The Giz Wiz, Week of August 27, 2013, Netcast 1431

The Giz Wiz Video of the Week.

Gee, it’s windy out? How windy is it? Now you’ll be able to tell exactly with the Vaavud, a wireless wind meter that connects to many smartphones. There’s no electronics involved, but the company says it’s been tested and calibrated in a wind tunnel at The Technical University of Denmark. Who needs this? Well, besides people who just love gadgets, it offers wind-dependent outdoor enthusiasts like kite surfers, golfers, Para gliders, sailors, model plane flyers, etc. the information needed to best plan their day of adventure. And soon, you'll be able to share this information online, and check out live wind readings from other users on an interactive map. When you get the wind info from the weather bureau, the information is probably taken many miles from where you’ll actually be. With the Vaavud, you can share the  wind speed exactly where you are. It can measure wind speeds up to 25 miters per second, which if I did the calculations right, is about 56 miles per hour. It’s resistant to water, sand, and dirt. Surprising, the rugged design contains no electronics. Vaavud connects to your phone wirelessly via its two small magnets in the rotor. The phones built-in magnetic field sensor detects when they rotate, and converts the rotations to wind speeds. (It uses algorithms normally used for sound processing.) To use the device, just download the free app, and insert the Vaavud in the headphone jack of your device. Since there’s no electrical connection, you can actually hold the Vaavud away from your device and still see the wind reading on the screen. It’s compatible with most iOS devices (not iPods!), and the Samsung Galaxy SII, SIII and SIV. Visit the company website for more compatable devices.  I got to play with one for a bit and you can it working in the YouTube Video below.  The Vaavud, which was a very successful Kickstarter project, retails for $49.99.

www.bitemyapple.co

Giz Wiz Vaavud Video: http://youtu.be/5l0cjs8Yrsk

Vaavud Company website: http://www.versaudio.com/vers1q.html

See or hear this show: www.twit.tv/giz1431   (Goes live late 8/27/13)