Author: Erik Neilson

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Thermoelectric heater offers convection to wind in your direction

The Premise. The concept of the perfect space heater is something that people have been looking to capitalize upon for years. The problem is particularly challenging outdoors where one might be far away from an outlet.

The Product. According to designer Omid Moallemi, the pyramid-like thermoelectric heater was developed to make “al fresco” living in cold weather climates like England a bit more hospitable. The concept is simple. It takes in cold air, the unit heats the air by convection and thus pushes out hot air. It bills itself as being self-powered, which certainly sets it apart from many other heaters on the market.

The Pitch. While the campaign page contains a brief explanation as to why it was invented and how it works, there’s no video to show anything in action (presumably because a working prototype doesn’t truly exist as of yet). The two included photos are mockups, and they do little to make sense of the unit. This is a campaign that is very light on information, which doesn’t help particularly considering that its value (heat production) is something that can’t be conveyed by simply looking at it.

The Perks. It’s a little unclear what a pledge of £500 gets you. The reward tier promises customization of a unit, but the delivery of a “free” unit doesn’t begin until the £1,000 reward tier. You’ll have to wait awhile in any case as delivery isn’t estimated until December 2014.

The Potential. As a concept, there’s a lot to be said for this if it works as described, that is. Since the heater is self-powered, it requires no charging, doesn’t utilize solar panels and is completely self-contained. However, it probably does require at least a decent breeze to do its thing. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to know what kind of heat the product puts out. It may be cold logic, but it’s probably best to wait this one out and see if it actually makes it to market.

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Furniture

ModRoomz offers a cubist approach to modular shelving

The Premise. The “build it yourself” stacker modification concept has been around for quite a while, and it’s certainly no stranger to the crowdfunding landscape. Still, products like these absolutely serve a purpose, especially for those who have  little space to work with in their homes.

The Product. ModRoomz basically works on the same principles as Legos and the pieces don’t look too dissimilar from the classic toy either. The difference here, however, is that these building blocks can be used to create practically any type of modular furniture, ranging from coffee tables to bunk beds. The cubes can be modified to create extra storage, allowing you to build drawers and cubbies to store away for your belongings, and the company offers add-ons such as shelves, drawers and cover doors. Curiously, the exact dimensions of the ModCubes is nowhere to be found.

The Pitch. Judging by the campaign video for its “magic in a cube,” ModRoomz appears to be exceptionally easy to use. Moving the cubes around and create your own custom type of furniture looks fun, and the narration-free video itself has a nice production value to it. ModRoomz doesn’t seem to be too concerned about not meeting its lofty $200,000 funding goal as the company already has a fairly complete Web site of its own to market its system.

The Perks. One challenge that the campaign may face is its rewards pricing. Early bird pricing packages offer five or 1o cubes at $50 per piece. After that, you’re in for a $2,500 configuration that takes the form of a crib or bed ModRoomz entrepreneurs Brad and Dani will hand-assemble the furniture, but you must live within 100 miles of their Boston location.

The Potential. Those who lack space and like the idea of adding their own touch to the furniture in their homes will likely enjoy this product. There are similar systems on the market such as the shelving systems from Foremost, Way Basics and The Living Cube; some of these offer more choices in the sizes of their components. Still, the snap-on construction and quality materials stand to be a differentiator and the price will surely drop once production ramps up.

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Tech Accessories

EkZee targets the USB drive-by with malware removal

The Premise. Security risks are omnipresent in today’s world, and they’re only becoming more and more real as the years go on. Since so many of us use the Internet to handle our banking and put countless amounts of sensitive information on our computers, it’s never been more important to think about ways in which to maximize security.

The Product. EkZee may just be the solution to those who fear their USB drives may contain viruses. With a hobbyist enclosure and the footprint of a smartphone, it’s also extremely easy to use. Simply plug a USB drive into EkZee, hit the button and the rest takes care of itself. The device will scan your drive for any malicious software that may have somehow made its way onto it and get rid of it for you. According to the developer, simple antivirus software is often not enough to clean USB drives — this is where EkZee steps in.

