Smart mirror continuously redirects sunlight into dark corners

The benefits of sunlight is widely known, and we have seen a number of devices — such as a fake window and smart LED light — help those who spend a lot of time indoors get their daily dose of vitamin D. Now, Lucy is a smart adaptive mirror that uses robotics to follow the sun throughout the day, in order to redirect sunlight to any chosen area.
Lucy is a portable, white globe, which uses an algorithm based on smartly positioned photosensors to continuously redirect sunlight into the home. Users first place Lucy in a spot with a view of the sun. Then, they point its ‘nose’ towards the ceiling of the room they want to illuminate. The mirror inside the device then redirects the sunlight to the ceiling, which cause the light to spread out and illuminate the room. As the sun moves throughout the day, the mirror repositions itself in order to provide a continuous stream of light into the desired spot.
Created by Italian startup Solenica, Lucy is entirely solar powered, it has no wires and never needs to be charged, so it can lead to energy savings for users who are able to switch off some of their electric lighting. It can be even be placed outside on a patio or balcony, since it is rain and snow proof. Lucy is currently available to preorder for USD 199. How else could smart technology be used to maximize people’s exposure to sunlight?

Disrupting traditional education where kids drop out

Shearwater International aims to keep international students from dropping out of college, by building an online platform that connects them with young alumni who have been trained as mentors. CEO Jackson Boyar says that while international students spend $27 billion on tuition, room, and board each year, roughly 40 percent of them haven’t graduated after six years. Shearwater wants to supply a support system that will change that statistic — and eventually ensure that those students give back to their alma mater as donors. Shearwater is already working with two dozen colleges and boarding schools, Boyar says — and 19 of them are paying customers.

Disrupting the farmer to market ecommerce - Provender

 Provender is out to connect restaurants with farmers, fishermen, and foragers by creating a kind of digital farmer’s market. With fewer intermediaries, prices are lower for restaurants buying fresh mushrooms or scallops from a local producer, and they can pay a single Provender invoice rather than dozens of separate ones. The company began serving Eastern Canada first, and has more recently expanded to New England, Florida, and Colorado. CEO Caithrin Rintoul says that the startup’s average order size is nearly $1,500, and that its operations in New England hit $100,000 in bookings a little more than two months after launching here. Rintoul says the startup aspires to create “the operating system of agriculture.” Barry Maiden, formerly the chef at Hungry Mother in Cambridge, has signed on to be the startup’s “ambassador” for the New England region.

Disrupting the existing industry with new model - Greeting card industry

LovePop wants to disrupt Hallmark. Founder Wombi Rose says that buying greeting cards “has become a chore,” and that his Harvard-spawned startup is “bringing the magic back to an industry that has lost its way.” The cards are dazzling — intricate pop-ups that are made in Vietnam at LovePop’s own production facility. They sell for $8 to $13, and a LovePop table in the lobby was doing brisk business at the conclusion of Tuesday’s proceedings. The company has seven retail kiosks in Massachusetts, Nevada, and California, and Rose says that the company’s current revenue run rate is $1 million. Not bad for a company born in early 2014.