These Kickstarter projects will take your breath away, and maybe even your money

By Anusha Sinha

Kickstarter is a truly wonderful thing. Sometimes, it allows people to contribute to the creation of amazing things like the Ouya video game console and at other times it helps fund a giant potato salad party .

A true meritocracy, anyone can get funded on the basis of how great their idea is. They might even get funded out of sheer curiosity if their project is exceptionally weird. Here are a few recent Kickstarter projects you should know about and even fund if you can (you know, for science).

LEIF: More useful than the bunch of calling cards you have in your wallet right now

For those of you who are extremely careless with objects that you need to survive in the adult world like id cards or monies, here’s a wallet that will be the end of all your troubles! LEIF is a card-shaped device that is a tracker and a pick-pocket theft alert which also aids in recovery of the misplaced wallet. It has a rechargeable and non-rechargeable version and is as slim as a credit card so it doesn’t really add any bulk to your wallet. It drops warnings in the form of notifications on your phone and aids in finding your wallet by telling you exactly how close you are to it. LEIF sounds like it would work pretty well unless you lose your phone too.

Lifestone: A Magic stone that knows everything

The Lifestone claims that it can do the work of a bunch of health-tracking devices and measure your blood pressure, respiration-breathe rate, heart rate, ECG/EKG and even your stress index. This is ideal if you are a member of a joint family as you can create a profile for every member on the accompanying app on your phone and monitor their health. The Lifestone comes with a detachable cuff so you can measure your blood pressure on the go. There is also an optional Stethostone with which you can record people’s heartbeat if that is something you are into.

BopPad – Drum sounds from a piece of cloth

The BopPad is an electronic drum pad which can be customised to create sounds that are out of this world. Tested and endorsed by the producer of Gorillaz, among a roster of other artists, the BopPad has the ability to play six notes at a time. It has accurate hit detection with a latency of just 2.4 milliseconds. It has four independently programmable zones and you can choose the exact velocity, pitch blend and pressure in these zones. The BopPad can be played with your hands or sticks and is perfectly suited for practice while travelling. It is very easy to use as well and you only need to plug it in your laptop or mobile device to start playing to become the next Buddy Rich.

Fathom: Explore water bodies without the risk of being eaten by sharks

Fathom is an underwater, modular drone  that is affordable too at a price of $600 (around Rs 36,000). If you have ever wanted to explore the seas or any other water body and simply can’t be bothered with the sharks or crocodiles or stingrays out there, this is the device for you. It has an HD 1080p camera for a crisp viewing experience and can speed up to 1.5m/s. It comes with 100 ft of tether and weighs only 2.05 kg. It has a maximum operating depth of 150 ft so you probably won’t be unlocking the secrets of the Mariana Trench with it. However, if your goals are a little less ambitious, the Fathom should work perfectly for you. The drone is completely modular which means that you can remove the thrusters and it has an integrated rail system which allows you to attach action cameras, extra lights and additional sensors. The developers of this project encourage customization of the drone by the explorer and have planned an entire line of thrusters and accessories to facilitate that.

Sgnl: No need to pretend your finger is a phone anymore

We’ve all seen how companies have scrambled to get their lead in the smartwatch game (Here’s not looking at you, Apple). Sgnl, however, is just a smartwatch strap . It is compatible with most smartwatches and even normal, stone-age, analogue watches as well. What it does is convert sound into vibrations which then run through your hand and are delivered directly to your ear when you place your finger on it while you speak through a microphone embedded in the strap. All your dreams of being a cool spy can be fulfilled with this device if you don’t mind the stares that you will undoubtedly get. Sgnl has an accompanying app which helps you remember to call the important people in your life, track your activity and get notifications for calls, texts or different apps. One hour of charging gives it a life of 7 days on standby and 4 hours of talk-time.

PinBox 3000: “It’s amazing what they do with corrugated cardboard these days” - Calvin

The Pinbox 3000 is a customizable pinball machine made of cardboard meant for self-assembly. The base model can be customised by the player to fit any theme that they like and the possibilities are endless. The game takes around 30-40 minutes to assemble and comes with printed and die cut parts which can be used for board customisation. It even has a coin slot and comes with a launcher system which was redesigned after beta testing. Measuring 11 inches by 17 inches, it is a perfectly portable package of fun. There are a series of  ‘Gamechanger’ boards, one of the which has been designed by an artist who created the landscapes for Adventure Time.