Kickstarter is fostering innovation in leaps and bounds. With over $1.3 billion raised since its first campaign, technology ideas and startups are finding a new home for funding. These are the best crazy good tech projects that we could find that are worth a definite shout-out and a few bucks if you’ve got some cash to get involved.
#1. PVDF Piezo Film Technology
This Kickstarter campaign is for the world’s thinnest speaker. It’s only 80 microns thick. If you’ve got a sheet of paper somewhere close, hold it up in the air right now. That’s how thin this speaker happens to be. Better yet, this is a DIY project that will let you have the fun of building it at home. It costs just $39 to get the early backer reward for this kit. Backers are expected to get their rewards shipped out in June 2015.
#2. Disco Dog
If you love your dog, then you undoubtedly get him/her some fun things every once and awhile. Instead of getting a few dog bones or crunchy treats, why not get an LED vest that you can control from your smartphone? Forget about having colorful lights that flash like it’s Christmas time. You can actually write messages that will display on the vest like a roving rover billboard. You’ll need at least $300 to pick up a vest, but lower level rewards will still make you and Fido happy. Only 80 vests have been created and most have already been claimed.
#3. The Monolith
This campaign has already been funded with six figures, so you know it’s a winner. It’s the world’s first powered skateboard with in-wheel motors. The batteries can be swapped out, you can connect the skateboard to a USB connection, and the unibody deck still feels like a high-class skateboard that you used back in the 1990s when the Tony Hawk games first came out. The full package is the only thing that is left at $1,199, but that’s still $200 off retail. For $100, grab a hoodie instead to show your support.
#4. The Artiphon
If you love creating some music from time to time like me, then you likely get frustrated by the fact that software instruments sound… like software. Throw up a funky beat, put down a funky synth groove through your MIDI, and it sounds like an Apple engineer created it. With the Artiphon, you get a real instrument that will play piano or guitar OR create your own loops to play live. No more cutting and pasting on Garageband like a crazy person. You’ll need $349 to pick up yours today, which is expected to ship in January 2016. Personally I’m taking a white one.
#5. PancakeBot
“Can I have a heart pancake for breakfast this morning, Dad?” my daughter will ask from time to time. This causes me to groan. Breaking out all the stuff to make different shapes is fun for the kids, but not so fun for me. PancakeBot is going to change that. You design the shape you want on your computer. Put it onto an SD card, fill up PancakeBot with batter, and then let it get to work. The Eiffel Tower demo on the campaign is worth the click. Grab one for just $179 [that’s not much more than a good pancake pan] and it’s scheduled to ship in July 2015.
