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Remember In “Alien,” When Ripley Called the Computer “Mother?”

By on June 18, 2015 in blinking lights, gadgets, general geekery, security

Screen Shot 2015-06-17 at 9.28.50 AMWell, fortunately, this Mother is a lot friendlier. She has no hidden agenda like her counterpart aboard the ill-fated the Nostromo in the Alien film and she doesn’t think that her human crew are expendable. She’s cute like one of those Russian Nesting dolls, but a lot more useful and interactive. She comes with 4 ‘cookies’ which are like retrieval tags that do a lot more than just find your lost keys. The MSRP on this package is $299, but Woot has these on a short term sale for just $89. The sale ends June 19 at 12 a.m., CDT.

You can place one of the cookies on your front door to be alerted if your front door opens. You can pop one in your pocket to measure your activity goals and even stick one on your bottle of Rx pills to remind you to take your meds. You can even plop one on your mattress to measure the quality of your sleep. The cookies can even report the ambient temperature.

Mother connects to your Internet router via Ethernet and into the wall for power and comes with a companion app for Android, iOS and Windows phone. Yes, you read that right – an app for Windows phone – it’s not just a Zune, ya know! The app lets you customize what you want to be notified about for each cookie.

That thing on the door is a cookie. You can program it via your app to alert you if the kids got home - or if you haven't got kids, to call 911!

That thing on the door is a cookie. You can program it via your app to alert you if the kids got home – or if you haven’t got kids, to call 911!

Low Tech Finished Wood Meets High Tech Insides to Make the World’s Most Charming Toy

By on June 16, 2015 in blinking lights, bluetooth, refined wood, toys

Screen Shot 2015-06-15 at 8.27.48 PMIf you have read my blog long enough, you know I love tech. I love finished, polished, machined and handcrafted gizmos of all sorts and I dig blinking lights – and you probably do, too. 🙂

German designer Matas Petrikas has blended all these things into a super charming toy for kids and is presenting this figurine of sorts in a Kickstarter campaign. It’s not a doll, it’s not an action figure. It’s like a totem of sorts, beautifully crafted like wooden toys 60-70 years ago were built, and with innocent tech inside.

Unlike smart phones that blast 60 cycles per second of flickering light to a kid’s eyes and get them more engaged in machines than in people, the Avakai is something your child clutches like a beloved keepsake.

The technology inside Avakai allows it to sense proximity, touch and movement. It reacts to sounds and gives haptic avaphonefeedback. The Avakai works best in pairs, but a single figurine can communicate and play with a mobile device that has the mobile app installed.

This Kickstarter campaign ends in less than 3 weeks and as of this writing, there are still some early bird options left for early backers.

These charming figures are intoxicating in their simplicity and charming sounds and interactions.

This wooden figure can tell the difference between a hug, a gentle stroke or a tap. This intelligent toy can be programmed for different reactions via the app and parents are in control of who and when the Avakai can communicate with another child’s Avakai.

You can follow Matas Petrikas’s company, Vai-Kai, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and their website.

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