Kickstarter is a place for smart people to post and commit to amazing projects. Smart people have smart homes! Advances in technology are not limited to your phone or car, but to your home as well. If you haven't already, you should explore the smart home products that are on the rise, as they offer many exciting new features for your home appliance that you probably weren't expecting.
Here's a list of six of the best projects currently running on Kickstarter that will help you improve life at home.
Home security is more than just one aspect of smart home quality of life. However, many see home security as a major project involving a truckload of technicians breaking into your home and installing electronics at every point in your home. That's not the case with Blink.
Blink is completely wire-free, battery-powered, easy to move and reposition, and has a shelf life of over a year. Starting at just $49, expanding Blink at home won't break the bank.
An alarm unit, which fits in the palm of your hand, provides HD video, motion detection, night vision, temperature sensor and more. All these features are inserted into the interface of iOS and Android, where you can see live cameras and pending alerts.
Installing Blink is as easy to use as it is plug-and-play and only takes a few minutes. Plug in the Blink Sync module, launch the Blink app and go through a basic setup procedure, then place your Blink unit wherever you like.
Blink has already managed to raise more than triple its original funding goal of $200,000. A pledge of $149 or more qualifies you for membership in their beta program.
Home lighting has come a long way from products like The Clapper; smart lamps Light up your home with smart lamps:here are your options Light up your home with smart lamps:here are your options What exactly is a smart lamp and what is out there? Read More Emberlight is committed to allowing you to fully control any light bulb, even dimmable ones, throughout your home with your smartphone.
The great thing about Emberlight is that it works with any normal light bulb. Installing it means taking the Emberlight out of the box, screwing the bulb into the Emberlight adapter, and connecting it to your home WiFi network. That's it.
The Emberlight app will allow you to turn single, multiple or all lights on or off. You can also use the light switches normally. The app will let you always know which lights in the house are on or off. You can be anywhere in the world and control the lighting in your home. The bulbs can also be controlled by proximity via Bluetooth, mood adjustments, and automatic sunrise/sunset detection.
With more than 1,500 backers so far, Emberlight is pushing to nearly quadruple its original funding goal of $50,000. A pledge of $49 will get you a single unit of Emberlight.
Going in a slightly different direction in home security than the aforementioned Blink, iSensor HD takes its focus on camera security and looks to do a great job.
iSensor HD is a home security system that works with WiFi, communicates through Skype and uses the 15 gigabytes of free storage offered by Google Drive as a way to deliver data to you.
This product offers 1280 × 720 video in beautiful high definition, with extremely simple self-installation delivered via Skype's 256-bit encryption. iSensor HD is the world's smallest and lightest IP camera, only shorter than an iPhone 5. It also consumes the least amount of power compared to any other HD (panoramic) IP camera in the world.
iSensor HD uses USB for its power. When plugged into a USB power adapter, it's completely wireless. The camera can be controlled by sending Skype messages and text or image alerts are sent through the same platform.
The functionality of iSensor with Skype allows you to join an extremely secure encryption method. Skype's dynamic video pipeline also enables iSensor HD to deliver picture quality that is lag-free and automatically adjusts to your Internet connection. However, some may see their reliability in third-party software as a crutch or possibly even a security concern in some cases. It's all up to you to decide. However, this looks like an impressive product.
iSensor HD's funding goal was set at $1,000, and they've received nearly $50,000 in backing so far. A pledge of $99 will secure you a unit.
Kepler is a gas and carbon monoxide detector with powerful sensors that constantly monitor gas and CO levels in your home.
Gas leaks from appliances like furnaces and water heaters can have consequences like CO poisoning and home fires. Kepler is committed to protecting you from these dangers with a simple, small device that can be installed anywhere.
Kepler delivers alerts to your smartphone and readings right on the device interface, where you can quickly see color-coded gas and CO levels. If any danger is ever detected, an audible alarm immediately sounds, the device flashes red, and the app notifies you immediately.
Kepler goes above and beyond to offer utility in the kitchen. Incidents in this area of the home are where you'll most often encounter dangerous gas leaks, so the Kepler comes equipped with a dial that doubles as a timer, allowing you to set cooking timers that can help you avoid these circumstances. ..
Kepler has a beautiful and elegant design, and a pledge of just $80 will secure you one of their colorful models that look great around the house.
Garage door operators probably haven't changed much since they debuted. However, it is something that most of us probably carry with us on our key chains. Garage Beacon is looking to do a good job of replacing your garage door opener remote with an app.
Garage Beacon allows you to manually control your garage door over the phone. It also has a WiFi-powered feature that will automatically open your garage door when you return home. All it requires is the iBeacon device, a wall adapter, and the associated app.
As shown in the 25-second video above, the Garage Beacon connects directly to your garage door wall control. Garage Beacon just snatched their $2,000 goal, but you can still contribute!
Voice activated lighting has been a kick for years. Vocca takes this concept to the next level with some impressive additional features.
Vocca is a plug-and-play device with no setup process, no actual installation, and no WiFi required. Screw the bulb into the adapter and then plug that adapter into any light socket. The spoken command of “Go Vocca Light” will then turn the bulb on or off.
There is a Light and a Pro model. The Pro model includes Bluetooth connectivity and allows you to teach Vocca your own voice triggers. It will also allow you to set Vocca to automatically turn the lights on or off when you're in range. Both features are powered by the Vocca mobile app.
So far Vocca has reached $65,000 of the original goal of $40,000, and a $49 pledge will secure you one of their Pro models.
It doesn't end here! Kickstarter has given birth to some of the most unique and interesting new products - here is a list of them 5 of the most successful Kickstarter projects in history 5 of the most successful Kickstarter projects in history Without a doubt, Kickstarter has changed the world, allowing regular Joes to finance the development and production of creative Projects that interest them. while helping creative types bypass typical venture capitalists, expensive bank loans, or soul-destroying... Read More If you're a gamer, you should really check out these five games that were released from the Kickstarter campaigns. 5 Kickstarter-funded Games You'll Want To Play In 2014 5 Kickstarter-funded Games You'll Want To Play In 2014 Kickstarter has allowed quite a number of games to be developed that might otherwise never have made it off the drawing board. five games from that list; all you see... Read More Even if you're not flush with cash, it's definitely worth checking out Kickstarter and keeping an eye out for these exciting new projects.