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Awesome tech you can’t buy yet, for the week of July 13, 2014

At any given moment there are approximately a zillion different crowdfunding campaigns happening on the Web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or IndieGoGo and you’ll find there’s no shortage of weird, ambitious, and downright stupid projects out there – far too many for any reasonable person to keep up with. But here at DT we are not reasonable people. We spend an inordinate amount of time poring through crowdfunding sites and product blogs in search of the next Oculus Rift or Pebble Watch, so we’re here to bring you a quick roundup of the best projects that are currently up and running.

Backtracker — Rear-view bike radar

BacktrackerBacktracker is an upcoming bike accessory from South African startup iKubu that uses radar to detect objects coming up on your rear. It’s basically like having an extra pair of eyes in the back of your head. Using a special short-range radar technology, the device can detect cars and other approaching objects from up to 150 yards behind you.The device itself consists of two separate components: a rear-facing radar module that’s attached just beneath your seat, and a special LED indicator panel that communicates speed and distance data with an easy-to-understand visual display. It also works in reverse, so in addition to alerting you when there’s a car coming up on your rear, there’s also an intelligent backlighting system that blinks progressively faster as a car approaches from behind, thereby alerting drivers to your presence.

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RocketSkates — Motorized smart skates

RocketSkatesDesigned by Los Angeles-based startup Acton, RocketSkates are basically like a pair of small Segways you strap to your feet. Each skate sports a pair of brushless motors that work together to zip you around town on a set of wheels. To move forward, you simply tilt your lead foot forward a bit. To slow down, just pull it back. And the best part? They’re completely hands-free. To get going, you just take a few steps to get the wheels spinning and the motors will automatically kick in. Unlike Acton’s first product, SpinKiX (which are admittedly quite similar), these skates are designed so that you can still walk in them … sort of.  As you can see in the video below, the wheels are placed near the center of your foot, which leaves your toes completely open. This means you can still touch the ground if you need to, so doing things like running up a set of stairs, hopping over a sewer grate, or jumping onto a curb are easy to pull off.

Electric Objects — Networked digital art display

ElectricObjectsYou know those digital picture frames that were sort of popular like five years ago? The ones that everyone thought were a great idea until they actually brought one into their house and realized how gaudy, bright, and power-hungry they are? In theory, they were a great — but in practice? Not so much. But the good news is that, thanks to NYC startup Electric Objects, they just got a modern update. Instead of a cheap, low-resolution display that’s a pain to update with new images, the EO1 is a beautifully-designed, high-res screen that’s also network-enabled and app-controlled, so you can update it with new art whenever you feel like it via the accompanying mobile app. Once you’ve connected your Wi-Fi network and downloaded the Electric Objects app, you can send digital images of fine art, photography, and pretty much any other digital image (including GIFs!) to the device for display. The EO1 will then show the image and adjust to lighting conditions to optimize the display, so that it best showcases the image at any time of day or night.

FreeWavz — Fitness-Monitoring Earphones

FreeWavzDeveloped by ear, nose, and throat doctor Eric Hensen, FreeWavz are a set of wireless headphones that are fitted with special “medical-grade pulse oximeters and accelerometers” that allow them to track a variety of health stats from your . Monitoring includes heart rate, calories burned, distance traveled, and even the oxygen saturation in your blood — all of which is beamed wirelessly to an accompanying app on your smartphone, and then transmitted back to the earphones periodically to give you audible updates. But that’s really just the start of the wide feature set FreeWavz hopes to deliver to its backers. The earpieces also claim to offer a superior fit with a four-point system that’s ergonomically designed and layered with a rubberized shell to resist sweat and water, and it even sports dual sets of on-board microphones, one of which is dedicated to filter in ambient noise from your surroundings to keep you safe and environmentally aware.

Beast — Fitness tracker for weight training

BeastThere are a zillion different fitness trackers on the market these days — everything from wristbands that track the steps you take, to crazy next-gen shirts that keep track of your respiration. But despite their sophistication, most wearable fitness devices out there still aren’t that great at monitoring weight-training exercises. Beast aims to change that. Using nothing more than a set of accelerometers and special set of algorithms designed to recognize certain motions, this tiny little device can figure out exactly what kind of lift you’re doing and give you detailed metrics on your speed, explosiveness, power, and overall strength. And as per usual, it beams all this info straight to your smartphone in real time so you know exactly how much of a musclebound freakbeast you are. All of the data is also saved to the cloud after each workout, so you can track your progress over time.

