Skip to main content

Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Coffee alarm clocks, portable showers, 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 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.

Barisieur — Coffee-brewing alarm clock

 

No matter how much sleep you get, waking up is almost always a chore. Letting go of that glorious dream you were having, hauling yourself away from the warmth and comfort of your bed, and shuffling to the kitchen to guzzle down some caffeine is a much more arduous process than it should be. But what if you didn’t have to shuffle at all? What if you could enjoy a hot cup of coffee just moments after waking up? Well, thanks to this brilliant contraption from UK-based designer Josh Renouf, you might soon be able to do just that.

His latest creation, the Barisieur, is an ingenious hybrid of an alarm clock and a coffee brewer — a contraption that finally enables you to get your daily dose of liquid crack without ever leaving your sheets. The device works just like you’d expect: you pre-load it with some water and grounds, put your cup in place, and set the alarm. When wakeup time rolls around, instead of sounding a horrible, skull-piercing klaxon, it wakes you up with the gentle sound of bubbling water, accompanied by the wonderful aroma of freshly-prepared coffee.

Read more here.

Carbon SUV — Beefy, badass electric bike

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: humanity is living in the golden age of rideable technology right now. In the past few years, electric motors have become smaller and more powerful, and batteries have begun to last longer — two trends that have coalesced and kicked off a renaissance in personal mobility devices. There’s almost too many rideables to keep track of anymore. Between all the electric skateboards, gyroscopically stabilized unicycles, and motorized skates; staying on top of all the new rideable gizmos that get announced each month is damn near impossible.

The latest addition to this ever-growing category of transportation devices is the Carbon SUV — a big, burly, fat-tire electric mountain bike that looks like it fell out of a UFO. It only tops out at just over 21 miles per hour, but the creators say its lightweight design and high torque allow you to boost over inclines and obstacles with ease.

Read more here.

Orbii — Robotic home security orb

In the past few years, security cameras have become cheaper and more functional than ever before. Nowadays, there are a handful of cameras that come standard with integrated motion detection, temperature sensors, light sensors, and a host of other features. But no matter how advanced these cameras get, they all come with the same drawback: they’re stationary. In order to see multiple parts of your house, you need to buy and install multiple cameras — and even then, if something’s happening outside of their field of view, there’s no way to see it.

You need Orbii — a rolling robotic security camera that you can control remotely from anywhere with an internet connection. It’s basically BB-8, but without the levitating head and cute little bleep bloop noises. Once you’ve got it connected to to your home Wi-Fi network, you can drive the bot around your house via the accompanying smartphone app. Not sure if you turned the oven off, or if your cat has enough food in its bowl? Just drive Orbii over and take a look.

Read more here.

RinseKit — Portable, pressurized shower

Ever found yourself in a situation where you really needed a good rinse, but were miles and miles away from any kind of hose, faucet, or shower? Ever wished there was a way to bring a shower along with you wherever you go? If you answered yes to both questions, then RinseKit might be just the device you’ve been looking for.

In a nutshell, it’s basically just a portable pressurized hose — but here’s the kicker: it doesn’t require any pumping or battery power to operate. Its designed in such a way that when you fill it up, the pressure from your faucet or hose is strong enough to compress the air inside the RinseKit’s inner chamber. This pressure is apparently high enough to provide up to provide five minutes of shower time — and up to 30 minutes if you keep it on the low pressure “mist” setting. There’s even an optional heating element add-on for users who prefer to shower in warm water.

Read more here.

Nuria — Adaptive headphones

Whenever you buy a new set of headphones, you probably take a few days to break them in and tweak the fit to get the best listening experience. Usually, this is done by simply fiddling with headband or swapping out the earbud tips to make sure you’ve got a snug fit. But even after all that tweaking, the sound quality of the headphones themselves is pretty much one-size-fits all, and isn’t tailored to the acoustics of your individual ear canals.

Nuria aims to change that. The company’s eponymous new headphones are designed to calculate the perfect sound profile for you based on the unique shape of your inner ear — no equalizer required. The phones actually scan your inner ear canals and tailor the sound to optimize the way the waves reverberate and ensure they reach your eardrums without being colorized or degraded in any way.

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