Insert Coin New Challengers
Latest
60 seconds with the team that wants to make every car smart
Wouldn't it be great if you could change your car's head unit as frequently as you do your smartphone? Enter Onics, a startup that's crafted a dashboard-mounted module that lets you turn your phone into your car's nerve center. Essentially, the hardware's just a double-din unit with a locking clip up front, that'll accept any Android or iOS smartphone that's up to six inches in size. Rather than trailing a power wire from the 12V socket, there's a built-in microUSB or Lightning port, and if your vehicle supports it, you'll even be able to start the car with your mobile.
Submissions for our Insert Coin: New Challengers contest are open!
The Insert Coin competition has been a highlight of our Engadget Expand live events; a ton of great products have been demoed on-stage, and a few even walked away with piles of cash to help with funding. And with Expand NY on the books for November 2014, we're accepting product submissions today through September 26th. We're looking for the latest crop of innovative devices -- past winners include an aquatic drone and a cube for growing food indoors. Whether your project's up for funding on Kickstarter or you're just starting to show off hardware, we want to hear from you. Head here to submit your project, but not before reviewing our eligibility requirements past the break. And for those of you who'd like to attend our two-day tech fest, head to our event page for more info.
Mr. Postman launches smart mailbox Kickstarter campaign
All right, all right, Mr. Postman really missed the 2013 holiday season, launching its Kickstarter campaign on Christmas Day. But hey, hopefully this means that the Insert Coin: New Challengers semi-finalist will have all of the bugs worked out well in advance of next year's package-mailing scrum. And hey, now that you're flush with cash from grandma, perhaps you'd consider supporting the solar-powered, WiFi-enabled mailbox you unlock with your smartphone. The Mr. Postman app works along with the smart mailbox, letting you know when new packages have arrived and when outgoing mail has been picked up. Get in now and a pledge of $180 will get you the mailbox, set to be delivered this summer -- to your curb, we assume, seeing as how your mailbox hasn't actually arrived yet.
The Engadget Show 47: Insert Coin - New Challengers
We got to hang with Spike Lee, LeVar Burton, Reggie Watts, Ayah Bdeir, David Gerrold, Bens Heck and Huh and Rachel Haot. We played around with Occulus Rift, some electric skateboards, a surgical robot and a few 3D scanners. Once again, however, our Insert Coin competition was arguably the highlight of the whole Expand event. Ten products competing for two big prizes, to help jumpstart their crowdfunding campaigns. Once again, the diversity of the projects was staggering -- a fact that no doubt made it all the more difficult for our panel of illustrious judges to pick just one winner. In this second of two Engadget Show Expand specials, we follow the journey of our top five finalists, MyBell, GrowCubes, Smart Power Strip, DiWire and Blink Scan. Huge congrats as always to all the semi-finalists and a big ole thanks to co-host Mark Frauenfelder and our four-judge panel.
The NutriSurface is an intelligent food scale with Obamacare beginnings
Obamacare is probably the last (loaded) term you'd expect to read about on a tech site -- no less in conjunction with a nutrition-focused gadget. But Andy Tsai, creator of the NutriSurface, actually credits the controversial healthcare program for redirecting his company ReFlex Wireless away from a focus on nanotech and towards a technological solution for the food and beverage industry. Pulling inspiration from a CNN segment documenting the new challenges and nutrition label requirements for major food chains, Tsai devised an intelligent scale/chopping board that would be able to streamline the information-gathering process for restaurants and grocery chains. The resulting NutriSurface, now its third iteration, has broken away from its modest incarnation as a one-way communication device into two separate models: a coaster and waterproof chopping block that not only transmit nutritional info, but can also be programmed remotely. Neither device is yet on the market and both are still undergoing testing, but Tsai plans to launch an Indiegogo campaign for the product and, if its current market success is any indication, crowdsourcing could help to expand its uses even further. As Tsai put it, the NutriSurface was "built to be a hardware platform where developers can [create] their own applications," thus leaving the modest device open to myriad uses.
