Kickstarter has emerged as the leading crowd-funding platform over the last year, and eagle-eyed technology watchers have clubbed together to back some fantastic projects through 2013.
If you want to see the biggest trends in technology, just take one look at Kickstarter.
From Boxer8′s Ouya Android gaming console to the Pebble smartwatch and assorted 3D printed goodies, the technology section is overflowing with concepts with synopses that read like a dictionary of technology’s latest buzzwords.
So now the first Class of Kickstarter has graduated thanks to the accumulated pennies and combined cents of thousands of willing backers, what does 2014 hold? We’ve scoured Kickstarter for the hottest projects you’ll be buying next year.
1 Project Hoverbike
Funding goal: $ 25,0000
Hover skateboards, jetpacks, and now hoverbikes: shut up and take our money.
The stuff of school-boy dreams the world over, it’s little wonder the opening sales patter from Michael Poole references Dr Emmett Brown from Back to the Future.
He wants $ 25,000 to create the prototype of his hoverbike, which looks more like the Podracer from The Phantom Menace. The technology works in the same principle as this year’s Martin’s Jet Pack, which sets a precedent that this floating bicycle might be more than just hot air.
TR says: It might be crazy, perhaps even impossible. But if there’s a chance this hoverbike can be made, we’re completely behind it.
2 LUCI Advanced Lucid Dream Inducer
Funding goal: $ 40,000
"This is a dream. Take control." Those are the words Lucid uses put you in the driving seat of your nocturnal hallucinations with its lucid dream inducing tech.
The Inception-inducing gadgetry works by monitoring your REM sleep and when you’re comfortably dreaming about your usual nonsense, it plays an audible warning through attached headphones. The idea is that when you become aware you’re dreaming you can take control, and do whatever you want.
TR Says: Like something out of a science fiction film but if Lucid is as good as its creators say, it could be the first time we’ve truly hacked into our dreams. What really interests us is whether regular users could become addicted to their dreams. Something that good will always become a phenomenon.
3 QU-BD One Up
Funding goal: $ 9,000
3D printing is getting huge, but it’s a pricey business. A MakerBot will set you back around $ 800, so it’s no surprise that the $ 200 QU-BD One Up has caught the eye of a few investors.
With over $ 200,000 invested, Chelsea Thompson has smashed her original target, thanks to her open source 3D printer design. Being open source, it means all components are freely available and what’s more, the company is releasing the source files at the end of the funding cycle, which presumably means modders will be able to get their hands on it and make some tweaks.
TR Says: The world of 3D printing has been – until now – prohibitively expensive. However, this ‘entry-level’ printer certainly has the right price tag to take the world by storm, and is destined for big things in 2014.
4 The Porta-Pimpressive
Funding goal: £$ 36,000
Some Kickstarters appeals aid organisations who should really be able to fund their own projects, but this is crowd-funding in its purest form: one man’s dream becoming a reality.
Despite its name, the Porta-Pi does not turn your Raspberry Pi into a toilet suitable for festivals and outdoor events, but instead a DIY Mini Arcade Cabinet.
Complete with four buttons and a joystick, Ryan Bates’ custom-designed box brings a little arcade-retro action to your Raspberry Pi. With all the fittings to house your Pi, you’ll be able to play old arcade games and ROMs on the built-in 7-inch LCD screen.
TR Says: The Porta-Pi looks well-made and a lot of fun, but more importantly thank goodness someone’s found a fun use for the Raspberry Pi.
5 Programmable Capacitor
Funding goal: $ 3,000
Electronics is really hard, which is why we’re sat writing about technology, not making millions creating it. However, Rakshak Talwar from Houston TX plans to make it easier, with his programmable capacitor.
Instead of running around trying to find the right value capacitor for your circuit, his enables you to program any value, and boasts up to 4.29bn combinations. It’s a skeleton key for circuitry, and he aims to help people learn and create in a more cost-effective way.
TR Says: Rakshak’s Kickstarter has already a success, and he’s ahead of his meagre $ 3,000 target. It’s a great idea for budding circuit builders and students, so why not pledge $ 29 and get one for yourself?
