Skip to main content

Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Art lenses, tankless diving, Shazam for birds

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 all 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 any crowdfunded project can fail — even the most well-intentioned. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

MC Hammie — 3-in-1 hammock/tent/blanket

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Over the past few years, many backpackers have taken to replacing their traditional tents with a hammock, and it’s easy to see why. Hammocks are often lighter to carry, faster and less complex to set up, and offer better all-around comfort to boot.

Recommended Videos

Hammocks are not without their drawbacks, however. For starters, they require properly spaced and sized trees to be useful, and most can only hold one or two people. Additionally, they tend not to be especially adaptable, mainly serving only one purpose. But a company called Wildish is looking to change that with the introduction of the M.C. Hammie: a hammock it promises will be the most versatile ever made.

The M.C. Hammie launched on Kickstarter last week. It’s made from rugged ripstop nylon that has been treated with a durable water-resistant coating. It functions just like a standard hammock, allowing users to sling it up between a pair of trees and relax in comfort both at home or while in the backcountry.

But, unlike most other hammocks, M.C. Hammie can also serve as a waterproof ground blanket with enough room for up to eight people. In a pinch, it can also be converted into an emergency shelter, not unlike a traditional tent.

Read more here

AirBuddy — tank-free diving apparatus

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’ve always wanted to try scuba diving but have been scared off by the high cost of gear and the prolonged certification process, this new Kickstarter gizmo just might be your dream come true. The AirBuddy promises to deliver a full diving experience that offers the ease and simplicity of snorkeling. It’s a diving apparatus that doesn’t use a tank, thereby making it easier and more accessible for beginners and pros alike.

Weighing in at just 17.2 pounds, the AirBuddy is allegedly the smallest and lightest diving device ever created. The unit is able to cut a considerable amount of weight by doing away with the traditional scuba tank. Instead, it employs a unique design, which includes an air compressor that floats on the surface above the diver, pumping fresh air through a flexible tube that’s connected to a mouthpiece regulator.

The device can reportedly run for up to 45 minutes on a rechargeable battery, allowing the diver to descend as far as 40 feet below the surface without being encumbered by heavy equipment in any way.

Read more here

WarblrGA — Shazam for birds

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ever found yourself wondering what bird you just heard on your morning stroll through the park? There’s an app for that — or at least there will be soon. Recently launched on Indiegogo, the Warblr app can identify bird species by listening to their chirps.

Similar to song-identifying apps like Shazam and SoundHound, Warblr uses your smartphone to record a nearby bird song and then analyze it in real time with sophisticated machine learning algorithms to determine the species of the performer.

That might sound fairly straightforward, but deciphering bird chirps is a bit more complicated than identifying a song. Unlike a song you hear on the radio, bird songs aren’t sung by just one artist. Tweets and chirps are sung with varying speeds and cadences, so even among birds of the exact same species, identifying a particular song can be tricky.

Warblr’s algorithms have to account for all this — not to mention the fact that individual birds often have large repertoires of different songs and calls — an impressive feat.

Read more here

NeoLucida XL — tracing tool

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ever heard of the camera lucida? It’s an old 19th century optical tool that artists utilized to help them draw things that they saw — kind of like tracing an object in the real world. It’s centuries old, but has now been updated for the modern age by two university art professors.

Pablo Garcia, an assistant professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Golan Levin, an associate professor at Carnegie Melon, devised an inexpensive, portable version of the camera lucida, which allows the user to “draw from life,” as the creators put it.

The NeoLucida XL is “ … a prism on an adjustable stand. When an artist looks down through the prism, they see the world in front of them, plus their hand on the page, combined in perfect superimposition. In short, a camera lucida allows you to trace what you see.”

Highly popular in the 1800s, it’s an effective method in portraitures. In Garcia and Levin’s modern version (shown above), the NeoLucida XL is highly portable, with a large prism attached to flexible stand with clamp. There’s no electricity required, nor are there any computer components reproducing the image, so you can take it anywhere and use it without any prior experience.

Read more here

Neptune — swappable art lens system

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Interchangeable lens cameras offer incredible versatility, but what if you could also swap out the individual pieces inside that lens? What kind of crazy, beautiful, and outrageous photos could you create? If you want to find out, we highly suggest you check out the Neptune from Lomography: a convertible art lens system that’s essentially three prime lenses in one. Both launched and fully funded on Kickstarter last week, the system uses an unusual but historically inspired modular design.

The Neptune consists of three parts. The first is the lens base or mount. Most photographers will only need one, but creatives that shoot with multiple brands can use the same lens on their Canon, their Nikon or their Pentax by swapping out the base.

The second piece is a swappable aperture plate. As an art lens, the plate sits inside the camera’s usual diaphragm to alter the shape of the background bokeh from stars to teardrops.  The final piece is the front lens, the section that determines the lens’ focal length.

The project is expected to launch with a 35mm f/3.5, a 50mm f/2.8, and an 80mm f/4, though Lomography is already designing additional parts to expand the system from 15mm to 400mm.

Read 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…
The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Read more
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more