SnapMunk: the Galaxy's Best Source of Tech & Startup Insight and Entertainment.

Yep. We’re talking about sex robots. Because, apparently that’s the moral battleground of the future, what lonely folk do while alone at home. You wouldn’t think there’d be an argument against this since it means there is a new option for people who are otherwise lonely or can’t obtain physical intimacy: a sex robot that can communicate and interact with its end user. Companies like Realdoll are racing to produce the first functional sex robot that crosses the uncanny valley.     But, apparently, there’s a contingent of folk out there, who strongly disagree with the idea of sex robots as a whole. So I’m going to open this one up, and you might disagree with what I have to say, but you also have to admit you’re invested. The Argument for Sex Robots If I summarize here, it’s because everyone’s rather familiar with them. A sex robot allows someone…

Show of hands: How many of you have checked your symptoms online before? For those of you who have, how confident were you in the potential diagnoses you found? And was it enough to keep you from visiting a physician? These are all questions London-based Your.MD, a booming AI health information service, wants to put to rest. Mario Alemi, Chief Data Office of Your.MD, told Access AI that “[t]urning to Google is the worst possible place to try and diagnose yourself. The information is not regulated and may not be correct. The advice could be harmful both physically and potentially mentally.” This is why Your.MD was founded. Although they’ve been steadily raising money since 2013 (the latest round of $10 million in venture funding came from Orkla Ventures in June 2017), the app was launched at the end of 2015. Since then, Your.MD has been downloaded by 2.1 million people on iOS and Android;…

Up to now, the self-driving car race has been all about building the car of the future. Tesla, the undisputed leader in terms of consumer-ready self-driving technology, is all about building the car of tomorrow, with the self-driving feature just one of many with a futurology bent. But a newer self-driving startup—and what some would call the leader insofar as fully-autonomous tech is concerned—recently announced a new approach that could prove revolutionary. Why Retro Could be the Future of Self-Driving Cars Drive.ai never set out to build the best self-driving car. They’ve never approached this technology or the markets it serves (and will serve) from a vehicle-creation standpoint. For them, it’s always been about achieving the best software solution. As their homepage declares, they’re “building the brain of self-driving vehicles.” Instead of striking early deals with car manufacturers to see who can roll out the most robust working product—though Drive.ai…

Are you looking to change your bad habits using tried and proven methods? When it comes to improving the way you live, there’s nothing like a (literal) shock or jolt to keep your mind in the zone. This is where Pavlok comes into play. You see, the patent-pending electrical stimulus releases a zap ranging from 50-450V that quickly gets attention and triggers the brain out of automatic mode.     The makers of the device claim it can track nail biting, snoring, chewing/eating, hair picking, scratching, face touching, and other activities programmed by the user. Users also can ‘teach’ their device customized gestures for it to detect. As with many smart devices, Pavlok comes with a companion mobile app to significantly enhance the features of the device. With Pavlok Core, users can create modules for different behavior. These components are built around the bad habits the user is aiming to…

Rings have become the form factor of choice for wearables that do all kinds of cool stuff. You can find a smart ring to track your calorie intake, to make payments, and even a smart ring using which long-distance couples can feel each other’s heartbeat. Token is a less creepy wearable that boasts a whole array of impressive features, including the ability to use it as a door lock, credit card, and car key. It launched last week, and is available for pre-order right now.     Setting up Token seems to be quite simple. You start by using the on-board fingerprint sensor to identify yourself as the owner. One ring can have only one authorized user, for obvious reasons. Once authorized, you can use Token’s mobile app to link your credit card, computer passwords, and any other smart access point. The ring can then be used to carry out…

As the last of the millennials leave college and head out into the real world, many of them have acquired the skills to make money, but are struggling with the saving part of the equation. According to CEO and co-founder of Exeq, Daniel Schwartz, 70% of millennials have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts and 60% of them live from paycheck to paycheck. Regardless of why millennials are lacking in the knowledge of how to properly save their hard-earned cash, it is a well-known problem and one that other tech startups have already tried to tackle. When you think about it, giving millennials an app to better manage their finances is a smart move. Millennials don’t necessarily trust banks, but they do trust technology. So, when they want guidance on how to spend their money, a digital financial advisor is the way to go. Daniel Schwartz’s Exeq is the latest personal finance…

