Fancy backing the technology of tomorrow? Kickstarter is a fantastic site for technology, and allows you to back companies creating high end tech (and sometimes receive their products for a fraction of the price). We've found a ton of awesome tech that you should be backing.
How does Kickstarter work?
Kickstarter is essentially a crowdfunding platform for creative projects. Companies and individuals post their project on Kickstarter with a funding goal, and people can choose to donate money towards the project so the product or service can come to fruition.
Funding on Kickstarter works on the premise of all-or-nothing; meaning, the company or individual have to meet their funding goal to get the pay out. If they don't meet that goal, those who have donated won't be charged.
Kickstarter also encourages their creators to have rewards for donaters - for example, if you donated a certain amount of money towards an underwater speaker, you might receive one after the speakers have been made.
Your contribution helps the company to create something completely new, so it's not like you're ordering from Amazon - but the Trust and Safety team help to ensure that 'every reasonable effort has been made to bring each project to a satisfying conclusion' for those who have donated (and less than 9% of funded projects fail to deliver rewards).
Our top 3 Kickstarter tech projects in January
3. Pigzbe - Fully funded, Kickstarter ends on January 25th
Teaching children about the concept of money is really difficult - how do you teach them that the £50 Grandma just gave them would be better saved for that game console they want, rather than spending it all at once? Pigzbe is a really unique way of teaching kids about the value of money, in a fun, clear and accessible way.
Pigzbe is a handheld device that is essentially an electronic piggy bank. It comes along with an app for kids and an app for adults, which allows you to set tasks like Washing Dishes with a monetary reward when the task is completed using a real, family friendly cryptocurrency. The estimated delivery date for this project is June 2019.
2. US: E - Fully funded, Kickstarter ends on 12th February
Don't you just hate fumbling for your keys? With the US:E smart lock you can open you door one of six different ways - including facial recognition and a fingerprint scanner. It's easy to install, has a Zinc alloy body and a German B-grade lock cylindar, so there's no need to worry about security.
You can also unlock your door with a physical key - but otherwise you can unlock with a fob, a password, with your face or your fingertip, and even remotely when your phone gets into a specific range of the door. If you pledge £158, you'll secure yourself one of the US:E facial recognition smart locks. The estimated delivery date for this project is May 2019.
1. Pixel - Fully funded, Kickstarter ends on 5th January
They say the best ideas are often the simplest, and that's definitely true with this little invention. Trying to relay your Wi-Fi password to someone visiting is always a headache - once you've managed to get round the back of your router, relaying 16 letters and numbers without accidentally pulling out a wire is pretty difficult. But Pixel is here to solve that for us.
Simply touch the box with your phone, and Pixel does that hard work for you - no awkward clambering behind the router is required, and you can get online. You only need to pledge £15 to secure yourself one of these magic little boxes, with the estimated delivery being January 2019. A great little post-Christmas present to yourself!
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