14 DAY TRIAL // There are a lot of things that smartphones can do, but there are a lot of things that they cannot do too, and measuring the speed and intensity of wind is one of them. Or rather used to be one of them until now.
Vavuud is a Danish hardware startup that had the very unusual idea of making a wind speed measuring tool compatible with smartphones.
Simply called the Vavuud wind meter, the gadget uses two magnets inside a rotor, which generate a magnetic field that the smartphone detects and processes using algorithms normally used for sound processing.
As seen in the pictures on Kickstarter (a website dedicated to new projects of all kinds), the wind meter looks like a pair of tea spoons stuck together.
Depending on how fast the wind makes them spin, the smartphone will get different readings.
“The Vaavud wind meter enables you to take precise and reliable measurements of the wind anywhere, using your iOS or Android phone,” the company says.
“And of course you can share your measurements online, and see live wind readings from other users on a map. So Vaavud can help you plan your trip, choose the right gear when you get to the spot, and alert others of the conditions before they go.”
So far, Vavuud's wind meter has been tested with Samsung's Galaxy SII and SIII phones, as well as Apple's iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5.
“To our knowledge we are the first to use the magnetometer in smartphones in this way, so we of course think the technology itself is kind of cool,” Helms explained via email to TechCrunch.
“It’s also cool because on a mechanical level it appears quite simple, but there is some relatively complex math behind it.”
The wind meter should be ready by June, assuming the £20,000 / $30,250 / 23,374 Euro funding goal is reached. Pre-orders are of £15 / $23 / 17.53 Euro.
