PLUGHITZ Live Presents (Video)

The leaky faucet in your home could be costing you money! Water is expensive, and 13% of the water that goes into a home is lost due to leaks. A drop of water every two seconds works out to a thousand gallons of water in a year. Flo has a solution that not only will detect water leaks, but also can help you save money on your water bill.

Todd stopped by the Flo booth at CES 2018 and spoke with Gabe. Flo is trying to prevent loss, one drip at a time. They proactively monitor the integrity of your home's entire water system from a pressure, flow, and temperature standpoint. This enables Flo to detect vulnerabilities before you even get a leak. It also allows Flo to alert homeowners when a leak has been detected.

The Flo app has a dashboard that shows you how much water you've used every day, and what times of the day you are using water. It has a control panel where you can see in real time what the pressure is in the water system, what the flow is, and what the temperature is. Push a button on the app to remotely turn on and turn off the water.

The Flo device has a useful life of between five and ten years. You do need professional installation to install the Flo device on your plumbing. You only need one device for the house. Flo has a list price of $499.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

One of the problems people face when they travel is the security of their bags or backpacks. There is potential that a thief will open your backpack and steal your items while you are sleeping on the plane. Or, a thief might steal your entire backpack. Lumzag has a solution that can prevent both of these problems. Lumzag introduced the world's most secure backpack at CES 2018.

Todd stopped by the Lumzag booth to speak with Natalie. She pointed out the many wonderful features of the Lumzag backpack.

It has mobile tracking so you will always know where your backpack is. A remote anti-theft alarm will be activated if your backpack is stolen. The Lumzag backpack has embedded cameras that can take a photo of the person who opens your backpack without your permission. The backpack has its own power bank that is charged with solar power. The Lumzag backpack also functions as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The price of the Lumzag backpack has not yet been determined. They are going to launch a crowdfunding effort. Those who want to be the first to know when the Lumzag backpack is ready can sign up on the Lumzag website and be put on a waitlist.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

You parked your car and went on with your day. Later, you might have an unsettling moment as you worry about whether or not your car is ok. Checking on it usually requires a person to stop what they are doing and go back to the parking lot. Raven makes any car a smart car, and enables you to quickly check on your car from wherever you are.

Todd stopped by the Raven booth to talk with Russell. Raven is an all-in-one connected car solution. It has built-in cellular LTE, cameras, sensors, displays and a high performance six core processor that gives you and your vehicle new capabilities. Features include a rear facing camera, a front facing camera, real time displays, LTE module that is always connected to the internet, and a security system. Raven transfers video of your trip onto your phone so you don't have to transfer those files yourself.

Raven will start shipping in March of 2018 and is priced at $299 US. There is streaming subscription fee of $8 a month.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

Flic's smart Bluetooth buttons will be familiar to GNC readers as I reviewed them back in 2017. To be honest, the buttons aren't that smart but it's the clever smartphone software that does all the cool stuff. Consequently, if the Flic button is out of range of the owner's smartphone, it's somewhat useless. Fortunately Flic recognised this and announced an Indiegogo campaign for a Flic Hub that would take away the reliance on a nearby smartphone. Todd clicks with Elin to find out what's new at Flic.

The new Flic Hub removes the need for a nearby smartphone in a home or office environment and lets Flic smart buttons integrate more closely with other automation and process management systems. Flic is looking to grow in the enterprise with customers focusing in the safety and hospitality industries.

The Hub can communicate with more Flic buttons so in theory, there could be hundreds of buttons in a location, and the integrity of the overall system is improved without dependence on the smartphone vendors. This creates a more reliable and dependable platform that enterprise customers are looking for, taking Flic beyond smart buttons. The Flic Hub is expected to go on-sale shortly.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

With the advances in medical sciences and technology, there's often no longer the need to "Send it to the lab, stat!" to get up-to-date info on blood chemistry. Soon, readings will be given at point of care in a few minutes, if not seconds. Todd consults with Brian on their latest blood diagnostic device.

Apollo Medical Devices has been working with Case Western Reserve University in Ohio to develop a point of care blood diagnostic unit that uses a drop of blood to give information in seconds on eight key indicators such as sodium, potassium, pH and blood oxygen. The new devices should be in production with 12-18 months and cost will be in line with industry norms for the test.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

Self-assembly robots and smart toys are great for introducing and teaching children the basics of coding. It's a hot area at the moment, especially with Nintendo Labo coming soon, but here we have British outfit BinaryBots and their animal-themed programmable robots. Todd and Chris play with the smart pets.

