Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving shows off new wearable tech before NBA Finals

During last year's NBA Finals, Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith introduced many fans to the hoverboard, a tech flourish that some criticized him for as a potential lack of focus on the game, which they ultimately lost.

On Saturday, a similar tech turn happened for the Cavaliers when guard Kyrie Irving showed up to the pre-game seven NBA Finals press conference sporting a mysterious piece of wearable technology.

When asked by a reporter what the black body harness was, Irving said, "It's a Subpac, you'll be hearing about it soon."

That's about all Irving explained, but by identifying the hand logo on his gear we managed to find out that the Subpac is a wearable "tactile sound" accessory that allows you to feel the sound of music or gaming noise effects. 

Given that Saturday was a practice day for most players, it's possible that Irving was wearing the device to help him get into the zone as he listens to music in preparation for Sunday's big game.

The model shown on the company's website is different from the version Irving wore today, but if you're interested you can buy that model for $279. It's not clear if Irving is an official endorser of the product or just a gadget lover, but it's worth noting that he also appeared to be wearing an Apple Watch during the press event.

Like Smith's hoverboard reveal last year, this isn't the Subpac's market debut. It's already been around for a while, getting its start as a Kickstarter in 2013. But by attaching it to a big name athlete there's now a chance that the device might begin to enter the mainstream. 

So if and when you see one of these things, you'll know it's not a futuristic back brace, it's just an immersive sound device. 

Student turns Raspberry Pi into epic Simpsons episode shuffler

Imagine having all 600 odd episodes of the Simpsons ready to go at the touch of a button. You'd pretty much never be bored again, would you?

Well, Irish PhD student and developer Stephen Coyle has made the dream into a glorious reality — by adapting a Raspberry Pi Zero into a gadget that randomly generates episodes.

"I’m a big Simpsons fan, and since I love all of the earlier seasons it’s always tough to choose which episode to watch, especially in a group," Coyle told Mashable. "The natural solution was to have something else choose for me!"

The gadget only took Coyle a few hours to make.

"I had a PhD deadline last Monday, so once that was out of the way I spent afternoon doing it to unwind," he said. "Most of the time was actually spent converting the episodes to get them all to fit onto the memory card!

"It’s not too hard to make, in fact it’s a great beginner electronics project. Programming and doing basic electronics is really easy with the Raspberry Pi (I’d really encourage anyone to get one and try it out!). I’ve put the code that makes it work on my website for anyone to use, so as long as you can connect up a button you’re all set."

Coyle combined a large yellow button with a Rasberry Pi Zero to make his episode generator.

IMAGE: STEPHEN COYLE

Here's what the finished device looks like.

IMAGE: STEPHEN COYLE

Coyle told us he's been into electronics for a long time, and has recently developed an interest for coding. He's currently working on some projects that will incorporate both.

"My latest gadget in progress is a wireless remote control for my camera using Arduinos," he said. "I’ve also got a music-based puzzle game that I’ll be releasing on the App Store hopefully in a few weeks!"

Over a third of households may own a wearable next year

35 percent of households may own a wearable by this time next year, as people start to see the value in a wearable that can track fitness and give detailed analysis on your workouts.

That’s a 15 percent gain on current wearable ownership, according to the Consumer Technology Association. In a study published this week, CTA revealed a large interest in fitness trackers and other related wearables, but less of an interest in smartwatches.

Only eight percent of households own a smartwatch currently and that figure is set to reach 16 percent by next year. That’s still improvement, but the cost of a smartwatch for its limited additional features seems to be pushing consumers to fitness trackers and other cheaper wearables.

But it’s not just fitness wearables

The report also mentions smart home devices, like thermostats, lighting controls, and motion sensors becoming more popular in the United States, with 15 percent of households owning at least one device.

Connected devices like smart TVs, speakers, and wireless headphones are also easing consumers into the smart home process of connecting devices through Bluetooth and the internet. CTA believes that this is a bridge for households to move to a smart home system, once they understand the capabilities of a connected home.

Smartphones continue to rule the roost when it comes to gadgets and have become hub devices for a smart home system. Some expect to see the smartphone fade away in ten years, but for now it is a prime device that is required if you want a smart home.

As we move forward in the wearable market, it might be even harder for smartwatches to appeal to consumers. Xmetrics CEO expects to see more focused wearables that offer one purpose, and does not see the additional smartwatch functionality as worthwhile.