For this roundup, I’ve picked five of what I think are the most interesting wearable tech campaigns on Kickstarter.
First up is Drumpants! Full disclosure, I recently joined the Drumpants team, so whereas I am biased, I still think it’s one of most fun wearable tech products on Kickstarter right now. Soft sensor pads are designed to velcro inside your pants (or other garment) so that when you start drumming on your pants, you trigger real music samples. The open API can be adapted to use for non-music functions like answering your phone or controlling a slideshow presentation:
Visit the Drumpants Kickstarter page.
Next: Zackees Turn Signal Gloves. Seasoned wearable tech followers will be wondering why it took so long for something like this to get on Kickstarter. That’s what I like about this project – its strength is in its simplicity, and the applications for not only cycling, but running, signaling, etc are broad. Plus, it’s great to see an independent designer taking these ideas to production level. I’m a backer on this one, and I’ll be curious to see if they offer a range of sizes in their initial run:
Visit the Turn Signal Gloves Kickstarter page.
Would-be lucid dreamers are pledging upwards of $150 (US) for the Aurora Dream Enhancing Headband. In a way, it’s another activity tracker, but it will appeal to a different user-group. I also like the way it can be used as an alarm clock based on the wearer’s natural sleep rhythms:
Visit the Aurora Kickstarter page.
The Climbax Climbing Wristbands are very specifically targeted at a single activity, rock climbing, which makes them interesting for a number of reasons. We’ve seen a slew of activity trackers coming out over the last few years, but most of them measure general movement. Anyone who knows a climber, knows how passionate they are about their sport, so it will be interesting to see if niche communities are willing to support this kind of specifically customized technology:
Visit the Climbax Kickstarter page.
The Silic T-shirt is proving popular, with over 2000 backers pledging upwards of $40 (US) for a t-shirt that “cleans itself”. What this means is that water-based spills are repelled by the fabric, so if you spill your drink on your shirt, it rolls right off. The fiber is described as a nano-coated polyester and the demonstrations online look really effective. The shirt reportedly remains stain-proof for up to ±80 washes, which you’ll only need to do for oil-based stains:
Visit the Silic Kickstarter page.
