
Youโre reading our weekly Maker Pro Newsletter, which focuses on the impact of makers in business and technology. Our coverage includes hardware startups, new products, incubators, and innovators, along with technology and market trends.ย Subscribe todayย and never miss a post.
โWe are living in the age of the iPhone, yet the architectureย and construction industries are still in the Walkman phase.โ โย UNSense founder Ben van Berkel
The Joy of Whimsical Hardware
The maker pros atย Lunavityย are working on a backpack-mounted array of rotors, like the tiny props that keep drones aloft. The goal isnโt for the wearer to achieve flight, but to jump much higher and further โ and perhaps execute more slam dunks โ than theyโd be able to without the extra lift.
Slateย published aย joyful paeanย to the gadget, which was on display last week atย SXSWย (@sxsw). Instead of aiming to solve a specific problem, like the endless parade of laundry-folding and vegetable-juicing hardware startups we see atย SXSWย andย CESย (@CES), Lunavity stands out because itโs simply trying to be awesome โ or, in the words of company project managerย Takumi Takahashi, it would make the world โa more interesting place.โ
Slateย quipped that Lunavity was โamazing and entirely silly,โ which is a wonderful way to describe much of the spectrum of delightful startups, some lifesaving and others marvelously pointless, that you can find in incubators, hackerspaces and maker faires across the world.
Do whimsical startups have a role in the competitive world of hardware? Tell us your thoughts:ย MakerPro@MakerMedia.com.
Cyberpunk in the Age of Maker Pros
The 80s-inflected cyberpunk aesthetic dreamed up byย William Gibsonย (@GreatDismal),ย Neal Stephensonย (@nealstephenson), andย Mamoru Oshiiย has been a major artistic force in shaping our technological present, from consumer drones to the rise of YouTube stars.
In aย new story,ย Make: Photo Editorย Hep Svadjaย (@makerhep) explains the cover and centerfold images in the magazineโs latest issue, both of which hearken back toย Mondo 2000โs (@2000_mondo) much-loved โR. U. a Cyberpunk?โ poster โ and ruminates on how the genre has influenced her interest in on-the-go computing and the core maker pro notion that consumers should have deep access to the inner workings of their devices.
The FCC is Cracking Down on Unlicensed Spacetech
Back in December, theย Federal Communications Commissionย denied permission for a small space tech startup calledย Swarm Technologiesย to launch four of its tiny satellites, which are just four inches long. But the company went ahead with the launch anyway โ which,ย CNET reports, may be the first time a company has defied the FCCโs space communications guidelines.
Itโs not yet clear what the repercussions of the spat will be in the spacetech industry, but the tiff is notable for its star power: Swarm Technologies is headed byย Sara Spangeloย (@sara_spangelo), who has previously worked for bothย NASAโsย Jet Propulsion Laboratoryย and forย Googleโs spacecraft concept.
Food Maker Frontiers
Make:ย contributorย Chiara Cecchiniย (@ClaireCecchini) published aย terrific roundupย this week of emerging food tech pioneered by maker pros โ from DIY aquaponics outfitย Your Simple Gardenย (@ursimplegarden) toย The Hive Co, a Hong Kong-based โmakerspace for farmersโ where participants can prototype and produce new types of farming equipment, to Montana-based edible insect startupย Cricket Cowboys.
โEdible insects are one of the most promising sustainable food sources available today and they are set to become even more popular in the future,โ saidย Kathy Rolin, the co-owner of Cricket Cowboys. โWe rolled up our sleeves and worked towards this direction!โ
Also in the agtech space, startupย Reservoir, which is working on a wireless irrigation system for landscapers,ย pulled in a seed roundย this week
Elsewhere on the Maker Pro Web
A new startup calledย UNSenseย (@UNSenseTech) wants toย usher in the city of the futureย with a range of smart sensors for interiors, exteriors and city-wide data collection. โWe are living in the age of the iPhone,โ said founderย Ben van Berkel, โyet the architecture and construction industries are still in the Walkman phase.โ
A cautionary tale for the 3D printing crowd: a blogger posted aย harrowing accountof aย Anet A8ย that caught fire, seemingly from an overheated hot end.
Blockchain tech is exciting, but itโs also often the domain of scammers and also-rans. Case in point: a cryptocurrency hardware wallet calledย Gizaย vanished this week, along with $2.4 million in funding.
Check outย this profileย ofย Landvaettr, a YouTuber who creates beautiful miniatures โ racks of swords and shields, castles and towers โ to use as props in tabletop roleplaying games likeย Dungeons & Dragons.
ADVERTISEMENT