Welcome to another week in Kickstarterland. Leading the pack this week is two travel jackets, a airline tray table and a travel storage and editing tool for photos and videos. There is also a small pack of lighting projects and a cool new digital camera. So, that makes it “lights, camera, action!” Sorry, I know that was terrible.

Baubax Travel Jacket – Holy cow Batman, that’s $2.5m!
ScotteVest – As if one travel jacket isn’t enough? Poor guys probably didn’t know what hit them.
Airhook – Another great travel accessory for those who hate tray tables (like me!)
Gnarbox – Storage, editing and sharing of HD photos and videos while on the road. I had this for photos in 2001 and it was awesome. But this only has 128gb which just isn’t enough.
Hypnolight – The team behind the Hypnocube are back with a LED string. Everyone who works with me knows how much I want to build these.
Lumos – Bike helmet with LED lights including brake and indicator.
Ilumi – Yep, another smart lightbulb this time with Bluetooth SmartMesh. At least this has a great campaign video.
Silk Light – I would like to see evidence that there premise is true but at least their bulbs aren’t expensive.
Z Camera – A SLR-quality camera in the body of a Go Pro. Nice move.
Move – I really want a blind controller but I know these (and most cheap mechanical devices) will never last. Such a pity.
Frankfurter Brett – These twins are nerds but I like their kitchen workbench.
Trakkies – In Australia “Trakkies” means tracksuit (usually pants). Funny name but great campaign given they have a lot of competitors. I like their use of mesh tech but I am not sure where IPv6 comes into a BLE product.
Boxoi – Such a pity this Zeotrope has been completely ignored, it is beautiful.
GoFish – I am not fisherman but I can see how much fun this would be.
Sensory Percussion – This clever tool allows you to add detailed digital output to analog drums.
Knife Edge – This drill bit rocks.
Besties – Dolls for young girls with awesome potential.
Keezel –  Normally I wouldn’t talk about products that are really just carriers for other products (in this case a VPN service) but I really like the way they are retransmitting VPN over wifi over wifi.
Branto – Why are people trying to pack so much into one product? This looks like it might be an ok product but its such a scattered presentation.
Haz – Umbrellas, an old-world product desperate for innovation 🙂

Shitstarters

Trackerpad – GPS and GSM tracker the size of a 10p coin? I think not baby puppy. How do you spell SCAM?
Wearsafe – I can’t believe people get sucked in to campaigns like this which suggest that a silent tag can make people safe. And a monthly fee on top! What a rip off. Oh, the Secret Service endorses it, that means it must be ok.
Tagonce – Sadly, the people who have your missing luggage will not install an app or scan a QR code. A simple non-destructible tag with typed data would be much more effective.
90K Lock – I almost skipped over this smart lock until I saw this priceless line on their “burglar-proof” security: “the lock contains patented ‘IoT’ coding technology”
Le Flusher – This has to been seen.

Left fielders

Reboot the Suit – Great that this is being done but why does it cost $500k to repair one space suit?
Oviari – Birth control for the modern woman.
GunDetect – Computer vision gadget for visually detecting a handgun. Weird.
Genii – These guys have tried so hard to innovate in a crowded market and nobody cares. But really, why would anyone want to turn on their TV from China? The dog is darn cute but that’s not enough.
MotorBunny – What would this blog be without another sex toy.
Teledildonics Litigation – And then they all get sued. Teledildonics patent trolls.

And remember, its only limited by your frigging imagination.

Welcome to another week in Kickstarterland. This week we have a record number of shitstarters. Maybe I am getting too critical in my old age but it seems July is when they are all coming out of the woodwork. On the good side we have a few more smart luggage entries and lots of LED projects.

I also picked up a couple of “equity crowdsource” companies as these are now legal in the USA. I hope we get some interesting additions to the list.

