Providing water for outdoor activities often means that a spot needs to be found where one can place the water cooler where it won’t fall over. Portable Water Cooler Carrier makes it easier to have water on hand, whether the location has a smooth or rough terrain. This isn’t going to save a great deal on plastic bottles and paper cups unless everyone remembers to bring their own travel mug or water bottle. And if one is bringing a water cooler on a camping trip, that is some extreme camping. Nevertheless, backers can get two products for $125 with an expected delivery of July 2015.
Buying a bike rack eventually crosses the mind of most cyclists, because leaving your prized possession outside at the mercy of the elements and of possibly being stolen isn’t the most comforting thought. Bike racks take many forms, but never like the LATIGO by Plain Leather LLC. Technically speaking it isn’t a bike rack, but rather a leather strap that hangs from the wall to hold your bike. Even though there are bikes everywhere in the sparse campaign, this product could be marketed as pretty much anything else. Those convinced can get one for $25 — just watch out for dirty walls. The company is looking for a $7,500 for their leather dream.
“You’re doing it wrong.” is an age-old meme around the Internet! Nevertheless, that is the premise for The Midnight Scoop. The creator’s redesign for the ice cream scoop is supposed to make it easier to scoop hard ice cream out of the carton. Of course, there is always the option of putting the carton in the microwave for a minute or so to soften the ice cream. But for backers who just can’t wait, $35 will get them one scooper with an expected delivery of December 2014.
The Premise. Almost every device on the market these days needs a touch screen in order to succeed, as the newest wave of input allows users to interact with their devices in a natural, convenient way. Still, where touch displays should make things easier, without anything to feel by, a touch screen is useless to those who lack other senses.
The Product. Touching buttons to launch apps is one thing, but being able to feel them and identify them without necessarily pressing them is what the Tactalis Origin Tactile Computer offers. Using a metal stylus or a magnetic ring, the Tactalis system puts a system of switches and magnets under any LCD panel, creating a sensation of touch for any image that is normally displayed as a static, flat representation. Additionally, Tactalis is pushing itself as a marketplace of software that utilizes this technology, allowing an entire niche market of apps that can be felt to be developed on the platform, giving vision impaired users access to programs and features that many already take for granted.
The Pitch. The core concept behind Tactalis isn’t just altruistic, it’s also cool. Their campaign materials do a great job of blending these two core aspects of the product’s identity, focusing as much on what adding the sensation of touch can add to existing programs as it does on what said features will enable the blind community to do as far as independent travel, work, and learn. Tactalis is trying to get their hands on $40,000 CAD to bring the Origin Tactile Computer to the masses.
The Perks. With plenty of reward tiers, it’s not until the $2,500 CAD level that backers can actually (and literally) get their hands on an Origin Tactile Computer powered by Tactalis. For twice as much money, at the $5,000 CAD level, the Origin Tactile Computer will come with a carrying case, an accessory pack, and a license offering free access to all Tactalis software. All perks are set to arrive in May 2015.
The Potential. Any technology that offers accessibility to a group of people that currently lack it is sure to make a big splash. The Tactalis Origin Tactile Computer brings back the dimension of touch to devices that have for too long lacked such a feature. While it may seem like nothing more than a novel and unnecessary idea to the bulk of the touch screen-using community, blind users would be able to navigate and use the Internet in a new and intuitive way that can better relay important information. It’s not the first attempt at a tactile display, but the more practical approach using magnets as opposed to a dynamically raised display seems to give it a nod ahead of Tactus in terms of speed to market.
Whether it’s in the car, on a camping trip or taking the kids to the park, paper towels are one of those items that makes life-on-the-go just a little easier. The EZ-Roll Holder is supposed to add to that by providing a place to mount them that doesn’t require any tools for instillation, so that paper towels can be mounted and available whenever and wherever life happens to roll. Unfortunately, the detail on just how one goes about mounting the product is not particularly clear, but for $12, backers get one product with an expected delivery of November 2014.
