Welcome back to This Week in Kickstarterland. A few great small scale projects shine this week like LED handbags, pocket surfboards and robotic straws. But then there are also lot of seen-it-all-before campaigns this week, especially home automation products. Plus … save Skymall!

Uncommon surfboard – A micro surfboard for body surfing like a champ.
Blynk – An app to provide a consistent user interface to all your microcontrollers.
Branto – Another home automation and security hub in a spherical shape. There is little new about this except the shape and the combination of a few features like 360 degree camera, but it looks pretty solid.
Oomi – Doing what everyone else is doing only claiming they are the only ones doing it. Sounds much like Branto and fifty previous projects. Prepare to be underwhelmed unless you are a fan of 3d renderings of imaginary homes.
Listnr – Boring name, silly product. “It’s a platform to better understand our environment.” No, it’s a platform to repeat some pretty revolutionary tech from the 1970’s.
LogIT – Log voltage, current and power for USB and PoE devices. Yes, I will promote any product made in Melbourne, even if it is boring.
Next Keyboard – A slightly improved iPhone soft keyboard. I am sure it’s better but not sure why it’s inspired so many people to share their wallet.
Uncommon surfboard – A micro surfboard for body surfing like a champ.
Vikaura Screen – The use of eInk is good but its hardly the first of its kind.
Displio – A mini eInk display with Wifi built-in with some nice design and interface touches and a visual editor.
Luxafor – Everyone should have this do-not-disturb light/sign on their desk. This is from the same team as the Displio above and delivering at the same time, which is concerning.
ATLAS 3D – A 3d printable 3d laser scanner. There is something poetic about it.
Blynk – An app to provide a consistent user interface to all your microcontrollers.
Exploding Kittens – I can’t get my head around why this is such a success but it is and I can’t ignore it.
AirBoard – Yet another Arduino clone this time small, low power and with remote programming via wireless shields. Absurd that they stuck with the ATmega328P processor.
Quirkbot – Part Arduino, part Strawbees, all robotics.
Fingerprint scanner – This just looks like good old-fashioned fun.
Dolfi – Wash your clothes and your jewellery at once. Surely if you can make a portable version you can make a full-size washer? Why isn’t Whirlpool making this?
Diabeto – This is an interesting and valuable project but why do they have to ruin a great video with an old guy saying his life is awesome because of this great product which hasn’t even been built yet. It is really good to finally see the Chilean accelerator programs delivering a success story.
LED handbag – You can’t knock them for trying.
McChi Luggage – A bag with a pop up table top. Apparently best for doctors who moonlight as cosmetologists. I like the built-in USB battery although I think 20,000 mAh is too much battery to take on a commercial plane.

Shitstarters

Personal Robot – I refuse to believe that this is even close to a thing. The base is a Roomba, the oval shaped screen is a no-no, the voice is a recording and the applications are insanely unlikely with this decade’s tech. This would be a total scam but for having Dave McClure’s name on the bottom. Instead it can go in the watch list with Jibo.
Scarab – This is the first video that doesn’t show the product in any part of the video (just some stills). This device monitors 16 invisible threats like UV, carbon monoxide and ambient light.
Hiris – This slick video set my bullshit sensors off (I wonder if Hiris has one of those sensors). Maybe I just don’t see the value in a wrist mounted computer that does everything.
Selfie Stick Pro – This guy can join the maker of the original selfie stick in the bottom of a bottomless pit.
G-muze Ellipsis – I am a fan of the concept but I don’t trust these guys. They don’t give off the “we will get this built and on time” vibe.

Left fielders

Save Skymall – With a million dollars this guy will save Skymall, which apparently is bankrupt.

As always, it’s limited only by your frigging imagination!

Welcome back to This Week in Kickstarterland, the first edition for 2015. I have great expectation that this year will be another big year for crowd funding. This week was a busy one with returning to full time work during the week and camping on the weekend. The result is some of the campaigns have already closed and the rest are absolute fruitcakes. Bonus – it looks like Indiegogo have returned the “Fixed” vs “Flexible” funding … they must have heard me swearing at them.

Campfire in a Can – I could have used a campfire in a can this weekend. This really looks like a great grass roots creation.
Depth VR – This is not the first product to use this technique but it works really well. The only real issue is that only one viewer is trackable.
Viewbox – Everything works better in Neoprene, even a Google Cardboard clone.
Linkio – Yet another smart home hub, this time with a French twist.
Hyper-B – Hyperboloids, wrapped in a toy. This is just plain cool.
Timer Toppy – Little timers you stick on everything that spoils. Nice idea.
BitCube – One of the better looking technology kits similar to littleBits. I hope they pick up some momentum.
Hifi-Skyn – Less a skin, more a brick. I don’t understand why anybody would want to do this to their phone, but they do. I hope it sounds good and you don’t want to upgrade your phone for a while.
Daily Companion – An emergency alert system and medicine reminder system … upgraded to 2005 technology. The staff involved (including the attendant answering the calls) look older than the patients – that’s scary. Other than looking like it was design 20 years ago and the video getting a bit over the top with the emotional tugs and references to himself (the guy with an old dad, the airforce officer, the project manager AND the engineer), it generally looks ok.
Emoi – Yet another Bluetooth light / speaker. Blah, blah, blah. At least the video has some really good looking, happy people in it.

 

Shitstarters

Cooki – Cooking with the click of a button. These clowns are a long way from having a product of any value, even if their goals are noble. They shut down the campaign in three days. Let’s see what they come back with.
Tool2Find – For grandfathers that sneak out of the old age home and TNT couriers that keep losing their cars. It’s actually not a terrible product, just a terrible video. It uses GPS and GSM but is too expensive for most people.
Cool-K – He actually has an image that says “The future is here”. This keyboard is so virtual, it doesn’t exist. Nor does he have a budget for an assistant to help him make a video. I am not really sure the Lottery idea is going to fly either.
ThymeWarp – And I thought Cool-K was bad … this video is scary bad. I am not quite sure what he is selling, but I think he believes he invented internet video or video messaging. He needs to seek help soon … maybe from his “wisdom coach”. But he does have some pretty hockey-stick graphs.
Flip Keyboard – This guy should consider a career in marketing. He has nailed it.
Spintronic Generator – Another clearly senile project owner. All the loons are coming out today. This one wants to “convert the ether into electricity by spinning and flipping electrons” because they are “changing the paradigm of energy with truth and integrity.”
Guardoor – The cheapest security system in the world could probably be the worst. Get a dog, they are better.
Patron – “Genius” TV uses facial recognition and pattern matching to guess what you want to watch before you pick up your remote. I hope it turns the volume of the porn down.
WIFIER – A USB to Wifi bridge for suckers.
MobilePlus – A tablet with a built in scanner. I think not baby puppy.
FiiV – An iPad backpack with a GSM/Wifi access point. This is a product looking for a problem to solve.
Voucher – Connected receipt printers are a great idea (Grabble built this in 2010 and sold to Walmart when they went broke) but I can’t see these guys selling a solution to Best Buy.

 

Left fielders

Foot Hammock – Another first-world problem that must be solved
Porn Charity – Porn actors collecting money for STEM eduction by screwing on camera. Why the hell not!?
MiaMaxx – The worlds longest thrusting pleasure toy. They should have added Bluetooth support.
Ladodeya Elixir – Hair removal product for naked women with beards and women who hump trees.

 

As always, it’s limited only by your frigging imagination!