17 smart crowdfunding campaigns you may want to back this week

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Every Friday, we take a look at some of the smartest, most innovative projects that caught our attention on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the last seven days. 

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Droppler

This unobtrusive monitor uses advanced audio recognition technology to track water consumption in real-time. Nascent Objects is currently seeking $70,000 on Indiegogo.

CoDrone

This drone can be easily programmed to do whatever you want, whether that’s following you, engaging in laser battles or navigating its way through a maze. Robolink has already soared past its goal of $50,000 on Kickstarter.

ZAR

This lightweight, foldable electric scooter is ideal for those needing to travel short distances quickly. Crazyfire Technology has almost doubled its initial $50,000 Kickstarter goal.

Tinylab

This tablet-sized, fully-integrated platform makes prototyping a breeze. Bosphorus Mechatronics is nearing its $25,000 goal on Indiegogo.

Teslasuit

This full-body haptic suit enables you to touch and feel the future of VR and gaming. Tesla Studios is currently seeking $369,009 on Kickstarter.

Gestor

This sleek air mouse is equipped with touch ring buttons that let you control your smart TV or computer using hand motions. Gestor Devices is currently seeking $39,550 on Kickstarter.

BASE by Wiivv

These 3D-printed, body-perfect insoles are designed from 2D snapshots taken from a smartphone. Wiivv has just about doubled its $50,000 goal on Kickstarter.

dokiWatch

This smartwatch is exclusively made for kids and features things like video calling, GPS and fitness tracking. Doki Technologies has already well surpassed its $20,000 goal on Kickstarter.

ChameleonMini

This freely-programmable, standalone tool for NFC security analysis allows you to emulate and clone contactless cards, read RFID tags and sniff RF data. Kasper & Oswald GmbH has garnered more than $25,000 on Kickstarter.

FitPal

This continuous heart rate monitoring  and activity tracker patch will take your fitness and health to the next level. FitPal is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

Hobby Hand

This 3D-printed, Arduino-driven robotic hand mimics the natural movement of its human overlord. Biomechanical Robotics Group is currently seeking $30,000 on Kickstarter.

Orilamp

This origami-inspired, Bluetooth-connected lamp boasts a wide range of applications, from accent to outdoor to emergency lighting. Orilamp is currently seeking $50,000 on Indiegogo.

Mu

This sensor add-on acts as a smart eye and brain for your existing remote-controlled toys. Morpx is currently seeking $100,000 on Indiegogo.

AromaCare

This smart essential oils diffuser allows you to configure your own aromatherapy sessions right from your phone. AromaCare is currently seeking $59,507 on Kickstarter.

AlphaTechBlocks

This set of alphabet blocks combines the charm of yesterday’s learning toys with the powers of modern-day technology to teach preschoolers letters in both English and Spanish. AlphaTechBlocks is currently seeking $90,000 on Kickstarter.

Arduino PLC

This industrial-grade, Arduino-based PLC is perfect for home automation, security and HVAC systems, as well as robotics projects and 3D printing. Team IoT is nearing $5,000 in funds on Kickstarter.

Blaze

This stackable, mini development board includes a high-res 1.6″ display with capacitive touch and a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 MCU. Kevin Webster is currently seeking $7,380 on Kickstarter.

Droppler measures water consumption by listening to how much noise your faucet makes

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Nascent Objects is a modular electronics platform that lets you piece together new devices like LEGO. 

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The historic drought impacting much of the west coast has led government officials to impose several water restrictions in recent months. Cognizant of this, Nascent Objects has teamed with Shock Top and design firm Ammunition to develop a new, modular water conservation device dubbed Droppler.

Debuted at CES and now live on Indiegogo, the monitor employs advanced audio recognition technology to track water consumption in real-time. Housed inside its sleek, 3D-printed white shell (also referred to as a ‘Nascent Shape’) are a mini CPU, an LED strip and a microphone capable of detecting the sound of flowing water. And unlike most existing solutions on the market today, Droppler doesn’t need to be attached to the plumbing.

Instead, simply place it next to a sink, toilet, shower or whatever else, and a light display on the front will slowly decrease as the water runs, offering quick and easy visual feedback. Beyond that, Droppler uploads that data to its accompanying iOS or Android app, which allows users to set goals, view report cards and even receive insights to curb their H2O habits.

But that’s not all. Being modular in nature, users can effortlessly transform and customize their own gadget by breaking down Droppler’s electronics and plugging them into a different chassis. Just remove the processor from its existing Shape, recombine it with a separate camera or speaker module, and pack both bits into another shell to create either connected home security system (called CouCou) or a wireless music streamer (named Red).

By the end of 2016, Nascent Objects hopes to have six devices in total, all using the same few swappable components. And that’s only the start. Looking ahead, the team’s product roadmap encapsulates the vision of an unlimited, cost-efficient marketplace for the most imaginative consumer electronics, which includes everything from a palm-sized drone to a bike computer to an IFTTT hub.

Does this have you saying “H2O my gosh?” Then head over to its Indiegogo campaign, where the Nascent Objects crew is currently seeking $70,000. Delivery for the Droppler is expected to get underway in June 2016.