Today, Americans are experiencing an epidemic of obesity with the average American drinking approximately 42 gallons of sweetened beverages each year. While it’s easy to say drinking more water instead of soda is the solution, one of the biggest pitfalls is that water alone is a boring drink. The makers of The Right Cup are looking to change that by using a combination of scent and taste; The Right Cup tricks users into thinking they’re drinking flavored water from this flavor cup. While the tongue only can taste five sensations (sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami), the sense of smell is responsible for 80% of the flavor experience. This science is why when your nose is stuffed, you’re unable to taste much of anything. “We all know that sugary carbonated beverages have been a huge factor in the obesity epidemic, and many people try to stop drinking soda, but it’s…

New Potato Technologies, the creators of the Brio, call it a “smart coaster.” That’s a bit of a nebulous term, although there have been a few attempts at hacking beverage coasters using Arduino boards and such. Their interpretation seems to be an IoT smart coaster that offers a whole smorgasbord of dissonant features which they hope have the combined effect of convincing you to go to a bar or party carrying your coaster in your pocket. It has never been easier to be one of the cool kids. At its most basic, Brio is a smart coaster with a unique design embellished by 24 built-in LEDs. Their function isn’t purely cosmetic. You can use the accompanying Brio app (currently on iOS; coming soon to Android) to control the lighting patterns produced by the LED lights. This is supposed to help with identifying your drink if ever you find yourself in…

Guess what? Now you can check how much gas you have in your bloodstream with a breathalyzer in the comfort of your own home. No, not for fun, of course, it is to find food that is good for your digestive system. It’s called AIRE, and it’s a breathalyzer for your diet.     AIRE was developed by the team at FoodMarble as an aid for people who are unsure if the food they eat reacts well to their digest system. The device is connected to the AIRE app which takes in the data and administers tests to see how your body is reacting to the food. When you eat certain things your body doesn’t agree with, it can cause gas which passes through the bloodstream and from there it goes into the lungs. Typically you’d need to go to a gastrologist for this procedure and AIRE certainly isn’t a replacement for that…

Here at SnapMunk, we’ve covered plenty of innovative smart kitchen gadgets. However today we’re profiling something a little simpler – a cheesemaker for the average home cook. Despite being simple, Kefirko has raised over $157,000 which is over 1045% of their original crowdfunding goal. What made this product such a success? We took a look     The cheesemaker enables users to make their own Kefir which is a fermented beverage filled with probiotics and other healthy ingredients. It’s made by leaving reusable cultures known as kefir grains in a liquid such as milk or sweetened water for 24 hours. The grains are comprised of proteins, polysaccharides, and a mixture of several types of micro-organisms such as yeasts, aroma, and lactic-acid-forming bacteria. According to the maker’s Kickstarter, kefir boosts the consumer’s immune system, improves digestion, helps with cholesterol regulation, and has numerous other beneficial effects. There are just four steps users…

Ever wondered how you can look like you’re always en route to a rave? The only way to achieve that elusive look is with false eyelashes with LEDs built into them (duh). And if you thought LED eyelashes are a total pipe dream, you obviously haven’t come across f.lashes (pronounced “fuh-lashes” because they make you go “What the fuh is this”). The Arduino-based wearables have crossed their Kickstarter funding goal with more than three weeks left in the campaign, and even earned the crowdfunding site’s ‘Project We Love’ badge.     One reason for the Kickstarter success seems to be that f.lashes are not just luminous, but also interactive and diverse in their own way. There are five lighting patterns for users to choose from: Liquid Pour, Twilight Sparkle, Hyper Burst, Knight Riding, and Endless Winks. Each of those modes makes the LED lights behave differently. There are also a few…

With just a click of a button, we can hire someone to deliver our groceries, watch our children, or even handle the scheduling for our businesses. San Francisco-based startup Fairy is hoping that people will also be interested in outsourcing the cleaning of their home to a third-party provider. Hold up. Aren’t there already more than enough housekeeping services? Well, Fairy is hoping their unique business approach will be sufficient to convince customers that they need to make room for one more option. How Exactly Is Fairy’s Housekeeping Different? Having launched in 2016, Fairy hasn’t had much time to demonstrate how their unique value proposition holds up against the overabundance of independent and professional maid services. That being said, they’re trying to make a dent in the San Francisco Bay and New York City areas, and to show consumers—and investors—that their specialized approach to housekeeping is a worthy adversary to the…