Hands-on with Mr. Postman, a smart mailbox that links your inbox to your letterbox
Sometimes, even the oldest cliches can serve as inspiration. Take the dog and the letter carrier, for instance: when Manuel Masri first moved to the United States, he was surprised to find his canine companion obsessed with the mailman. Every delivery became an event, anticipation for a 4pm delivery and an excited pooch -- but the K-9 notification system only worked when he was at home. His solution? Mr. Postman, a mailbox that knows when to expect your mail, notifies you when it arrives and locks after delivery. Masri's smart mailbox falls into that growing category of the "internet of things," something that links typically disconnected physical objects with each other and your digital world. It also happens to be one of Engadget Expand's Insert Coin semi-finalists. We dropped by the company's show booth to see the project's take on the future of mail delivery.
Insert Coin semifinalist: Mr. Postman brings snail mail to your smartphone
As a general rule, we're in favor of any gadgets named for one of our favorite girl group jams. We've also got a soft spot for those projects looking to send a little love in the postal service's direction -- lord knows it can use it. Mr. Postman, naturally, fulfills both of those quotas. The smart mailbox communicates with your handset to let you know when mail has arrived. You can also use the app to lock and unlock your mailbox, to ward off those pesky neighborhood mail thieves. Now if only there were a high-tech way to tell them to get off your lawn. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
Insert Coin semifinalist: Smart Power Strip helps you do home automation yourself
Seems like everyone's trying to get a piece of the home automation action these days. Question is, however, if pricey catchall systems are really the answer. Smart Power Strip offers a simple, affordable solution, letting you control and monitor appliances in real-time using your smartphone. The power strip has outlets that can be managed individual via your handset both at home and remotely. The strip also features two USB ports for charging -- because it's 2013, after all. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
Insert Coin semifinalist: NutriSurface helps you monitor dietary intake
Sure it's no HAPIfork, but the NutriSurface was created to ensure that you're getting the most out of your diet. The nutrition tracking gadget comes in two sizes -- coaster and chop -- letting you manage nutrient levels, portions and the like. NutriSurface's creators are opening up the API for third-party developers to help expand usage, but in the meantime, the product has some interesting potential applications for athletes, people with diabetes, chefs and a slew of other folks with specific dietary requirements. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
Insert Coin semifinalist: DIWire Bender
Desktop 3D printing has exploded as of late, and portable CNC milling seems to be leaving its mark on the maker community. So, what's the next big craze? We could certainly get behind wire bending. Most of the applications we've been dreaming up since we first saw the DIWire Bender have revolved around freestanding sculptures, but give the diversity of materials, strength of objects and huge build platform, we're excited to see what the maker community can cook up with one of these. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
Insert Coin semifinalist: BlinkScan lets you scan multiple objects in a single go
So maybe its "scanning at the speed of light" claims are a bit overstated, but BlinkScan's capabilities are still pretty impressive. The peripheral scans, crops and straightens images in the speed its name implies, pulling out individual files when you can several images at once. After the break, you'll see a YouTube video wherein the BlinkScan does its thing with 47 coins at the same time, giving each its own individual file without ever having to open photo editing software. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
Insert Coin semifinalist: GrowCubes help your produce flourish indoors
This NYC Resistor-designed food system provides just about everything you'll need to grow produce indoors, including rotating shelves that'll assure that plants get the best light possible and an aeroponic spray mist that cuts down on water by 90-percent, eliminates the need for soil and delivers nutrients directly to the plant. All of the above is automated, using a network of sensors and info downloaded from the internet and culled from a network of experts. Check out a video of the stackable cubes after the break, and be sure to watch GrowCubess' presentation at Expand next month. You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.
Announcing the Insert Coin: New Challengers semi-finalists!
They innovated, you voted, we tallied, and now it's time to announce the Insert Coin: New Challengers semifinalists who will be joining us at Expand next month. The 10 contenders will be tabling at Javits and will join us on stage to demo their entries, foron by our panel of judges, including Ryan Block, Ben Heck, Hilary Mason and Peter Rojas -- and you at home, of course. Check out the full list after the break and thanks everyone for voting!
Reminder: Insert Coin voting ends tonight at 11:59PM PT!
