It wasn’t long ago that the idea of using a touchscreen smartphone was considered a futuristic invention from science fiction. Looking at Kickstarter this week we round up the top campaigns that make us feel close to the future:
O6 – Free Your Eyes
Looking at the road and your phone while driving is dangerous and illegal in many countries. Thanks to the O6 you can skip music tracks, open up apps, and navigate through feeds without having to take your hands off the wheel. The smart surface allows you to swipe, tap and drag with your thumb to carry out simple functions on your phone. It isn’t just for cars either, the O6 is able to be clipped onto any piece of clothing for when you’re running at the gym or squeezed onto a busy train.
Knocki: Make Any Surface Smart
Meet Knocki, a piece of hardware that turns any surface smart. It can be a very simple matter of knocking on your bedside table to turn off your morning alarm or swiping your desk to change the channel on Netflix. The possibilities are endless with Knocki – customise gestures and placements anywhere to create smart commands anywhere!
HOLO Cardboard – reality hologram for smartphones
Perhaps not the most useful of the bunch, but certainly the geekiest – the HOLO Cardboard produces cool animated holograms over your favourite models and display items using your smartphone and a glass prism. The fold away cardboard allows your displays to be moved about whenever you need to re-arrange or tidy away parts of your room.
Acanvas: The cord-free art display
Have you ever splashed out on an expensive piece of art only to bring it home and realise it doesn’t match your furniture? While digital photo frames are nothing new, the Acanvas brings the concept to a whole new level, with images shared over your Wi-Fi network via your smartphone or tablet, and no wires permanently hanging down your walls. The best part is the Acanvas is able to charge itself by automatically lowering its charge cable into the dock below whenever near the end of battery life.
AiraWear – World’s First Massage Hoodie
If you’d like to be massaged all day long with no one even knowing about the AiraWear is perfect for you! Using massage pads that are located within the fabric, this invention is a way of keeping good posture and low stress all day long. The best part is all the settings can be controlled with a simple app, meaning you need nothing but your smartphone to control it.