UPDATED 10:40 EDT / FEBRUARY 06 2014

Smart gadgets detect dirty diapers, overspending + more

This week’s SmartDevice roundup features a keychain that sniffs dirty nappies, a handbag that prevents you from blowing all your cash, and a little device that tracks your every move.

baby diaper

Wet Diaper Detector Keychain

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Engineer Eric Schuh developed a tiny device that makes it easier to detect whether a diaper needs changing.  His device, the Wet Diaper Detector Keychain, has been successfully funded on Kickstarter and may start shipping this month.

The device looks like a thumb drive with an LED indicator light.  What you do is you point the device towards a diaper for a quick scan. If it needs to be changed, the LED indicator light will light up.  The only downside of this device, though it’s quite cheap at only $12, is that it hasn’t been tested on a various types of diapers and clothings, so it will be up to the user to test that out.  It can be useful for parents or those taking care of elderlies, as it eliminates the need for people to physically touch the diaper to assess the situation.

This device is quite similar to Huggies’ TweetPee, a small sensor that looks like a bird that attaches to a kid’s diaper and sends out a tweet to parents when its time for a change.  It also monitors how often a diaper is changed, giving insight to how much is being spent on diapers on a weekly basis.

iBag

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Shopaholics may find a friend in the iBag, a tricked out bag created by Credit Card Finder in Australia.  The iBag uses Arduino processor, a GPS chip, a real-time clock, and LED lights to try and stop the person from overspending.

This is a novel concept for those  who love spending but have trouble paying down their credit card bills.  The iBag’s LED lights will alert you if you enter a “danger zone” or shops that spur you spend more than you take in.  It also tracks when you take out your wallet while inside a danger zone, so if you ignored the warning light, and buy something from the shop, the iBag will send an SMS to your “responsible other” or someone who can give you a good lecture for overspending.

Though the iBag means well, warnings and sending out notifications can only do so much.  It can’t physically stop you from spending on nonsensical things, but it will probably make you feel guilty or ashamed enough to leave the shop before making a purchase.

If you want try the iBag, Credit Card Finder offers a 12-week challenge which costs $3 a week.



Swivl

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If you like talking to your friends, family or significant other on your smartphone but find that it sometimes get in the way of your chores or other activities that require the use of both your hands, then Swivl may be the product for you.

Swivl looks like a simple dock for your smartphone, but what it does is follow you around when the camera is activated.  The main goal of Swivl is to keep you in the camera’s frame.  This could also be useful for conferencing or webcasting, or even when making videos using your tablet, smartphone, or DSLR.

But aside from tracking you, Swivl can also host all your videos in its cloud, so everything you ever recorded can be immortalized.  Which means you can also use this as a surveillance camera, if you don’t mind using your smartphone or tablet for that purpose.

image source: Swivl

image source: Swivl

feature image credit: Amy L. Riddle via photopin cc

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