PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Every Friday, PCR rounds up the hottest crowdfunded tech to keep in mind for future retail opportunities.
Let’s take a look at this week’s selection of up-and-comers…
The Rufus Cuff: the ‘world’s first wrist communicator’
While smartwatches are becoming a hot topic among consumers and firms, this project aims for something a little more original – a Dick Tracy-esque wrist-mounted communicator.
The widescreen three-inch device operates much like the smaller smartwatches currently on the market, connecting to iOS or Android devices to display notifications, control media playback and take hands-free voice calls.
Thanks to its more generous size, the Rufus runs a full version of Android, meaning it can use nearly any existing app on the Google Play store.
Retro sci-fi fans and wannabe Buzz Lightyears alike should be satisfied.
Make Flappy Box: DIY Flappy Bird in a box
Based on a popular YouTube video in which someone had created a physical scrolling version of the controversial and highly popular Flappy Bird app, Make Flappy Box is a DIY electronics kit that allows fans to create their own ‘Flappy Box’.
While the kit’s $39 (£23) price tag is far higher than the app’s free availability (although, the creator has since removed it from the Apple App Store in a much-publicised reaction to criticism and ‘worries of addiction’), the box should serve as an educational tool to teach children how to implement electronics into physical creations by using a recognisable game.
The MicrobeScope: turn your iPhone into a microscope
The MicrobeScope allows iPhone users to use their phone as a powerful microscope, zooming into sub-micron levels – enough to see bacteria and mcirobes.
The level of magnification with different iPhone models ranges from 800 to 2,000 times, and the iPhone 5S’s low-motion camera feature can also be utilised to clearly see tiny cells.
At the time of writing, the MicrobeScope has already raised over 500 per cent of its original funding target.
ThumbTrack: cursor control at your thumbtip
While computer mice traditionally require the use of a whole hand, the ThumbTrack hopes to contain all the functionality of a mouse on a single finger.
Claimed to be ‘the world’s smallest mouse’, the ThumbTrack is worn like a ring on the user’s index finger, and then operated with swipes of the thumb.
The wearer can move the cursor, click, scroll and select items on-screen.
The hope is that the ergonomic design reduces the risk of injury or discomfort sometimes caused by traditional mice.
The $99 (£60) device (which will cost $119 (£71) when released) has already raised over $7,500 (£4,512) – over 15 times the original funding target of $500 (£301) set by its creators.
