Ever ride around on a bike in a cute skirt only to end up flashing the world when a gust of wind blows your honor away? Try KATCH, a magnet that keeps your skirt in place when on the go. The metal cuff can be worn as a bracelet or honor-preserver by weighing short skirts or dresses down so nothing is revealed. This clever product may be just the thing for pedal-pumping women unwilling to compromise style for functionality. KATCH comes in different styles and colors and one goes for only $10 with an estimated delivery date of May 2014. KATCH hopes to catch $5,000 from backers in their 30-day run on Kickstarter.
Month: March 2014
![Screen Sock 20140319185833-screensock_phone[1]](http://rossrubin.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Screen-Sock-20140319185833-screensock_phone1-300x218.jpg)
While touch screens have their plusses, perhaps one of the more annoying minuses for some is the smudges that they collect. By the end of the day, iPhones, tablets and other touch screen devices can look like they were used as a plate for a fried chicken meal – unless you use your shirttail to wipe them off from time to time. But lime green and utterly ridiculous-looking Screen Sock aims to change all that. The one-size-fits-all digital debris debilitation device just slips over your finger (or thumb if you prefer) and lets you swipe away without leaving streaks and smudges on your screen. Perhaps the perfect gift idea for neat freaks, germaphobes, and those who feel it’s too much effort to use a cleaning cloth. For $10, backers get two finger socks and an expected delivery of April 2014.
![BundeZe 65367227dbbc1bdd4bfd3a713371fcaf_large[1]](http://rossrubin.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BundeZe-65367227dbbc1bdd4bfd3a713371fcaf_large1-300x208.jpg)
Seems like no matter what you do, cords, cables, and ropes always end up in a spaghetti-like pile. But that would be why bundling helps like BundeZe exist. The bungee loop stretches to allow you to wrap, bundle, and lash; then hold it all together with the BundeZe ball, slide collar, and pull tab. The product is something of a beefed-up version of Bongo Ties. Backers can tie up their loose ends with a stash of six BundeZes for $9, with an expected delivery of May 2014.
The Premise. Keys, bags, phones and other things are essential items for leaving the house. Most people opt to use a special bowl or shelf for their varied accoutrements, but their items tend to get messy when all thrown in the same place. Other storage systems that hang on the wall keep those important accessories in place, but can also make them difficult to access.
The Product. Geco Hub offers a way to keep your accessories handy, but organized at the same time. As the campaign refers to it in a way that tugs at the heartstrings, it is the “home for things without a home.” Using a series of rubber pegs and circles, the hub holds your stuff without poking holes into anything. The shelf is easily assembled and can be adhered or screwed into the wall. This organizational accessory comes in different sizes and colors including black, blue, green, pink and white.
The Pitch. Geco’s campaign starts with a video showing the different ways the product can be used and configured to make different patterns with the colors available. Simon Lyons, the British creator, is a little bland if charming enough in the video. The rest of the campaign shows different design possibilities for the wall fixture and details exactly what the reward tiers offer. Geco hopes to raise £35,000 in their 35-day Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. One Geco Hub, which is a 5×5 unit, goes for £25 with an estimated delivery date of October 2014. Other perk levels offer different sizes of the hub up to a 15×15 unit for £269. Reward tiers go all the way up to £540.
The Potential. Other products out there have attempted to solve the whole key and letters by the door problem. Most approach it from a more direct stance like the InterDesign Key and Mail Rack that has hooks and a shelf specifically meant for key rings. The Geco Hub is more versatile in what it can hold and, according to the campaign, can hold a great deal of weight. This nifty product is also great for tools or even bathroom accessories making it valuable all over the house. While a little expensive, the Geco Hub is a cool and multipurpose addition for any home.
Just as a fence is only as strong as its weakest link, many home security systems can be easily toppled by a door or window left ajar. The LILA system (Leave it Locked, Always) from QL London is designed to make sure that anytime homeowners leave the home, they receive alerts for any unsafely open ports of entry. A self-adhesive sensor can be placed on any doors and windows and will communicate via Bluetooth to the LILA Hub and/or the LILA App if it detects that the an entryway is left open. For £12, a 2-pack of sensors can be delivered (add £7 for shipping outside the UK), making homes safer in September 2014.
