BetaList features the newest startups. Today, we take a closer look at Nimb, a ring that saves lives. Submit your startup to get featured too.

A smart ring that saves lives? Tell us more!

Nimb is the crowdsourcing security system where people come forward to help those who are in trouble. In the heart of the system there’s a personal wearable device, a ring with a panic button to send an alert to friends and family, police and private security services, people nearby or other contacts, pre-selected in the app.

Nimb is the only safety device that allows one to alert people who care and authorities of the emergency — with a touch of a thumb. The ring becomes a real life savior in situations when making a call is not possible. If something or someone holds user’s hands, sending an alert is still feasible: it takes only three seconds and can be done in complete discretion.

We believe that society is ready to provide its members with peer-to-peer help in extreme situations. We have a lot of faith in official law enforcement institutions and aim to add value and quality to their services by including horizontal initiatives of those, who want and are able to help others. We see Nimb as a movement towards safer environments, where people combine efforts to help someone in trouble, whether they are authorised officials, close ones, sympathetic neighbors or just passerbys.

Why Kickstarter?

We ran a pre-launch campaign on Facebook and received unprecedented feedback from interested people who are ready to order Nimb. With such a demand in place, crowdfunding is the logical move. We believe Kickstarter is the right fit for the project with its solid reputation among backers and diverse promotion tools.

Are you planning on creating more products like this smart ring?

Yes, but new devices is not our main focus. We aim to build peer-2-peer security system where people come forward to help those in trouble. We believe that society is ready to protect its members — and we give it a perfect tool to form active communities, which involve people to creating safer environments.

In the future Nimb will become a complex security system, offering new safety solutions for home, office, automobiles and businesses. We will work to achieve deep integration with existing institutions — police, health care and other emergency organizations.

Licensing the access to our system for independent wearable producers in another direction for our development. By the end of 2017 we’ll prepare a new version of the ring with new design, and expand our market beyond the US, entering Latin America, Asia and Europe. Safety bracelets and trinkets come in early 2018.

When will the crowdfunding campaign start and where can we find more info?

The campaign starts on 21st of June and will last for 30 days. For more info please check out http://nimbom

Google’s new Android Wear watch bands will make it easy to spice up your smartwatch

Bored with your wearable? Google wants to spice it up with a collection of new, easy to change ‘Mode’ watch bands .

The straps feature a simple slide toggle to attach and detach your band in a single click. They were designed in partnership with b&nd by Hadley Roma, a company that specializes in making watch straps.

The bands come in 16mm, 18mm, 20mm, and 22mm mm sizes. That should fit most Android Wear watches – and most mechanical watches too.

Watches are as much fashion accessory as they are tools; that’s why Apple designed an extensive set of watch bands to add some pizzazz to an otherwise staid piece of hardware. It looks like Google had the same realization.

So far the bands come in ten leather and six silicone designs.  They’re priced at $59.95 and $49.95, respectively, and you can buy them in the US from the Google Store (US) , Amazon , and Best Buy .

Google says this is just its first collection of bands too, so expect more to pop up in due time.

Don’t trust the Internet of Things: when smart devices leak data

Update: Nest got back to us, saying that the researchers assumed incorrectly what the geo-location data was for, which actually was used for the weather station, not the user’s house:

A group of researchers have revealed that the Internet of Things is probably less secure than you expect.

At a talk during PrivacyCon held by the Federal Trade Commission last week, the researchers revealed that many smart devices leak private information in cleartext — with little to no effort to encrypt that data.

The most notable of their findings was that the Nest thermostat was leaking the zip code of the user in clear text ( see update above — the data actually related to the nearby weather station ).

Credit: Freedom to Tinker

When the researchers reported the bug it was quickly fixed by Nest, however it’s unclear how long the hole was open before it was found.

Transmitting data in cleartext isn’t inherently bad, but it means that any ‘bad actor’ on your home or the ISP’s network could easily steal that information without all that much work.

The group studied other devices, such as a smart photo frame that communicated with the internet entirely unencrypted and a Ubi smart speaker that leaked sensor data, which could be used to track whether you were at home.

The biggest question still surrounding the Internet of Things is how secure these devices really are — though the researchers said that the Nest was one of the “more secure” devices.

Many of the creators of smart gadgets are small startups that don’t have the resources or knowledge to build out sophisticated security, leaving you wide open to attack.

There is some hope in the unified platforms that both Google and Apple provide for the Internet of Things, which would help standardize security and communication.

The problem is that right now we’re in an all-out brawl for who will own the definitive IoT platform. Until then, expect a bumpy ride.

➤ Who Will Secure the Internet of Things? [Freedom to Tinker via Motherboard ]