The team at BinaryBots have a range of robotic toys starting with straightforward cardboard-based models through to more complex creations using the Totem construction kits. There are crabs, spiders and tortoises, each will unique actions. The robots can be connected up to a BBC micro:bit computer for coding and programming. Children can code their robot and to see how it responds to light and other stimuli.

The cardboard-based robots are available now with the new Totem-based ones arriving in April. They're priced at GB?40 / $55 for the cardboard models and GB?60 / $80 for the Totem, though you'll need to buy your own micro:bit for the latter.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

It's a sad statistic that around half of us in the Europe and US will experience a break-in or burglary during our lifetime and unfortunately, I'm one of those. Most burglaries are over in less than five minutes and by the time the police turn up, the criminals are long gone. Smart homes and security alarms only go so far and what you really want is to deter the burglars from breaking in at all. You need a housesitter and Mitipi have one called Kevin. Todd thought Kevin was a minion...

Kevin is the first IoT device to simulate the presence of people in a room by emitting light, shadow effects, and sound, meaning burglars will think someone's home, and won't want to break in for fear of being confronted or even caught. Kevin is extremely easy to use. Place the device in a main room with a window, say, the living room. Once set up, Kevin can be controlled via the buttons on the box, or through the companion app. To pretend someone is home, Kevin uses a smart logic that considers multiple factors such as location, language, weather and home type to produce a realistic simulation with light, sound and shadows.

Kevin is currently on Kickstarter and the best pledge is SFr249, which is around GB?190 or $270. Delivery is expected in December 2018.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

Tooth decay is the most prevalent chronic disease in children and it can easily be prevented by regular and effective brushing. Getting children to brush is another matter entirely but French firm Kolibree are looking to gamification and augmented reality to get children excited about brushing. Todd finds out what is like to interview Arthur with a toothbrush in his mouth.

Kolibree's Magik toothbrush plays an augmented reality game where the children defeat evil cavity monsters by attacking them with their toothbrush. Using a smartphone or tablet, the child sees themselves in a "magic mirror" and fight boss monsters to win superpower masks. At the end of a brushing session, the app shows the child and parent how well they've brushed and any areas missed. The Magik brush is expected in Q3 2018 and Kolibree is looking to price it at under $30. Sign up at Kolibree to hear when it's ready to buy.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

From a consumer's point of view, internet shopping is great: huge choice and prices to fit every pocket. Sure it takes a day or two to come but that only increases the rush while you wait for the delivery.....only that's the snag. Many of us are in work when the delivery comes to our empty homes and either the delivery service takes it back to their depot or you parcel lies at risk of theft until you get home. BoxLock have an ingenious solution and Todd unlocks its potential with Brad.

BoxLock is an internet-connected smart padlock with a built-in barcode scanner. To use BoxLock, you first get a secure container or bin which can be locked using a traditional padlock - it's usually called a hasp - and put it out front. The BoxLock then goes on the bin instead of the padlock. When the delivery driver arrives, he (or she) simply grabs the BoxLock and presses the button on the top to scan the tracking number on the package. The BoxLock checks online via wifi and only packages addressed to you and that are actually out for delivery that day will unlock the BoxLock. The driver opens the container, places your package safely inside and then closes it all up.

Your BoxLock smartphone app then notifies you which package was scanned and that your BoxLock is safely locked with your packages inside. Several of the big delivery companies are on board including FedEx, UPS, USPS and Amazon, so it's perfect for keeping those porch pirates and packet thieves at bay. BoxLock is current InDemand on Indiegogo for pre-ordering at $109 (the video says $129 retail) with deliveries expected in June 2018.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.

Just as in humans, obesity in cats and dogs brings health issues like diabetes and heart disease. Over half of the pets in American households are overweight and this reduces their life expectancy by several years. Petrics want to help owners spend less time managing their pets and more time loving them with a couple of new products aimed at reducing obesity. No treats for Todd from Edward.

Winners of two CES Innovation awards, Petrics are coming at the problem from two fronts. First Petrics have a Health & Nutrition application which records the animal's food and exercise, but also guides the owner towards appropriate meal choices for their pet. Second, Petrics are launching a smart pet bed which works with an activity tracker to measure pet exercise and weight. This will pass information to the Health & Nutrition app, giving the owner current and historical information about their animal's condition to see if new regimes are having the right impact.

The app and bed will be coming to the market early in 2018, priced at $100-$300 depending on the size of the bed.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

This episode was originally published on Geek News Central.