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Swivl announces two motion tracking docks with support for tablets and DSLRs
Earlier this year, if you recall, a startup called Satarii started shipping the Swivl, a crowd-funded smartphone dock designed for motion tracking. Now the company is back, this time with a bigger model that can accommodate tablets and DSLRs. Actually, make that two docks: there's a "Basic White" model and a "Premium Silver" version with some additional features. (We'll let you figure out which is which in the photo above.) As before, they can pan 360 degrees, but now they're now sturdy enough to hold items as heavy as 10 pounds, and use Bluetooth for pair with devices. That's good news if you're the owner of an older iDevice and would've had to use a clumsy 30-pin adapter. The base also now packs a rechargeable battery, as opposed to AAs. What the premium version adds is a remote control and wireless mic, which you can control with your finger or pin to your person (or pet, or whoever) so that you can track movements automatically. The remote is also more compact than it was before, which should make it more viable as a bona fide wearable device. Finally, the premium model has built-in speakers, in case you need to project a bit farther during conference calls. In addition to support for larger devices, though, Swivl is opening up its platform to developers: it released an iOS SDK today, and said an Android equivalent is in development. Meanwhile, the company's whipped up some apps of its own, including one that takes advantage of that new DSLR compatibility. In that particular program, you can control your camera's shutter over Bluetooth, as well as steer the dock so that it rotates where you want it to aim. (Note: this only works with still photos for now, not video. Remote previews for photos are also coming.) Meanwhile, Satarii also created a video capture app for iOS, along with one for video conferencing. That, too, is iOS-only for the time being. In any case, the hardware itself is up on Kickstarter now, with the Basic White model going for $149 and the Premium Silver edition priced at $229. They're expected to ship in June 2013. In the meantime, we've got hands-on shots and a quick demo video embedded after the break.
Satarii Star camera base follows your every move, might exist if the money's raised
Looking a bit like a universal Sony Party-shot, the Satarii Star is up on fundraising site IndieGoGo right now with a simple goal: finding enough people who are willing to pay for an action-tracking base for their camera to get the thing produced. The concept is simple enough -- use the included iPhone and standard tripod mounts to insert the camera of your choice, grab the remote sensor and attach it to the object, animal, or human you want to track, and let 'er rip -- as long as you stay within 8 meters (roughly 26 feet), the base station with camera attached will rotate up to 180 degrees to keep the action in the frame. As of this writing they're about halfway to their goal to $20 grand -- and they've already slapped together a functional prototype, so you know you're not funding pure vaporware. Follow the break for a demo, and while you're at it, go ahead and tell off all your friends -- you won't need 'em to hold your camera while you film magic tricks for YouTube anymore. Score!
