The new Galileo iOS accessory allows users to remotely move an iPhone or iPod touch via the touchscreen of another iOS device, such as an iPad. When used with a device's camera, Galileo opens all kinds of doors for time-lapse photography, cinematography, video conferencing, baby monitoring, bird watching, vehicle inspection, robotics, etc.
"Really the possibilities are endless," says Galileo's co-founder and senior designer, Josh Guyot, in the company's Kickstarter video. He and co-founder JoeBen Bevirt have so far raised almost $360,000, nearly quadrupling what they originally asked for.
It's easy to see why people are so excited. Once your iPhone or iPod touch is in the Galileo dock, you can pan and tilt the devices and their cameras in any direction, creating a 360-degree sphere of vision.
Guyot says users can move the device at 200 degrees a second, fast enough to catch a person walking by. It can also be programmed to move as slowly as you want, facilitating things like multiple-hour time-lapse shots.
The Galileo, which doubles as a charger, is controlled via a wireless connection -- whether that's a cell signal or Wi-Fi.
Guyot, who owns the company Guyot Designs and has invented other devices such as the SplashGuard, was motivated to make the device after trying to video chat with his young son from China while he was away on business. His son would often put down his wife's iPhone and walk away, leaving him staring off into space.
"Video chatting without being able to move that camera is really frustrating," he says.
The $130 device was merely an idea until about nine months ago. That's when Guyot and Bevirt, the founder of Joby and the inventor of the Gorillapod, started moving toward an actual design and system for production.
They have a manufacturer in China and the $100,000 they first set out to raise on Kickstarter will pay for tooling and production costs. All the additional money they've raised will be used to create accessories and to enhance the product.
"Everything is going to go back into the development," says Guyot.
The pair say they chose Kickstarter instead of traditional investors because Kickstarter served as both a fundraising and marketing platform.
"I don't know if there is a more cost-effective way to launch a product like this," says Guyot.
Along with the Galileo device itself, Guyot and Bevirt have also released a software developer’s kit, or SDK. This will allow developers to integrate Galileo into existing photography and video apps, or design completely new apps based on the device.
Guyot won't say which apps they've already targeted, but he says nothing is off the table. There is no official release date, but Guyot says he hopes to get the device into the hands of the Kickstarter backers by June and the rest of the public soon after.