Myle Tap – Another clipon voice recorder. Their unique add-on is voice-to-text conversion.
Wino board – Another really cheap Arduino board with Wifi.
Baselamp – A clever but simple lamp which is just an uplight. But importantly it is limited only by your frigging imagination.
LED Shotrod – Anyone who knows me, knows I like anything with LEDs. Pity this project is going nowhere.
Gecko Switch – This is a good solution for a real problem with light switches. I am not sure why it has performed so badly.
Loopa – I love LED projects like this. I think it would have been better with a camera and display addition.
Blinky.shoes – Bonus points for the best use of the new .shoes domain.
Hydro Hammock – A hybrid between a hot tub and a hammock. Perfect for campers.
Jewelbots – Programmable jewelery to ignite girls’ curiosity. A bit expensive for my kids.
XREAL – An equity crowd funded game mobile company founded by two guys who have dibs on themselves.
Elio Motors – Another equity crowd funded company with a small, cheap, fuel efficient car.
Dot – Stupidly small Bluetooth eatpiece.
Buddy – A freakshow of a personal family robot.
The One – A smart piano to help people learn to play faster and with more fun.
Beepings ZEN – Another GPS tracker but this one uses Sigfox so is really low power / long life.
Kingii – A weird water safety device to replace life jackets. It’s a bit strange but it might do the job … if it doesn’t rip off your arm.
Snor – Shove a tube down your throat and excersize your soft palate muscles. Sounds like a fun way to stop snoring. But it could save marriages.
Saent – I am all for a tool to help you improve focus and productivity. I can’t imagine why I would want to pay a monthly fee for this.
Firefly – The connect luggage department continues to grow. This one has a Wifi hotspot built in.
Baggio – A smart baby bag that tracks the contents of your bag and alerts you if they are running low.
Coolpeds – A powered scooter built into a briefcase. Weird.
Iris – A modern HUD for your car … yes, please.
Slidenjoy – One or two extra screens for your laptop that fold away inside the unit.
Vortex – Another pretty jazzy robotics educational kit.
B-one – Ok, so it’s yet another home hub. But did they have to pour on so much cheese? Not only isn’t the hardware the best in the world (it has four layers after all) but so are their engineers. How could we pass on this? Easily.
DC2 – A Docker container container for your desktop. Stupid product, awesome video.
BeagleCore – I am not sure I would ever want to use their product but I did enjoy watching their video.

Shitstarters

LazyLocks – I think there is a reason that the more expensive locks are a better move. This looks like a purchase someone would regret quickly.
B-one – Ok, so it’s yet another home hub. But did they have to pour on so much cheese? Not only isn’t the hardware the best in the world (it has four layers after all) but so are their engineers. How could we pass on this? Easily.
Secret Sexuality – The pheromone scam of the 1980’s is back and Indiegogo is its new home.
CPUSH – Light and button connected to the audio output port on your phone. This has been done lots of times before and generally they are crap.
Blu – Oh so pretty and such a wonderful dream. But these guys are not the ones to deliver it. Not now, not in 2016.
Beer Frost – They sold 20 of them! Woo hoo!
Yoricap – How about spending a bit less on 3D animations and Photoshopping stock photos and more on explaining your product. Only a Canadian would bother with BB10 support.
droPrinter – The next in the line of “first” claims that are very untrue. These guys are apparently from Melbourne but English is not their first language.
IndieVice – Seriously? Why not just buy a real camera? I just don’t get it.
IoT Counter – I don’t know what the hell these Melbourne guys are doing but they do have a big blue button.
LoveLinkU – I am really sure they don’t see the humour in their product and video. Apparently voice control is one of the wildest dreams we have today.
La Denise – I really like this kitchenware but $200 shipping to Australia is just stupid.
A-lamp – This guy almost breaks down into tears in this video.
Febo – When is a “solar paint brush” not just a magnifying glass? Never.
SipSup – A seriously weird product … a shared storage device built into a glass.

And never forget, its only limited by your frigging imagination.