Drew Prindle
Former Senior Editor, Features
Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…
Zoox recalls robotaxis after Las Vegas crash, citing software fix
zoox recall crash 1739252352 robotaxi side profile in dark mode

Amazon's self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, has issued a voluntary safety recall after one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a minor collision in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred in April 2025, led the company to investigate and identify a software issue affecting how the robotaxi anticipates another vehicle’s path.
The recall, affecting 270 Zoox-built vehicles, was formally filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Zoox said the issue has already been addressed through a software update that was remotely deployed to its fleet.
Zoox’s robotaxis, which operate without driving controls like a steering wheel or pedals, are part of Amazon’s entry into the autonomous driving space. According to Zoox’s safety recall report, the vehicle failed to yield to oncoming traffic while making an unprotected left turn, leading to a low-speed collision with a regular passenger car. While damage was minor, the event raised flags about the system’s behavior in complex urban scenarios.
Establishing safety and reliability remain key factors in the deployment of the relatively new autonomous ride-hailing technology. Alphabet-owned Waymo continues to lead the sector in both safety and operational scale, with services active in multiple cities including Phoenix and San Francisco. But GM’s Cruise and Ford/VW-backed Argo AI were forced to abandon operations over the past few years.
Tesla is also expected to enter the robotaxi race with the launch of its own service in June 2025, leveraging its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. While FSD has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny through last year, safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration.
Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, says it issued the recall voluntarily as part of its commitment to safety. “It’s essential that we remain transparent about our processes and the collective decisions we make,” the company said in a statement.

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Mitsubishi’s back in the EV game—with a new electric SUV coming in 2026
mitsubishi bev 2026 momentum 2030 line up

Mitsubishi is officially jumping back into the U.S. electric vehicle scene—and this time, it’s not just dipping a toe. The company confirmed it will launch a brand-new battery-electric SUV in North America starting in summer 2026, marking its first fully electric model here since the quirky little i-MiEV left the stage back in 2017.
The new EV will be a compact crossover, and while Mitsubishi is keeping most of the juicy details under wraps, we do know it’ll be based on the same next-gen platform as the upcoming Nissan Leaf. That means it’ll ride on the CMF-EV architecture—the same one underpinning the Nissan Ariya—which supports ranges of up to 300+ miles. So yeah, this won’t be your average entry-level EV.
Designed in partnership with Nissan, the new model will be built in Japan and shipped over to U.S. shores. No word yet on pricing, battery size, or even a name, but Mitsubishi has made it clear this EV is just the beginning. As part of its “Momentum 2030” plan, the company promises a new or updated vehicle every year through the end of the decade, with four electric models rolling out by 2028. And yes, one of those might even be a pickup.
Mitsubishi says the goal is to give customers “flexible powertrain options,” which is marketing speak for: “We’ll have something for everyone.” So whether you're all-in on electric or still into gas or hybrid power, they're aiming to have you covered.
This mystery EV will eventually sit alongside Mitsubishi’s current U.S. lineup—the Outlander, Outlander PHEV, Eclipse Cross, and Outlander Sport—and help the brand move beyond its current under-the-radar status in the electric world.
In short: Mitsubishi’s finally getting serious about EVs, and if this new SUV lives up to its potential, it might just put the brand back on your radar.

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Toyota unveils 2026 bZ: A smarter, longer-range electric SUV
toyota bz improved bz4x 2026 0007 1500x1125

Toyota is back in the electric SUV game with the 2026 bZ, a major refresh of its bZ4X that finally delivers on two of the biggest demands from EV drivers: more range and faster charging.
The headline news is the improved driving range. Toyota now estimates up to 314 miles on a single charge for the front-wheel-drive model with the larger 74.7-kWh battery—about 60 miles more than the outgoing bZ4X. All-wheel-drive variants also get a boost, with up to 288 miles of range depending on trim.
Charging speeds haven’t increased in terms of raw kilowatts (still capped at 150 kW for DC fast charging), but Toyota has significantly improved how long peak speeds are sustained. With preconditioning enabled—especially helpful in colder weather—the new bZ can charge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Also new: Plug and Charge support for automatic payment at compatible stations and full adoption of the North American Charging Standard (NACS), meaning access to Tesla Superchargers will be standard by 2026.
Under the hood, or rather the floor, Toyota has swapped in higher-performance silicon carbide components to improve efficiency and power delivery. The AWD version now produces up to 338 horsepower and sprints from 0–60 mph in a brisk 4.9 seconds.
Toyota didn’t stop at just the powertrain. The exterior has been cleaned up, with body-colored wheel arches replacing the black cladding, and a sleeker front fascia. Inside, a larger 14-inch touchscreen now houses climate controls, giving the dash a more refined and less cluttered appearance. There’s also more usable storage thanks to a redesigned center console.
With the 2026 bZ, Toyota seems to be responding directly to critiques of the bZ4X. It’s faster, more efficient, and more driver-friendly—finally bringing Toyota’s EV efforts up to speed.

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