What's that? You say you haven't voted for the second Insert Coin: New Challengers? What are you waiting for -- voting wraps up tonight at 11:59PM PT / 2:59AM ET. The competition was one of the highlights of March's Expand San Francisco, and we're pumped to do it again at the Javits Center in November. You can cast your votes here, and if you need a bit of a refresher on the candidates, check out these longer writeups of the nominees. Now get cracking!
Hey makers, the clock is ticking -- Insert Coin submissions close in two weeks!
Insert Coin: New Challengers was far and away one of the highlights of March's first-ever Engadget Expand, and we're excited to see what the maker community has in store for round two. Time's running out to get those projects in -- we're closing the door on submissions on September 27th. Think you've got what it takes to earn a trip to Expand to compete for the $10,000 Judge's Choice and $15,000 Readers' Choice awards? Check out the contest fine print after the break and click the source link to submit your project!
Ziphius gets fully funded on Kickstarter, expected to ship in March
Now that's what we like to see. Our first-ever Insert Coin: New Challengers winner has secured full funding over on Kickstarter -- and just in the nick of time. With just over a day to go before the end of its fundraising period, Ziphius has managed to pass its lofty $125,000 goal. That means we can expect to see the cool little aquatic drone shipping to backers in March of next year, just in time for the warm weather. And we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that you too can live the crowdfunding dream. We've opened up entries for our second Insert Coin competition, as of late last month. It may not get you all the way to a final product, but with $25,000 up for grabs, it's a heck of a head start.
Submit your hardware to Engadget's second Insert Coin: New Challengers competition
Roughly this time last month, we opened up our second Insert Coin: New Challengers competition to all you entrepreneurial makers. The first one was an unquestionable highlight of March's first-ever Expand event in San Francisco, and we're psyched to see what you guys have in store for us this time. Ten semifinalists will get tickets to the show and a $1,000 travel stipend. One Judges' Choice winner will walk away with $10,000 and one Readers' Choice winner will get $15,000. Both will also score a product review on this site. Ziphius, which managed to pick up both prizes back in March, is entering the home stretch in its own search for $125,000 over on Kickstarter. The aquatic drone managed to capture the imagination of the Expand crowd and our online audience, beating out a number of impressive finalists, including the Make-a-Play, SmartPulse, Smart Knob and Snapzoom. Think you've got something just as good in the works? Well, now's the time to show us. Submissions are open now through September 27th. You can find all the necessary rules over on our event page.
Submissions for Expand's Insert Coin: New Challengers competition now open!
Calling all makers, dreamers, inventors and entrepreneurs, Insert Coin: New Challengers is back for round two! We were absolutely blown away by the responses to our Expand San Francisco competition. We had a hell of a time whittling all of the submissions down to a group of semi-finalists and had a blast interacting with all of the finalists on the show floor. Ultimately, Ziphius' head-turning aquatic drone took home the gold, a well-deserved and hard fought win. This time out, we'll giving 10 semifinalists tickets to the show, along with a $1,000 travel stipend. One Judges' Choice winner will walk away with $10,000 and one Readers' Choice winner will get $15,000. Both will also score a product review on this site. Think you've got what it takes to walk away with the big prize at Expand NY in November? Well, now's your chance. We're opening up submissions today through September 27th. Semifinalists will be announced on this site and the big winners will be unveiled at the show. Submissions rules can be found after the break and over on our event page. We can't wait to see what you've got cooking this time out!
Live from Expand: Insert Coin Awards (video)
It's all been leading up to this! We narrowed it down to 10 semifinalists, and you helped us whittle the list down to five -- and now we're ready to announce the winner of our first-ever Insert Coin competition! Join co-host Mark Frauenfelder and our panel of judges as they unveil the results. March 17, 2013 8:30 PM EDT For a full list of Expand sessions, be sure to check out our event hub.
Live from Expand: Insert Coin New Challengers Demos (video)
You've seen plenty about our Insert Coin competitors on this very site -- and now it's time to see them in action. We've got some stage time with the finalists, who will be arguing for why they think they deserve that $20,000 grand prize. March 16, 2013 6:00 PM EDT For a full list of Expand sessions, be sure to check out our event hub.
