The Latest from GadgetLite

Turn and flat surface into 3D controller using Haptix

Posted: 22 Sep 2013 10:02 PM PDT

Motion control is getting quite popular, and if you wish to control your PC using hand motion, you should check out this device.

Haptix is large as a standard webcam, and it turns almost any flat surface into 3D multitouch controller. All that you have to do is to place Haptix, and it will keep track of your hand movement over a flat surface. This device has two CMOS sensors that are usually found in cameras, and these sensors are used to capture hand's position in 640×360 resolution. These sensors are connected to microcontroller, and after capturing hand position, they will transfer data to microcontroller that is in charge of the processing. Haptix can even work in the dark, since it comes with infrared. This device works with laptops and TVs, so you can use it as a virtual keyboard or touchpad. Regarding the compatibility, Haptix works with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Ubuntu, and Android and OS X support is on its way.

Haptix sounds great, and this device has reached its funding goal on Kickstarter, so we should see this device available for $65 in February 2014.

[via Ubergizmo]

Vaavud Wind Meter lets you measure wind speed with your smartphone

Posted: 22 Sep 2013 10:00 PM PDT

There are all sorts of iPhone accessories on the market, and today we have wind meter that can work with your iPhone, so let's have a closer look at it.

This wind meter accessory comes from Vaavud, and it can work with your iOS and Android smartphone. This device connects wirelessly to your smartphone, and it comes with two small magnets placed in the rotor, and when the rotor rotates, the device's magnetic field sensor convert those rotations into readable wind speed using algorithms that are used for sound processing. If you wish, you can share your readings online, or view readings posted by other users on online map. Vaavud wind meter accessory is water, sand, and dirt resistant, and it can measure speeds up to 25 meters per second. Technical University of Denmark was in charge for testing, and they have tested and calibrated this device at a wind tunnel.