Skip to main content

Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Robot subs, laser cutters, a $300 3D printer

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.

Trinus — $300 all-metal 3D printer

As 3D printing tech quickly becomes cheaper and more accessible, the list of sub-$500 printers just keeps getting bigger. The only downside is that with such a drastic drop in price you also typically get a noticeable drop in quality. Take our word for it — we’ve tested a handful of ultra-affordable printers and have been left disappointed each time. They just can’t match the accuracy — or more importantly, the reliability — of more expensive (ie, higher quality) machines.

At least not yet, anyway. Sooner or later, somebody is bound to hit the sweet spot between affordability and reliability, and this new printer from Kodama looks like it could be the one to do it. Unlike most of sub-$500 printers, this thing isn’t made with flimsy plastic parts. Trinus, as its called, is made with premium aluminum and steel parts. Not only does it have a metal frame, it also has metal internal components. No loose belts or plastic gears — which ultimately translates to a better, more reliable performance and fewer technical failures.

Read more here.

Mosquito — Modular, customizable, 3D-printed drone

Ever crashed a drone and found yourself wishing you could just print a replacement part for it? Well, thanks to a Barcelona-based startup called Bonadrone, your dreams might soon come true. The company has recently taken to Indiegogo in an effort to jumpstart the launch of a new drone called the Mosquito: a modular quadcopter that — aside from the motors, batteries, and control electronics — is made almost entirely from 3D printed parts. If you ever break the chassis or just feel like upgrading to a new design, you can seriously just download a file and print it yourself (as long as you’ve got a 3D printer, of course).

And that’s not all. The drone’s creators are also building a platform that will provide access to a community of users that (in theory) will help design future versions of drone technology. Basically, Bonadrone needs a little help getting this modular design out into the world, but once that happens, it’ll be completely in the hands of the user community. If you need a new part or feel like upgrading your drone’s design, you can just log in and shop around through other user-submitted designs.

Read more here.

Synek Somm — Smart wine dispenser

About two years ago, booze-loving entrepreneur Steve Young turned to Kickstarter to launch an innovative new craft beer dispenser. The Synek, as its called, was an instant hit with the crowdfunding community — gathering up more than $640,000 during its campaign. Now, after successfully bringing the Skynek to market, Young is back on Kickstarter with yet another booze-dispensing creation. This time, however, his focus is on wine.

The Somm smart wine dispenser takes the same winning concept and applies it to the big, wide world of fermented grape juice. Synek’s accompanying app gives you access to a wide range of wines from all over the world, which you can order with just a few taps. When they arrive, you simply insert the wine pod into the Somm and let the machine handle the rest. It’ll immeidately recognize what kind of wine its holding, chill it to the appropriate temperature, and aerate the wine as it pours. Over time, the machine will even begin to learn your preferences, and suggest new wines for you to try.

Read more here.

GFOE Sub — Robotic submarine for Yellowstone Lake

So in all fairness, this one isn’t necessarily something you’ll ever be able to buy (unless you’re an eccentric billionaire), but it’s still pretty damn cool, so we felt compelled to include it in this weeks roundup. Here’s the idea: Yellowstone has been a national park for more than 100 years now, but while practically every inch of its forests have been explored now, there’s still one part of the park that scientists don’t know very much about: the depths of Yellowstone Lake. They just haven’t had the resources or funding to explore down there, so the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) has turned to Kickstarter for some help.

GFOE’s plan is pretty straightforward. It needs $100,000 to build a high-tech robotic submarine that can be operated remotely from the surface. With this sub, scientists will be able to examine the deepest reaches of Yellowstone Lake, and gather precious data on what might be hiding (and living) inside of it.  Researchers hope to make some exciting discoveries, as similar lakes around the world house a diverse community of thermophilic bacteria, hydrothermal vent plants, and other heat-loving organisms that have proven to be of interest to science and medicine.

Read more here.

Mr. Beam II — Uber-simple laser engraver/cutter

Laser cutters/engravers are arguably one of the most versatile tools you can have in your workshop. With the right laser diode, they can do everything from etching patterns into leather, to cutting super-precise shapes in wood. They can handle a massive range of materials and can be used in a wide variety of different ways — but unfortunately there aren’t many on the market that are designed for the casual tinkerers and novice DIY types among us. If you want to fiddle with laser cutters, you typically need to know your way around all kinds of complex software and calibration procedures.

Not so with the Mr. Beam II. This beast has been designed from the ground up to be ridiculously simple to use. Simply connect your PC, Mac or tablet via Wi-Fi, choose the design you’d like to cut/etch, and hit go. The software makes it nearly foolproof, and the machine has presets for just about every material under the sun. Wood, leather, fabric, and even mirrors or anodized aluminum are no problem at all. The integrated software allows for pictures to be engraved directly onto your material, no matter what picture or material you choose.

Read more here.

Editors' Recommendations

Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: 8K VR, smoke-free fires, a drone for your home
awesome tech new crowdfunding projects pimax biolite arduboy firepit home hero v2

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 new crowdfunding projects out there this week. That said, keep in mind that any crowdfunding project — even the best intentioned — can fail, so do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.
Pimax -- 8K VR headset

VR headsets have come a long way in the past few years. Ever since the Oculus Rift reignited the world's enthusiasm for virtual reality, tech companies have been in an arms race to develop better and better headsets. Today, VR enthusiasts have a smorgasbord of different options to choose from -- everything from the accessible and affordable Samsung Gear VR, all the way up to the industry-leading HTC Vive. But in many ways, the competition is just starting to heat up -- especially now that Pimax's much-hyped 8K headset has landed on Kickstarter.

Read more
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Robo friends for Fido, a smart motorcycle helmet
Best new Kickstarter and Indiegogo Projects

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a visual stroll through the best new Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects, 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.
Anthouse Pet Companion Robot

Previous

Read more
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Aquarium robots and LED globes
new crowdfunding projects Riptide R1 electric skateboard

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 new crowdfunding projects out there this week. That said, keep in mind that any crowdfunding project — even the best intentioned — can fail, so do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.
Moai -- Aquarium robot

Do you hate manually cleaning your aquarium? Do you also yearn for a way to monitor your fishy friends when you're not home? Do you enjoy filling your house with robots that carry out extremely specific tasks? If you said yes to all three of those questions, then the Moai is probably right up your alley. It's a robot that autonomously roves around your aquarium, cleans the glass, and also streams live video of your fish through the internet, thereby allowing you to check up on them with your mobile device, no matter where you are.

Read more