2012 saw the rise of Kickstarter and crowd funded projects (Kickstarter is the brand name for crowd funded projects). What happens is a developer (can be anybody with anything, any idea) shows his or her concept of proof and what the final product aims to be and sets a target (funding required). If the target is met, the project goes into development and then finally a release. There are simply too many amazing Kickstarter projects from 2012 and hence, they will be summarized in a few lines and over multiple posts. Once again, please do pitch in your opinions.
ArduSat - Your Arduino Experiment in Space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xBi5ytndlRk
ArduSat wants to enable affordable space exploration to one and all. The project met it's target of $35,000 and went on to get over a $100,000. The ArduSat allows you to run your very own experiments in space. The mini satellite makes a full circle around the earth in an hour and half, that's 18 times the speed of sound folks.
Elevation Dock: The Best Dock for iPhone
Elevation Dock aims to do one simple thing, make the most effortless elevation dock for the iPhone. And boy has it got the crowd going. For a project which set a goal of $75,000, the project went on to get a total funding of nearly $1.5 million. That's crazy backing, and shows how good and important such a product really is to people (iPhone users).
Pebble: E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FdaCxMcw_Y
Pebble claims to be the 21st century watch. It promises to be infinitely customizable. You can download watchfaces and the watch is also internet enabled (say hello to weather on your watch). You can use the GPS on pebble (useful for cyclists), the watch is water resistant, use different watch faces which give the watch a different look. You can load apps on the watch via bluetooth. The display is based on a 144*168 pixels black and white e-Paper. It will run on any iPhone newer (and including) the iPhone 3GS (running iOS 5) and on any Android smartphone with 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS or higher. Another similar project was Touch Time which took it a few steps further with a LCD touch screen and is always on. The battery is a tiny cell which lasts a year.
1Q: Natural sound for your mobile life
1Q is a wood cabinet. There is a 6 mm thick acoustic chamber that is very ideal for sound reproduction.
Dispatch: The Internet, Faster
Dispatch is a Kickstarter project by the makes of the very popular Connectify software. Connectify allows one to share their internet connection easily with other devices. So your laptop may be connected to a WiFi network and itself act as a receiver as well. Think of it as a handy range extender in some cases.
Dispatch is the new software that has one simple aim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EeQvCnEIfmA
The software will make all available internet connections that your laptop or PC is connected to (Broadband, WiFi, Data Card) and combine them all. Sounds pretty cool!
Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game
Oculus Rift wants to enable that true 3D gaming that you've always wanted. No, not 3D as in the monitor/display 3D gimmick but the real deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzCwczY1jTM
Ever imagined stepping into the real world of the game and seeing everything from the eyes of the player your control? Well Oculus Rift aims to give you just that. Amazing right? The very thought gives me goosebumps.
The project is successfully funded with nearly $2.5 million.
Remee - The REM enhancing Lucid Dreaming Mask
Nearly everyone dreams. Dreams can be bizarre. They can be horrific. They can be amazing. They can be fulfilling as well. But what would you give to be able to control your dreams?
REM sleep is the state of deep sleep that everyone has (in a proper sleep cycle and time period). Now it happens that REM sleep gives us the dream state. Here REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. The device taps into your REM sleep period and wakens you in your dream, so that you can shape it with your imagination. The device uses a pattern of lights to tell you that you are indeed dreaming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXjXqZXNlk0
Sick eh? Reminds of somewhat of Inception, not the same but close.
With that, we conclude Part 1 of Kickstarter in 2012. Come back for Part 2 with more gadgets and games. The next post will probably be our last Recap of 2012 series post as well.
ArduSat - Your Arduino Experiment in Space
We love Arduino and we love space exploration. So we decided to combine them and let people run their own space experiments!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xBi5ytndlRk
ArduSat wants to enable affordable space exploration to one and all. The project met it's target of $35,000 and went on to get over a $100,000. The ArduSat allows you to run your very own experiments in space. The mini satellite makes a full circle around the earth in an hour and half, that's 18 times the speed of sound folks.
Elevation Dock: The Best Dock for iPhone
Undocking's a breeze and it works with cases. Built at a whole new level of quality with a beautifully minimal design.
Elevation Dock aims to do one simple thing, make the most effortless elevation dock for the iPhone. And boy has it got the crowd going. For a project which set a goal of $75,000, the project went on to get a total funding of nearly $1.5 million. That's crazy backing, and shows how good and important such a product really is to people (iPhone users).
Pebble: E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android
Pebble is a customizable watch. Download new watchfaces, use sports and fitness apps, get notifications from your phone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FdaCxMcw_Y
Pebble claims to be the 21st century watch. It promises to be infinitely customizable. You can download watchfaces and the watch is also internet enabled (say hello to weather on your watch). You can use the GPS on pebble (useful for cyclists), the watch is water resistant, use different watch faces which give the watch a different look. You can load apps on the watch via bluetooth. The display is based on a 144*168 pixels black and white e-Paper. It will run on any iPhone newer (and including) the iPhone 3GS (running iOS 5) and on any Android smartphone with 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS or higher. Another similar project was Touch Time which took it a few steps further with a LCD touch screen and is always on. The battery is a tiny cell which lasts a year.
1Q: Natural sound for your mobile life
1Q is a compact, powerful Bluetooth sound system with a hand crafted, solid wood cabinet - perfect for iPhone and iPad.
1Q is a wood cabinet. There is a 6 mm thick acoustic chamber that is very ideal for sound reproduction.
Dispatch: The Internet, Faster
Dispatch is a Kickstarter project by the makes of the very popular Connectify software. Connectify allows one to share their internet connection easily with other devices. So your laptop may be connected to a WiFi network and itself act as a receiver as well. Think of it as a handy range extender in some cases.
Dispatch is the new software that has one simple aim.
Use all of your available Internet connections at once to maximize speed & reliability with Dispatch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EeQvCnEIfmA
The software will make all available internet connections that your laptop or PC is connected to (Broadband, WiFi, Data Card) and combine them all. Sounds pretty cool!
Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game
Developer kit for the Oculus Rift - the first truly immersive virtual reality headset for video games.
Oculus Rift wants to enable that true 3D gaming that you've always wanted. No, not 3D as in the monitor/display 3D gimmick but the real deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzCwczY1jTM
Ever imagined stepping into the real world of the game and seeing everything from the eyes of the player your control? Well Oculus Rift aims to give you just that. Amazing right? The very thought gives me goosebumps.
The project is successfully funded with nearly $2.5 million.
Remee - The REM enhancing Lucid Dreaming Mask
Shrink to the size of an atom. Teleport to Mars. Bowl with John Lennon & Liz Lemon. Free your dreams!
Nearly everyone dreams. Dreams can be bizarre. They can be horrific. They can be amazing. They can be fulfilling as well. But what would you give to be able to control your dreams?
REM sleep is the state of deep sleep that everyone has (in a proper sleep cycle and time period). Now it happens that REM sleep gives us the dream state. Here REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. The device taps into your REM sleep period and wakens you in your dream, so that you can shape it with your imagination. The device uses a pattern of lights to tell you that you are indeed dreaming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXjXqZXNlk0
Sick eh? Reminds of somewhat of Inception, not the same but close.
With that, we conclude Part 1 of Kickstarter in 2012. Come back for Part 2 with more gadgets and games. The next post will probably be our last Recap of 2012 series post as well.
Buying a new phone? Or a tablet? Need help with something everyday-tech related? Ask me and I'm sure to help!
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013