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Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Mesh antennas, portable AC, and more

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns 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. In this column, we cut through the worthless wearables and Oculus Rift ripoffs to round up the week’s most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects. But don’t grab your wallet just yet. Keep in mind that even the most well-intentioned crowdfunded project can fail. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

goTenna Mesh — Off-grid message communicator

 

Smartphones have been a revolution in personal communications, but as advanced as they may be, they are still limited by the range and distribution of cell towers. If you are in an area with poor service (or even none whatsoever), you may as well try smoke signals to communicate. The team behind the goTenna Mesh hope to fix this problem with their device, which functions as a portable radio relay for phones.

Users connect their phone to the device using Bluetooth. When someone sends a message, the GoTenna Mesh broadcasts it through a UHF radio transmitter. The message will bounce to other nearby Mesh units until it reaches its destination; for the sake of privacy, the people functioning as relay points will not be able to see the messages. Of course, this system depends on people nearby having their own goTenna Mesh. As such, the company plans to sell them in pairs, so groups of friends traveling or going into the wild together will be able to connect.

Read more here.

Croz — DIY digital camera

Many people who have held a high-end camera, digital or otherwise, may have been perplexed by the many buttons and dials at their fingertips. Photography can be a dense hobby, and even as smartphones have made it more accessible, burgeoning shutterbugs may still fret over what filters or contrast levels to use in their photos. Lomography was developed to smash preconceptions about photography, encouraging users to take spontaneous photos with simple devices, focusing on the beauty of natural, everyday circumstances rather than carefully composed scenes.

The Croz digital lomo camera embraces this ethos, offering users a simple, two-button camera in a minimalist frame. Although digital, the camera uses a direct viewfinder, so there is no fiddling with distance; simply point and shoot. The camera itself is a work of art, available in cases made from various woods such as European ash and North American black walnut. The camera has a Micro USB port and can support 32GB SD cards.

Read more here.

SunnyBag Leaf+ — Hybrid solar system

Campers and hikers prone to long adventures in the wilderness may run into power shortages from time to time. Batteries may suffice for a flashlight, but what if you need to check your phone days into a trek? Depending on the weather, the SunnyBag Leaf+ may be the most convenient, environmentally-friendly option available.

Comprised of silicon solar cells, is lightweight (198g) and flexible, gathering charge as you carry it throughout the day. Equipped with Lightning and Mini USB ports (as well as USB Type-C, depending on stretch goals), the Leaf+ can charge a variety of popular devices. It is definitely a project to keep an eye on if you love the great outdoors.

Read more here.

Zero Breeze — Portable Air Conditioner

Sunny days are perfect for adventures, until the heat becomes sweltering. For those who want to enjoy a nice day outside without sweating out all their vital fluids, the Zero Breeze may be the coolest gadget around. The Zero Breeze is relatively lightweight (14 pounds) portable air conditioner you can use indoors and out, making even the hottest day bearable. The creators assert the the device can cool a 50 square foot room down to 44 degrees fahrenheit.

The battery last for an estimated five hours, and keeping you cool is not all the Zero Breeze does. It has two USB charging ports, so you can charge your phone or tablet, an LED light to illuminate room or tents at night, and a Bluetooth speaker. The Zero Breeze seems like an incredible tool for those who plan to do any hiking or camping in hot climates.

Read more here.

EarDial — Smart earplugs

Live music is thrilling, at least until you leave the concert after two hours and hear that ringing in your ears. While tinnitus does not always cause serious harm, that ringing can sometimes be a prelude to permanent hearing damage. Given how many concerts and clubs have music playing well above safe levels, earplugs are a necessity to prevent hearing loss, but many of them can be ugly, or make it difficult to hear the world around you.

EarDials are a pair of smart earplugs, designed to fit comfortably and stealthily in your ears, filtering out harmful noise without blocking all sound. Made of transparent silicone, the earplugs blend in with the your skin, and are soft enough for extended use. The makers of EarDial claim that the plugs contain a high-fidelity noise filter that will keep out harmful levels of noise while letting you hear clearly. The device also comes with a companion app for smartphones that will give you a decibel rating for the noise around you.

Read more here.

Will Nicol
Will Nicol is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends. He covers a variety of subjects, particularly emerging technologies, movies…
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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