A latte machine that allows you to brew a cuppa with a click of your phone, a computer game more addicting than Candy Crush and edible coffee are just a few of the ideas you can find on Kickstarter right now. Because the site is such a goldmine for the best potential inventions ever, we sorted through all of them to give you the best of the best. Here are 15 products we need now.
1. Magnetic Ice Shield: If you live in a place where long, snowy winters are the norm, you’ll really appreciate this invention. The covering, which clips to your car using magnets, prevents ice from sticking to the windshield, so all you have to do is shake it off the sheet and you’re good to go. You know what that means — 10 extra minutes of sleep!
2. A Soap Dish That Stays Clean: It’s such a bummer when you buy handmade, artisanal soaps and they end up making your soap dish look grimy. This product is so simple, yet genius. The design keeps it from filling with water, insuring the dish stays clean. It also grips to any surface, including uneven ones. Why didn’t we think of that?!
3. The Most Intense Controller Ever: Gamers, get ready to have your mind blown. Dexta Robotics, located in China, has come up with a way for users to touch the digital world. Their exoskeleton works as a digital arm so you can grab objects you see on screen, for example. It will also feel like you’re really doing it. Things are getting too real.
4. Make a Latte Using Your iPhone: This is definitely the most high-tech coffee brewer we’ve ever heard of. Synched with your phone, all you have to do is select what you want the coffee maker to make (there is an overwhelming number of possibilities) and it will get to work. The fact that it lets you make yourself a latte without getting out of bed makes it worth funding.
5. Edible Coffee: While we can’t verify that this new food product tastes good, it is a sweet idea. CoffeeBar is like a candy bar, except it has an entire shot of espresso in it. Everything in CoffeeBar is all-natural, so it’s pretty healthy, too. Two college kids came up with the idea (of course, right?), and it’s generating tons of buzz.
6. An Ode to Our Favorite ’90s Computer Game: Remember wasting hours playing SimCity? Concrete Jungle is basically a rebirth of that. The indie gamer behind it has already successfully funded a similar game on Kickstarter in 2011, but this new one kicks — no pun intended — it up a notch.
7. Seriously Smart Pencils: We may have just had trusty No. 2 pencils to use when we were in school (except when Yikes! pencils were popular for a minute), but these have math facts on them, presenting an accessible teaching moment. The goal is to help kids master their multiplication tables. Inventor Oswaldo Angel is hoping to get enough funding to create addition and subtraction sets, too.
8. Aromatherapy Cat Bed: This cool craft is just for cats, but it sounds so awesome, we wish there was a human-sized version. Basically, it’s a warm, knit cat bed with little pockets inside where you can tuck lavender and other soothing herbs. The herbs can be safely tucked away so the aroma fills the bed while preventing the cat from eating the herbs.
9. A USB Port That Makes Cable So Unnecessary: If you have a TV but don’t have cable, this one’s for you. Matchstick is a USB port that you input into your TV, and it allows you to stream whatever you are watching on your computer. It’s similar to Chromecast, but as of now, Chromecast only has the ability to stream Netflix and YouTube. Matchstick is next level.
10. A Learning Center That Turns Teens Into Entrepreneurs: The creative minds behind The Possible Project want to give teens in lower-income neighborhoods in Massachusetts a place to become young entrepreneurs. If funded, the location will give 250 high school students the chance to develop their own businesses using a STEM curriculum.
11. An Essential Magazine for Creatives: If you dream of turning a creative passion into a career, this publication needs your funding. Based out of Toronto, Munch would feature the stories of creative professionals in various fields: photography, filmmaking, fashion… you name it. The mag would detail what they do and how they got there. Seeing as it’s branding itself as a magazine for creatives by creatives, we’re totally on board.
12. The Most Convenient Data Transfer Device Ever: MangoCube, a data transfer card, is getting lots of attention from the tech world. Unlike anything currently on the market, you can use it to easily transfer data between your smartphone and your computer, and it’s about the size of a credit card. Oh, and it has wifi.
13. Artisan Soaps Blake Lively Would Die For: Hops are delicious in beer and apparently they make a good soap ingredient, too. Who knew, right? The Little Hop Shop is a line of naturally made bath products with, you guessed it, hops. The designers claim hops are antiseptic and calming. With scents like ceder, bergamot and pine, what’s not to love?
14. Cardboard Standing Desk: Standing desks can be pricey, but not only does this model use cardboard to keep down costs, it’s easy to carry. Plus, it’s 100 percent recyclable. A simple product that’s accessible to the masses and will totally change the way you work? Sounds like a good idea to us.
15. All-In-One Camera, Video, Picture Frame: Let’s be real: No one prints out their photos anymore. If you want to display one of your Instagram favorites in your home, this digital frame is the way to go. Fireside lets users create special albums in a cloud (making them easy to search) and then frames the image you want to showcase.
Which idea is your favorite? Tell us in the comments!