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Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Smart skillets, screw bits, and electronic fish bait

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 no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there – alongside some real gems. We’ve cut through the Pebble clones and janky iPhone cases to round up the most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects out there this week. Keep in mind that any crowdfunded project — even the best intentioned — can fail, so do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

The Fish Call — Electronic fish bait

 

We’re not 100-percent sure if this one is legit, but hear it out: The Fish Call is basically like a duck call or a moose call, but designed fish. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. Fish don’t have a “call,” so this is obviously snake oil, right? That’s what I thought too, but after reading through the Kickstarter page a bit and doing some quick Google research, I’m starting to think this might have some merit to it.

Supposedly, the Fish Call works by emitting a series of vibrations and sounds that mimic those created by a school of feeding fish. When fish sense these sounds, they instinctively swim toward the vibrations to see what all the hubbub is about. The idea is that you toss this sucker into the water, wait for the fish to swim up and investigate, and then cast your line out next to the device. If the Fish Call works as advertised and your casting skills are up to par, your bait will presumably land smack in the middle of a hungry school of fish — drastically increasing your chances of landing one and pulling it back into the boat.

Find out more here.

Morpheus — LIPS 3D printer

Normally, there’s so many printer projects on Kickstarter at any given moment that I hardly bat an eye when a new one is announced — but Morpheus is something different. Instead of melting plastic filament to create objects layer-by layer, it employs a technique known as stereolithography (SLA), wherein laser light is used to “grow” objects out of a pool of UV-curable resin. However, unlike most SLA printers, which basically trace out shapes with a laser beam, Morpheus speeds up the process with a technique the creators call Light Induced Planar Solidification.

It sounds super fancy and complicated, but LIPS is really just a dressed-up way of saying the printer uses a projection system to create one entire layer of an object at once, instead of tracing a small laser dot over the area that needs to be solidified. In theory, this is considerably faster and more effective than the methods that most SLA printers employ. And to sweeten the deal even more, Morpheus also has one of the biggest print volumes of any SLA printer we’ve ever seen, measuring in at a massive 33 x 18 x 30 centimeters.

Find out more here.

Knife Edge Bit — Driver for damaged screws

If you’ve ever used a Philips screwdriver, you know firsthand just how frustrating they can be. Turning a screw seems like a pretty straightforward task, but one false move and your Philips bit will push itself out and destroy the screw head right before your eyes. Ever wonder why this happens? It’s because that’s exactly what Philips bits are designed to do. Invented in the 1930s for use on automotive assembly lines, Phillips bits were designed to deliberately “cam out,” or push themselves out of the screw at a certain point so that they wouldn’t destroy the screws or the cars on the assembly line.

Thing is, we use them for a totally different purpose now, and the fact that Philips bits tend to “cam out” is more annoying than it is helpful to most users. To remedy this problem, Portland-based inventor Dan Pinckard has developed an ingenious new Phillips bit, dubbed the Knife Edge, that not only prevents cam out from happening, but also allows you to turn damaged and otherwise unusable screws. The bit’s unique geometry causes it to dig into the screw head and lock in place when lots of torque is applied, so instead of slipping out and stripping your screw, it actually gets tighter. Check out the video!

Find out more here.

Livall — Smart bike helmet system

There’s no shortage of smart bike helmets in the world these days, but this one is probably the smartest and most tricked-out we’ve seen yet. Not only does it have lights and turn signals, but it’s also packed with sensors and communication tech. Tucked inside its protective hull, a built-in 3-axis G-sensor lets the Bling helmet detect falls by reporting unusual deceleration — a.k.a. crashes. The accompanying mobile app then automatically sends an S.O.S. to your preset emergency contacts.

Of course, the idea is to avoid accidents altogether, so forward-facing colored LEDs keep you visible in rear view mirrors, while rear LEDs sweep back and forth like KITT’s iconic scanner bar. They serve as tail lights, plus can work as turn signals if you have the right peripherals. The Bling Helmet’s built-in “windbrake” mic lets you answer calls without that deafening background whistle. The Bluetooth speakers positioned above the ears let the helmet take the place of headphones, since you can both hear your calls and listen to music stored on your phone. The helmet also has a walkie-talkie function for direct helmet-to-helmet communications.

Find out more here.

SmartPrompt Pan — Intelligent skillet

There are two kinds of people in this world: those that can cook, and those that tend to burn anything they put on the stovetop. If you’re one of the latter, making your own meals is a struggle — especially when you’ve constantly got to run out of the kitchen to wave a blanket at the smoke alarm. But there’s still hope for you.  The SmartPrompt Pan is a freshly launched Kickstarter project that aims to make stovetop cooking completely foolproof. On the outside it looks and feels just like any other frying pan (save for a touchscreen on the handle, but under the hood it’s got a few tricks that make it smarter than your average skillet.

In addition to a temperature sensor embedded in the center of the pan, Pantelligent is also equipped with a Bluetooth LE radio in the handle, so it can relay temperature data to your phone or tablet. Once you’re all synced up, the pan’s on-board display can tell you how hot the pan is, how hot it should be, and even let you know when it’s time to add ingredients, stir, or flip. All you’ve got to do is follow the alerts and adjust the heat of your stove as directed. SmartPrompt’s software knows the ideal cooking times and temperatures for a myriad of different foods, so as long as you can follow directions, you’ll end up with a perfectly cooked dish every time.

Find out more here.

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
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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
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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.
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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.
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