Crowdfunding
11 great crowdfunding campaigns to check out in October
AR glasses, yard cleaning robots, and more round out our picks this month.
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.
Crowdfunding is a cool way for innovative products to see the light of day without the restrictions placed on in-house development at large companies.
It’s also a great place to check out video games from small studios, movies, and campaigns for social good.
With all those campaigns competing for your attention, finding ones based on your interests can be tricky. Let KnowTechie do all the hard work for you with our picks of the crop for October.
Check out these 11 awesome crowdfunding campaigns this month
So… with how many crowdfunding campaigns are out there, how do you choose what to back?
Well, we use a combination of checking out their campaign page, looking to see if any of the comments on their prior campaigns show dissatisfied backers, and also companies we’ve already had successful pledge fulfillment from.
I also tend to stick to gadget areas we know a bit about, like photography, cooking, maker tools, and writing implements. That way, we can judge whether or not the campaign’s aspirations are within reach.
We also pick campaigns with some time left to run, as it’s no fun finding out about cool campaigns after they’ve finished.
So, with all of that out of the way, here are some of the crowdfunding campaigns we’ve found worthy of attention in October:
TCL NXTWEAR S XR Glasses
Augmented reality glasses are everywhere these days, and this pair from TCL looks pretty good. Housed in oversized sunglasses, the NXTWEAR S creates a virtual 140-inch screen in your field of vision.
Use them for gaming, watching movies, or for working discretely so nobody can see what you’re doing. They’re also compatible with smartphones, consoles, PC, and laptops.
Maven Filters
Filters are an essential tool in every photographer and videographer’s kit bag. The thing is, most are full of frustrations as well. Maven aims to solve all those frustrations, so you can concentrate on creating.
Their filter system uses magnets to attach to your lens, not annoying threads that stick. They’re also color-coded, so you can tell which one you’re using at a glance.
Yarbo – intelligent yard robot
Hate mowing your lawn? Who doesn’t, but now you can outsource that job to robots with this new crowdfunding campaign. Yarbo doesn’t just keep your grass at HOA-approved levels though.
You can swap out its mower module for a leafblower or a mini-snowblower. No more back-breaking snow shoveling. Bliss.
Loona – The most Intelligent Petbot
Know someone who’d love a robotic companion for Christmas this year? Meet Loona, the crowdfunding petbot that looks like she rolled out of a Pixar movie.
Full of personality, she loves to follow you around like a real pet. She’ll quietly amuse herself if you’re busy too, and is packed full of AI technology to make her seem more alive.
Keychron K3 Pro
Keychron’s latest custom mechanical keyboard has low-profile Gateron switches, so the keyboard takes up less vertical space on your desk.
Multitask with up to three devices via Bluetooth 5.1, and get a 1,000Hz polling rate when connected via USB-C for fast responsive typing or gaming.
The K3 Pro is also compatible with VIA and QMK, the most widely used keymapping firmware. That means you can customize every key, including on-board macro functionality.
Horizon MFi and MagSafe 3-in-1 charger
Sick of having your desk or nightstand covered in chargers? Horizon charges your iPhone, AirPods, and your Apple Watch, all from a slimline device.
It also folds out to provide a handy stand for your iPhone while charging via MagSafe wireless. MagSafe, 10W Qi for your AirPods, and the fastest charge for your Apple Watch Series 7 or 8, all in one device.
MIRROSKY
Astronomy is cool, but this telescope crowdfunding campaign is even cooler. It’s packed with smarts to help you identify celestial bodies and automatically tracks them while taking images on its integrated imager.
That’s enough resolution to image faraway nebulae, or get high-resolution snaps of the planets in our Solar System. You also get a stainless steel tripod and app control with over 100,000 objects cataloged for easy viewing.
Outisan e-Wagon
Carrying gear around is a pain, and all-terrain wagons get heavy and unwieldy quickly. Outisan’s new crowdfunding campaign brings an electric utility wagon with power assist motors in the wheels.
Those motors help on any terrain, but really come in handy when going up or down hills. Make light work of even the heaviest loads with this e-wagon.
Shelfy
Food waste is a big issue, and Shelfy wants to help. It uses photocatalytic filtering to make the contents of your fridge last longer.
No more bad odors, reduced bacteria, and food that lasts multiple times as long. That sounds like a winning combination to us.
Skate-X
What do you get when you put a bunch of skateboarders in charge of designing an e-scooter? You get the crowdfunding campaign Skate-X, and it’s gnarly.
20 mph top speed, 20-mile range, a minimalist frame designed to make it feel like carving on a skateboard, and a quality build informed by decades of experience.
You also get a 500W motor, headlights, taillights, turn signals, and both foot and handbrakes.
Rotolight NEO 3 PRO and AEOS 2 PRO
Rotolight is back, with pro versions of the two lights that set Kickstarter on fire in 2021. The Neo 3 Pro and Aeos 3 Pro dial up the features, making some of the best LED lights even better.
The Pro versions gain true aperture dimming, wireless trigger compatibility with the biggest brands, and over 100 preset light recipes.
That’s on top of the 2,500 digital filters and 16.7 million colors that you could already dial in. The result? The best small-factor LED lights just got better.
We’ve picked our favorite crowdfunding campaigns this month. It’s only a tiny cross-section of the crowdfunding space, which has something for everyone.
We hope it’s sparked some interest in the space, and we encourage you to browse for projects that might fit your interests more.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- The new Apple TV 4K comes with an A15 bionic chip and HDR10+
- Over-the-counter hearing aids are now available in the US
- The best gaming keyboards
- Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 lets you pick from two different processors
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s but one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.