Kickstarter Gadgets We’re Excited About

So we admit it. Kickstarter projects can often be hit or miss. We’ve seen some pretty amazing gadgets see the light of day because of Kickstarter. For one, how about the Elevation Dock?. But on the other hand, we’ve also been saddled with some pretty terrible gadgets. Ladies and gentlemen, how about the Ouya? Remember that?

But we’re always optimistic about the potentially cool stuff coming out of the wood works. And Kickstarter, no matter how many Ouyas are around, is always a great place to discover the latest in new tech from enterprising designers. Here are some Kickstarter gadgets that we’re excited about this year, which you’ll find right on Kickstarter.

1. Here Active Listening

Audiophiles, listen up. We’ve got something for you. Doppler Labs, who also designed the Dubs Acoustic Filters, designed the Here Active Listening ear buds. The Here Active Listening system is simple. Designed to be used with a smart phone, it gives you the ability to control what you hear. Reduce the sound of a baby crying, enhance the audio at a concert, and filter out background noise. It sounds really promising, especially for music lovers and people with sensory processing disorders. Definitely something to keep an eye out for when it hits the market later this year.

2. Sphericam 2

A picture is worth a thousand words. In that case, a 360 degree video must be worth a novel. The Sphericam 2, developed by Jeffrey Martin and his team, is capable of taking blind spot free 360 degree 4k video at 60FPS. Videos taken by the Sphericam 2 can then be enjoyed via Virtual Reality devices (Hello Oculus Rift) or a tablet or smartphone. There’s a lot of potential with this little camera and we’re excited to see what we can do with it.

3. Trakkies

If you’re like most people, you’re losing items all the time. From your phone to your suitcase, it’s common to lose things but losing a valuable can be devastating. Luckily, that’s where trakkies comes in. Able to be used without a smartphone, trakkiesforms a so-called network of things. If you leave behind valuables, such as your keys, nodes (which you attach to needed belongings) will alert you if you get too far away from the item in question. It’s the peace of mind everyone needs.

4. Fahrenheit 2451

It’s important to keep valuable data close and protected. But many storage solutions have their own flaws. Clouds allow for massive amounts of data to be stored and accessed from anywhere, however it’s far from the most secure method. Pin drives have a limited shelf life. The Fahrenheit 2451 is a synthetic sapphire Nanoform disc that can keep treasured documents and photos safe for, well, almost forever.

5. Solar Paper

Need a handy way to charge your phone? How about taking advantage of the power of the sun? The Solar Paper is a thin, wallet sized solar panel capable of charging small electronics and can generate a massive amount of energy for the size (in full sunlight, it can charge an iPhone 6 in 2.5 hours, similar to a wall charger). It’s handy, environmentally friendly, and means you won’t have to keep scrambling for an outlet while you’re out and about.