14 smart crowdfunding campaigns you may want to back this week

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

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Widerun

This bike trainer allows you to connect to VR headsets, from Oculus Rift to Samsung Gear VR, and bring the great outdoors inside. Widerun is currently seeking £30,000 on Kickstarter.

ErgoDox EZ

This open-source mechanical keyboard is fully customizable to fit any of your needs. ErgoDox EZ is currently seeking $50,000 on Indiegogo.

mDrawBot

This 4-in-1 drawing robot kit can be assembled into a variety of configurations capable of doodling on walls to eggs. Makeblock is currently seeking $50,000 on Kickstarter.

kSafe

This smart and lockable cookie jar will only open if your goals have been achieved. kSafe is currently seeking $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Konekt Dash

This cellular development kit for both Arduino and Raspberry Pi is powered by Konekt’s global data plan and works without Wi-Fi. Konekt is currently seeking $10,000 on Kickstarter.

DuoPad

This multi-touch trackpad provides PC and laptop owners (using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10) all the touchscreen features and functionalities of their favorite mobile device onto any computer monitor. DuoPad is currently seeking $30,000 on Indiegogo.

Abode

This new home security and automation company provides a self-installed, professional-grade solution with no contracts. Abode is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

SLIIP

This a smart pillow-mobile device combination is designed to reduce snoring and provide you with a better night’s sleep. Polegame Inc. is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

Jamstik

This six-string, MIDI guitar pairs with your iOS device and teaches you the fundamentals through its accompanying app. Zivix is currently seeking $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Aivvy Q

These self-learning headphones personalize music channels based on your genre preferences through actions, locations and time of day. The Aivvy team is currently seeking $125,000 on Kickstarter.

3DFormer

This pen draws 3D models right in thin air. 3DFormer is currently seeking $20,000 on Kickstarter.

Ares

This drone allows you to use your iPhone or iPad to draw a flight path and easily capture high-resolution aerial photos and video. Ares is currently seeking $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Jambé

This electronic instrument may look and play like a drum, but works with your iOS device to give you unlimited sounds and playability. Sensorpoint is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

PocketDock

This pocket-sized smartphone dock can also serve as a travel stand and nightlight. Cozy Industries is currently seeking $25,000 on Indiegogo.

Widerun is bringing virtual reality to indoor cycling

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This interactive bike trainer is designed to deliver engaging fitness sessions through VR headsets. 

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Let’s face it, stationary biking can be boring. But what if, during your workout, you were suddenly immersed in an intense uphill battle in the Tour de France, a leisurely ride along the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway, or a thrilling escape from zombies in a Walking Dead-like post-apolocayptic world? That may soon be a reality thanks to one Italian startup that has debuted on Kickstarter.

While turbo trainers that allow avid cycling enthusiasts to use their actual bike indoors is fairly common, Widerun is a smart bike trainer designed to connect to virtual reality head-mounted units. At the moment, the system offers support for Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR, as well as other mobile VR displays. Widerun pairs to either a PC or smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy with a theoretical distance over 100 meters.

Everything on the bike functions as it would had you actually been riding in these various settings. Meaning, when you switch gears to cycle faster or slower, Widerun transmits the real-world changes caused by the cyclist into the virtual world. As a true plug-and-play system, users don’t need a special bike to enjoy an immersive VR cycling experience. Instead, Widerun accommodates any piece of equipment with a wheel radius between 26″ to 29” — no adjustments necessary.

What’s more, Widerun features real-time, coherent feedback between your movement and your reaction in the VR world.

“One of the crucial aspects into delivering the best immersive virtual reality biking experience is the possibility to regulate the resistance and the inertia on the rear wheel according to the position in the 3D VR world,” the team writes. In other words, a rider will feel as if they are climbing mountains, breezing through forests or descending steep hills, as the trainer will automatically regulate its resistance.

Beyond that, Widerun also offers gamification and community elements that encourage users to choose among various VR settings to ride, engage with other cyclists, locate people to challenge, and monitor their performance history.

In order to create the most optimal VR biking experience possible, the team designed Widerun with two components: the trainer itself and a steering part that appears to be based on an Arduino Micro (ATmega32U4). An embedded MCU receives inputs from both the game environment and the bike trainer to regulate back the electrical signals to match the virtual experience the user is having, such as steering degree, speed magnitude and ground resistance.

Widerun hopes to get other VR software developers onboard in the coming months. The team notes, “We believe that there are many amazing wizards in game design and development out there able to create even better 3D environments where to bike through Widerun. We decided to include with any type of pledge the complete SDK to let you build and (if you like) upload your own VR worlds! We’re looking forward to bike in your VR creations!”

Interested? Head over to its official Kickstarter page, where the Widerun team is currently seeking £30,000. Shipment is expected to begin early next year.