Even with solid state drives and cloud-based services storing files without taking up space, organizing and preserving old hard drives can be precarious and awkward. The translucent tome-like Datainer line of products is designed to give these drives a safe, neatly organized home for a company’s or professional’s long-term storage and access. Using a modular design, Datainer organizes both 3.5” and 2.5” drives, as well as SD cards, flash drives, and other handheld storage. While supports can make a mix-and-match Datainer system, a $20 pledge is enough for two DataMates (3.5” HDD), a Twin25 Module (2 2.5” HDD), a DataBase Anti-Slip Mat, and a FlashBox Module that can store 35 flash cards, all to be shipped in June 2014.
The microscopic world is endlessly fascinating and always a great way to satisfy curiosity about the planet Earth, but microscopes are bulky, fragile, and expensive. The Micro Phone Lens is a surprisingly low-cost, simple method of keeping a microscope nearby at all times, because it attaches to the camera on any smartphone or device with a 5 megapixel or greater camera. This model is a follow-up to a previous campaign by inventor Thomas Larson, offering 150x magnification compared to the previous model’s 15x. This simple, intuitive microscope alternative starts at just $29 for the lens alone and will be available by July 2014.
In the past decade, it has become trendy to espouse that, like any muscle, the brain needs to get a workout every once in a while to stay in shape. The iFocusBand is a piece of smart headgear that slips inside the band of any ball cap and measures brain waves to determine focus and awareness, which it then translates into audiovisual stimulus to help boost athletic performance. Smart headbands are beginning to pop up all over the crowdfunding scene, but the athletic angle may help iFocusBand stand out. iFocusBand will cost backers $295, and has its eyes on the prize for an October 2014 release date.
Any science fiction fan knows that a wrist communicator is the one device that truly will usher in the high-tech era. The Rufus Cuff, with a 3-inch screen, built-in microphone, speaker, and camera, makes those Android Wear watches cower in fear. Running a full Android OS and resembling the wrist computer on the old TV show Chuck, the Rufus Cuff can run all kinds of apps and function for internet browsing, fitness, and a whole lot more — alas, no laser shooting. With lots of capability, the only real concern is the device’s battery life and size as it looks a bit clunky and awkward in the campaign video. The Rufus Cuff should beam down in September 2014 for supporters providing at least $229.
Categories
PanoCam3D enables panoramic 3D capture
The Premise. Most would agree that even the best photos and videos of a moment or place don’t compare to actually being present. Like all interesting technology, photography has certainly evolved significantly from its beginnings but has a long way to go in terms of completely reproducing a moment. The whole issue is further evidence that we just need teleporters already.
The Product. Panocam 3D, the world’s first 3D 360 degree camera, has kicked photography evolution up a notch. Now making 3D 360° videos easy for anyone, the camera is actually made up of 12 synchronized Full HD cameras which span 360° horizontally and 160° vertically. Once your photos are uploaded to your computer VideoStitch software automatically stitches them together for easy 360° viewing. With additional software you can also make and view 360° videos, which can be viewed using a virtual reality headset, which is where the real fun comes in.
The Pitch. The Panocam 3D is presented in an under-minute campaign video which gets straight to the point. While the video features a few clips of 360° video, it does not show off examples of the camera’s vertical span and leaves viewers wanting a little more. Later in the campaign page there are video downloads available, which helps make up for the initial shortage. A flexible funding campaign, the Panocam will receive all funds it raises and aims to earn $25,000 in 40 days. If funded, prototypes are expected to start shipping as early as May.
The Perks. Interestingly, Panocam 3D offers five backer levels before getting to the one that provides a prototype of the product. Outside of the E.U., you may back Panocam to the tune of $3,999, not including value-added tax (VAT) and fees from customs, which could get hefty. For E.U. residents, these duties are already built in to backer levels, so $4,799 USD will get you a Panocam complete pack if you are one of the first 20 backers in the E.U. Once the early bird closes out, backers can expect to pay $4,999 (not including VAT and custom duties) for a Panocam 3D complete pack, which includes the software for stitching everything together. The project creators have added a stretch goal of $100,000 to make the product available in a variety of colors.
The Potential. Clearly, at this point, the cost of the product makes it less realistic for the masses but potentially an avenue for professional filmmakers to consider for attractions. The bloom has been off the 3D rose for some time, but may be making a comeback as glasses-free technologies make progress. 360Heroes was a like-minded project on Kickstarter with the intention of making 3D video recording more available to the general public. The project failed to meet its funding goal although it seems to be carrying forward. Another 3D video device, the Tamaggo ibi, has been missing in action since its public debut back in 2012. At CES 2014, Voxx announced products by Carnegie Mellon offshoot EyeSe360, which should provide 360° 2D video at a more consumer-friendly price.