For those who hate the math that goes along with figuring out arcs or curves when doing various types of small item carpentry work, Roler has that round covered. This silkscreened, laser-cut wheel-like device fits easily into a tool box, pocket, or for lady builders, a purse. Depending on one’s preference, the rolling ruler is available in increments of 12 inches when measuring in feet, 10 inches for inches only, or 25 centimeters for centimeters only. While it seems good for some curved surfaces, it could get tricky to measure more than a foot. For $8, backers get one product with an estimated delivery of December 2014.
Extreme sports enthusiasts, bikers of all types, and military personnel all depend on their eyewear to offer crisp and clear vision. Not doing so at the wrong moment can lead to injury or even worse, death. NewBreed’s PRO eyewear system boasts the almost instantaneous switching of lenses for any situation, a step above current eyewear systems that take quite a bit of time to do the same job. It’s impressive, but ultimately the market for the $150 product is small. NewBreed is looking to raise a substantial $350,000 sum to finalize prototyping and take the PRO into production.
Does anyone actually sleep well on a plane? Okay, for the .01 percent of humanity that actually does and aren’t kids with the ability to sleep anywhere and in virtually any odd position, consider Sleep n’ Say. The lightweight, light-blocking goggles post huge signs over the wearer’s eyes ranging from “Do Not Disturb” to “Rouse for Food”. Well, the second one is actually a bit more politely put. Anyway, backers can even pick their language and color just in case there are flight attendants that don’t know the universal language of English, and TSA decides that a post-it note on the forehead has too much potential as a dangerous weapon. For $25, backers can begin counting sheep in flight right around March 2015.
The Premise. Nobody can be home all the time to protect their belongings and house from potential burglars or other threats, but the new wave of smart home monitors can record video and keep an eye out for intruders, alerting owners of any break-ins through their smartphones.
The Product. ISense is one such system that offers this level of home protection in a way that offers peace of mind so long as a smartphone is kept handy. The cable-free system equipped with high definition camera can be set up anywhere and can offer a live feed at any time through the app or start recording video and send a notification any time that motion is detected. Each unit has over a year’s worth of battery life and communicate over Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G. Each system also includes a Sync Module that allows the cameras to communicate with connected phones, as well as including onboard storage for recorded video in addition to cloud storage.
The Pitch. kaan tas put together a simple pitch for ISense highlighting the ease of setting up or customizing an ISense system and the level of monitoring the devices can provide on-demand from any location. For ISense to become a viable product, kaan tas wants to raise $40,000 AUD to fund production and fulfillment.
The Perks. Getting an ISense takes a pledge of $59 AUD, which includes the system with Sync Module and 16GB of video storage. The onboard storage can be doubled at the $66 AUD level, but both include cloud storage as well. Those that want to be among the first to use the product can get into the Beta program for $139 AUD, and getting multiple rooms set up with ISense is possible with plenty of tiers offering multiple cameras. All perks are shipping out in February 2015.
The Potential. The wireless setup, long battery life, and notification of any detected motion make ISense a great choice for any consumer looking to add a simple, effective home monitoring system. What ISense offers in simplicity, it lacks in subtlety. The bright LED on the front that is used when the camera is on makes it so that if set up in a place that can be stepped around or crawled under, the system could be moved by any intruders, still detecting motion as it’s set down, but not offering any identifying information. Take that big light off of the front, and there could be something that belongs in any home here. At the same time, the feature set is pretty much identical to existing options like Blink, albeit with a larger focus on video quality. The combination of the glaring light and the lack of distinction might make ISense a forgettable chapter in home security video.
For all those who’ve been clamoring for scented notifications from the smartphones comes the iScent, a small tower shaped device that pairs with an app to let you do just that. Water infused with essential oil is atomized to notify you of incoming notifications all while making your environment a pleasant one. Ultimately, the iScent looks like it a one-trick pony that will go the way of the oPhone DUO and Digiscents, even if it boasts a party mode for your olfactory-inclined friends. Early birds can scoop one up for just $35 if they care to, although it may make for a pretty paperweight if they do.