The Pitch. There’s no slick marketing pitch for the EkZee. The video features low-fi audio and awkward cuts. However, it communicates the product’s value on a campaign page that goes into more technical detail about how the product works, why it’s effective, and what the oh-so-sexy printed circuit board looks like. The developers set out some aspirations for EkZee with their stretch goals beyond the £51,000 they seek. At £75,000, they’ll consider adding an LCD and more selective file deletion support and at £100,000 support for more file systems such as NTFS used by Windows.

The Perks. EkZee is expected to ship in July 2014 to backers. The base reward tier is £40 although a £31 early bird offer is available.

The Potential. The simplicity of using EkZee combined with the relatively low price makes this a product that could potentially have a big splash in the IT community. It’s not strictly for business use, however, and would be a wise purchase for many nontechnical users who need to screen a wide range of unknown USB drives.

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Kids/Babies Luggage and Bags Organization

Bigo Bag Five goes big, packs in diverse uses

The Premise. Have you ever wanted a bag that also doubled as a rain coat or a picnic blanket? Chances are the answer is no. Ah, but what if the name of this multifunctional container sounded like the name of a bag pipe quintet? Chances are the answer would still be no.

The Product. Hailing from Budapest, the Bigo Bag Five is basically a sheet of water-resistant material that can be molded in a variety of different ways and comes in an array of colors. It can become a backpack, a poncho, a baby sling and a picnic blanket. As a fifth feature, the bag is said to be “expandable,” although this doesn’t exactly serve as its own specific function. So, perhaps it should be the Bigo Bag Four. On the other hand, it is plenty Big-o with a capacity of 50 liters. Furthermore, any number of Bigo bags can be combined for your impromptu tarp needs.

The Pitch. You can tell that Todd (the star of the campaign video) is passionate about the Bigo Bag Five, although the pitch trails off soon after it starts. The rest of the campaign shows off the bag in tons of scenarios — Bigo cradling adorable baby, Bigo fishing on the high seas, Bigo laid out in a field of green protecting a reader’s jeans, and Bigo mated with another of its species. There’s also a contrast with the smaller capacity model designed for women (in pink, of course) as well as the smaller and single-function small (25 liter) bag accessory that comes with every Bigo Bag.

The Perks. The basic edition starts at a pledge of $117 – quite a bit more than most people are willing to pay for what is basically nothing more than a bag that can be unzipped and laid out flat. The project owners seem to recognize a bit of the price/value gap by throwing in an extra strap for added stability as well as offering a lower pledge tier for the mini bag (which is probably the same thing as the accessory bag).

The Potential.Everyone likes versatility, but this bag’s has its limits. What do you do with its contents or that adorable baby if you want to convert to a poncho? The Bigo Bag fits nicely between an average backpack and a laundry sack or camping pack, but there are countless high-quality backpacks on the market, many of which come along with more features and are less expensive.

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Furniture

The MatrixSphere provides your own movable mancave

The Premise. Sometimes, we just want to get away from it all. Sometimes, we want to go far away, to experience distant lands, to perhaps make a spiritual journey as well as a physical one. And sometimes, argues Ryan Rammage of Aurora, CO, we would be content to sit in a circular, modern-day arcade cabinet in the middle of another room.

The Product. A little room-within-a-room, the audaciously named and potentially underlit MatrixSphere is its own self-contained space for reflection, work, gaming and whatever else you might want to do seated in your own private, stationery vessel. The size of an average round dining room table propped up on its side, it resembles a spaceship, or perhaps a time machine that can be decked out to while away the hours with your favorite game console, PC or language lab video.

The Pitch, The one-angle campaign shows a great deal of photos of the planning and design process, but offers little in terms of ideas about what it might be like to actually spend time inside of it; interior shots are relegated to photos around the campaign page that include many details of the MatrixSphere’s construction.

The Perks. If there’s one thing that makes the MatrixSphere more of a novelty item, though, it’s the price. Starting at $5,000 for a single unit, due to be delivered in March 2014. That price includes the privilege of seeing the personal fortress of solitude created although travel is on your own dime.

The Potential. For those who are looking for ways in which to take their home office to an entirely new level, the MatrixSphere might serve as a good purchase. But at its insanely high price, one could probably hire a carpenter to create something similar and more customized.