When Intel launched its Make It Wearable contest challenging entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world to take wearable technology to new heights, they were prepared for anything. But when a team called Nixie made it wearable and flyable, they were impressed.
Nixie is a drone quad-copter camera that is worn on the wrist and, in memorable moments, can unleash itself and fly above to take pictures, then return to the user.
“You should be able to let it go with a gesture,” says team captain Christoph Kohstall, demonstrating in the project video how the quad-copter unwraps from the user’s wrist, straightens its four arms and flies off to snap a picture from high in the air.
“Then, it flies back to you and you can catch it in the air and put it back on your wrist.”
Nixie could dramatically change our approach to the selfie, for the video shows mountain climbers and tightrope walkers capturing their moments of accomplishment without having to stop the action.
Move over, GoPro — Team Nixie was awarded US$500,000 (RM1.66mil) to perfect their product as part of their grand prize in which they edged out other previously unimaginable innovations such as Open Bionics Low Cost Robotic Hand.
This British team, led by captain Joel Gibbard, had for a goal helping those who have lost functionality in the hands and created a prosthetic robot that would cost under US$1,000 (RM3,337) using 3D printing. The innovation won second prize.
Third prize went to ProGlove, a professional glove that’s equipped with a bevy of sensors, intended for those who work in production to pick up information about the products they are handling.
It can scan barcodes, inform users of the temperature of a metal they are touching, and indicate how much battery charge remains.
