https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tempescope-a-box-of-rain-in-your-living-room#/
Tempescope wants to bring the weather straight to your living room.
Like a snow globe from the future, the Tempescope consists of an acrylic case, water pump, mist diffuser and a bunch of LEDs which together are able to simulate a range of weather conditions, including clouds, lightning, rain and sunshine.
Running off a small Arduino-based computer, the Tempescope is able to sync up with your phone or PC to show you what the weather's going to be like tomorrow with physical, realistic demonstrations.
Aside from the fun-factor of having a box filled with actual lightning in your front room, the Tempescope has a number of practical uses. You can set it to mimic the weather outside right now or tomorrow, so think of it as a mini barometer or weatherman. You can specify a location and have a Tempescope sync up to it -- a great way to "send" weather to loved ones that are far away. Or just use it as a way to relax and set it to rain lightly and lull you into sleep.
The possibilities are pretty endless -- especially because the Telescope is supposedly -- this is a crowdfunding project after all, with all the caveats that implies -- fully customisable, allowing developers to use the SDK to build their own custom apps.
The Tempescope was dreamed up by creator Ken Kawamoto who wanted to recreate tropical rain from any location. The idea was first announced in 2014, but Kawamoto and his Tokyo-based team are now seeking funding for the Tempescope on Indiegogo so they can bring the innovative weather-in-a-box idea to the mass market.
For $199 (around £131 + shipping costs) you can get your hands on a Tempescope developer kit. But if you want one before it hits the high street you'll have to build it yourself.
Kawamoto explains on Tempescope's Indiegogo page, "The reason we're making this as a kit is because we'd like the first people to use this gadget to be OK with taking the extra few steps to finish this off, in the spirit of our open source roots. (and it makes the cost to produce about half what it would be.)"
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