6 castAR
Funding needed: $ 400,000
Forget Oculus Rift and its pant-filling plank-walking game, castAR is being Kickstarted to merge virtual reality and actual reality like never before.
Inspired by R2-D2′s chess game with Chewbacca in Star Wars, the glasses can project objects into the real world. Each lens is a 720p, 120Hz projector, with 65 degree view, with motion tracking technology built in.
Unlike the crummy Augmented Reality you’ll find in phone apps, you can manipulate and move those virtual objects about using the attached wand.
TR Says: As an ex-developer creator Rick Johnson sees games as castAR’s biggest opportunity, but we see much more than this. The ability to mix AR and VR, and manipulate the world around you has huge applications beyond games – just let the Wookie win.
7 Neurio: Home Intelligence
Funding goal: $ 95,000
Another success story before its Kickstarter days are even over, Neurio is one of the smarter connected home technologies we’ve seen. There’s been an abundance of new home tech products in 2013, from Nest to Honeywell, but Neurio is different.
The small box that you install into your breaker panel monitors your home’s power, giving you information about your energy usage.
However, it’s most impressive feature is the way it can learn your habits, remind you to take the washing out or that you left your garage door open, which it works out by your home’s energy signatures.
What’s more, its open APIs mean you can program it to do anything from brew a coffee before you get home to send the hoover round while you’re out.
TR Says: The connected home will be huge in 2014, so Neurio feels like the right product at the right time.
8 Altered V3 DS
Funding goal: $ 50,000
Brought to you from the makers of the first powered skateboard, the humble shredder is about to get an off-road makeover, Kickstarter style.
Made by Altered Electric Boards, this new ‘dual-Sport’ skateboard is designed to go off-road, with bulky off-road tyres for any terrain. The company says you can swap the wheels over in just 90 seconds to go from a standard road board (with an electric motor) to a mean-looking all-terrain board for the beach, park or your local desert.
TR Says: A niche product, the company’s experience in making electric skateboards since 1997 means it should have enough nouse to get these on sale in 2014.
9 Shark PC
Funding goal: £80,000
A new take on an old idea, the Shark PC is one of those quaint old desktop PCs from the olden days – but with a modern twist.
The small-form case is designed to be totally wireless, offering the kind of connectivity that bypassed the humble desktop PC. When Shark PC says wireless, it really means it, and there’s even a built-in battery for 10 hours away from the mains.
The Shark PC can connect to tablets and smartphones and make use of them as wireless secondary displays, and also act as a server, so you can access any file remotely.
TR Says: Something a lot of people build from scratch, there’s enough good reasons to own a Shark PC to see a final product next year.
10 High Speed Water Drop Photography Kit
Funding goal: $ 10,500
One for snapping enthusiasts, this promising Kickstarter pledge aims to take the hassle out of water droplet photography.
A product that could be open to the criticism of being a one-trick pony, the high speed water drop kit helps synchronise all the aspects you need to take amazing pictures of water droplets striking other droplets of water.
The control box can operate your camera’s shutter, a giant eye-dropper tool that makes the droplets drop and the lighting to help you create impressive shots from home. What’s more, it’s already hit its target.
TR Says: Technology is best when it solves a problem, and the speed in which this Kickstarter reached its target shows that it has every chance of succeeding in 2013.
And one we actually backed…
Someone on TechRadar was so taken aback by one Kickstarter project that he actually put real money into it, to make sure it definitely goes on sale.
Tablets and Phones writer John McCann is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Pressy – a physical button for your smartphone that slots into a handset’s headphone jack.
Explaining why he decided to invest, he says: "It’s no secret, I love smartphones. I love everything about them. What Pressy does is look to enhance the way I use my phone, providing simple, quick actions for everyday takes.
"The project really caught my imagination and I can’t wait to get my Pressy in the post and start playing around with it. March can’t come soon enough."
Let us know which projects you have pledged pennies to in the comments below…
TechRadar: World of tech
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