Smart Power Strip brings its home automation dreams to Kickstarter

Smart Power Strip landed its way into the final round of our Insert Coin competition the other week at Engadget Expand, and while it didn't take home one of the giant foam commemorative coins (or the prize money attached), it was an impressive feat nonetheless. Not taking home the gold means that Roger Yiu and team could use the money even more. The project just hit Kickstarter, in hopes of snagging $100,000. A pledge of $99 will get you one of the smart outlets, so you can bring a touch of low-cost, smartphone-controlled automation to your home. You can check out our hand-on with the the device here and watch the crowdfunding plea below.

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Source: Kickstarter

Insert Coin: GPS Cookie leaves a trail of breadcrumbs wherever you go (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Insert Coin GPS Cookie leaves a trail of breadcrumbs wherever you go video

Richard Haberkern's pretty much got this Kickstarter thing nailed down. The Soundlazer and Lumapad creator has now turned his attention to Arduino-based location logging, and needs your cash to produce the GPS Cookie. Slam in a microSD card and some batteries, and the unit will track the time, route, speed and altitude of all of your journeys. Coming in cookie and sandwich-shaped versions, the unit's available to backers for $79, while solder-happy modders can snag the unassembled version for $25. Unfortunately, the early-backer editions have already been snaffled. Curious to learn more? The video's after the break.

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Source: Kickstarter

Hey makers, the clock is ticking — Insert Coin submissions close in two weeks!

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!

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Source: Insert Coin

Insert Coin: SparqEE CELLv1.0 opens up cell networks for Arduino and Raspberry Pi

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Insert Coin

Here's one to get the maker community's mouths watering. SparqEE CELLv1.0 is a compact certified cellular board that plugs directly into Arduino and the Raspberry Pi shields, letting you piggyback on networks all over the world. The company, naturally, is offering up plenty of potential applications for the technology: remote home automation, pet tracking, RC copter flying. You know, the usual. As ever, though, the fun of these sorts of things is in the execution the manufacturers never dreamed of. Of course, $70,000 is a fairly lofty goal for the component's Kickstarter campaign, so SparqEE needs all the help it can get. Watch the company's Kickstarter plea after the break.

Previous project update: Choose Your Own Adventure is chugging along. The page-turner of a campaign is currently at $30,878 of its $100,000 goal. Thankfully, it's still got nearly a month to get there.

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Source: Kickstarter

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.

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Source: Kickstarter

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.

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Source: Expand

Ziphius aquatic drone DIY Edition for makers offered up as Kickstarter reward

Ziphius aquatic drone offers up DIY Edition for makers

Ziphius, our first-ever Insert Coin winner, is halfway through its Kickstarter campaign and is looking for a little extra steam. As incentive, the company is offering up a pretty cool alternative reward for donors. Pledge $99, and you can get your hands on the DIY Edition of the aquatic drone. The kit includes a 1080p HD camera on a servo motor, Raspberry Pi and ATMEGA microcontrollers, a microSD card and a slew of other components to help you build your own Ziphius as an aquatic, terrestrial or aerial drone. The company's included an image of its own homebrewed land version for inspiration (see: above). More info on the offering can be found in the source link below.

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Source: Kickstarter

Insert Coin: OnBeat headphones are powered by rock, the sun

Insert Coin OnBeat headphones

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Granted, they're lacking that ever-important rapper endorsement, but the OnBeats do have one important thing on their side: that giant atom-smashing ball in the sky. The black and orange prototypes feature a solar panel on the headphone band, with a battery in each ear cup. The panel feeds the batteries, which charge your phone via USB. For those times when solar charging isn't an option -- or you just need a full backup battery for a long day -- you can also refill the battery by plugging it directly into the wall.

The headphones' Scotland-based creator Andrew Anderson is asking the Kickstarter community for a lofty £200,000, with a little over a month to make up the £197,000 and change. If you want in, a £69 pledge will get you a discounted pair (in the Kickstarter-only black and green), with expected delivery around February of next year. Check out Anderson's video plea after the break, along with some early OnBeat prototypes -- and a sunshiney Spotify playlist to get you started.

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Source: Kickstarter

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!

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Source: Insert Coin

Insert Coin: The Rainbow Flash Wizard turns your flash gun into a kaleidoscope

Insert Coin The Rainbow Wizard turns your flash gun into a kaleidoscope video

While the tech fraternity is obsessed with perfect white balance, the creative community may want a bit of variety. That's the idea behind the Rainbow Flash Wizard, a device that lets photographers coat their subjects in any color that takes their fancy. In essence, the device is a color wheel that you can mount over your flash gun -- giving you a rainbow of new lighting options. As well as creative settings, seasoned pros can use the unit to correct under or overexposed shots without resorting to post-processing. If you're interested in getting your hands on one, the device's creators have taken to Kickstarter to raise $78,000, with a $70 pledge getting you an early-bird discount.

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Source: Kickstarter