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Beam: The smart projector that fits in any light socket

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We are finally ready to unveil what we’ve been working on lately. It’s Beam, a powerful projector equipped with a smart computer inside a beautifully designed casing. We’ve launched this product as a Kickstarter project and you find the project here!

 

You can play games, watch movies or share content from your smartphone or tablet. Beam will assist you in your daily activities, like wake you up in the morning with the latest news and your agenda or show you your social updates when you come home. Beam is easy to set up and control with the Apple or Android app. You can screw it into any light socket or use the included power cable to place it on any flat surface. With Beam we created an easy to use internet of things device that can entertain and assist you throughout the day, perfectly integrated in your home. The technology inside Beam is so unique that we decided to patent it.

We launched Beam as a US project with our newly formed company Beam Labs Inc. as mentioned in an earlier weblog post. Because this is a Kickstarter project we really need all the help we can get. So please share our project, recommend it to others, back it to support it or even buy one!

 

Sketch & Cut – Your drawing automatically cut by laser!

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Draw a shape on any material, put the drawing in Sketch&Cut and a laser will automatically cut your object for you. Sketch&Cut is the latest development in laser cutting, but it is so simple to use that anyone that is able to make a drawing can use it.

 

By combining laser cutting technology with computer vision Studio diip has developed a stand-alone, easy to use laser cutting machine that can be used by everyone with a pencil. Classic laser cutting devices use technical, computer generated 2D drawings created in software like CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator. To use the Sketch&Cut laser cutter no technical skills are needed; just draw by hand what you want to cut or engrave and it will be done exactly like you drew it. You don’t even need a computer!


Sketch&Cut is useful for a lot of different disciplines but it is especially suitable for creating models, prototypes, jewelry, stencils, personalized packaging, signs and engraving. Sketch&Cut is fit for home use, for artisans, hobbyists and artists, but it can also be used for business and educational use.

Project
In 2013 we came up with the idea of combining our core expertise, computer vision, with one of their passions, the maker industry. We started testing the idea of a hand drawing laser cutter by buying a laser cutting machine and attaching a webcam to it. After experimenting with this setup for a while it became clear that we were able to write software that made it possible to recognize hand drawings. We then proceeded to translate these drawings into controlling a laser cutting machine and the first prototype was created.

How it works
In the current system the camera takes a picture of the material in the cutting area. This snapshot is used to detect the lines with computer vision technology. With a touchscreen you can then indicate what parts need to be cut and what needs to be engraved and just press the start button. The machine will then decide the best way to cut your drawing.

 

After a year of fine-tuning the concept and developing several prototypes we are preparing to take the leap to a Kickstarter project in the near future. We are hoping for your support in this campaign, so be sure to check our site regularly for updates!

 

 

Fish on Wheels on Kickstarter today!

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Today the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.com has opened its doors to projects from the Netherlands. Because of the world wide success of our Fish on Wheels video we wanted to develop the fish car from the movie into a real product. Kickstarter projects are especially suitable for these kinds of innovative projects so we decided to make sure that we could launch our Fish on Wheels at exactly the moment that the website was open to project creators from the Netherlands.

Take a look at our project page and help us out by spreading the word, donating or buying your very own Fish on Wheels!

Kickstarter photo