Thermo-SIM

Thermo-SIM is a portable device that allows you to measure the temperature of your surroundings. It even provides an estimate on how many calories you can burn by doing various tasks in different climates with various effort levels.

This device is great for anyone who's always been curious about how much energy they actually waste everyday. Learn how to make better decisions with your energy, and use it responsibly.

What can it do? Thermo-SIM can help you determine which activities burn more calories, what your best work out is, days at the beach vs snorkeling, etc!

About this product? Thermo-SIM was created by a team made up of students at MIT. The ERC-funded device is meant to help save money, and help people make better decisions while they're out on the town.

How did they do it? "It uses a combination of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensors and infrared LEDs to measure temperature, motion, and emissivity."

Crowdfunding Campaign Ends: April 2nd, 2014. Complete  Project Funding: $10,000.00 + $10,000.00 (tax deductible donations) = $20,000 . . .Note: I'm pretty sure they're going to have to refund all the donation money, so $20,000 - $10,000 = $10,000.

Where are they now? The first round of devices were ready for a small group of testers. They passed their prototypes around the MIT campus and tested them on students. Their final prototype is ready and they are preparing to send it out to the rest of their Kickstarter backers.

Website : www.thermosim.com ; www.facebook.com/thermoSIM ; www.twitter.com/thermosim ; www.youtube.com/thermosim . . .(I've tried to embed all their videos on this page, but it looks like I can't.)

Title: Blip

What can it do? Blip is a device that allows you to find out what's nearby through your smartphone and gives you information about the place including its geographic location, operating hours, contact number and ratings from other people who have been there. There are two versions of this product; the Fun One, which is the version that I have here with me today, and then there's the Work One which will be released later this year. The Fun One is for when you are on vacation or for shopping and just to see what's around you, whereas the Work One will be used in industries like construction and insurance.

About this product? Blip was created by a team of entrepreneurs from MIT. They're creating an application which will be released in April called Byblos, which everyone will be able to download and use with their smartphones. The application is being created with a focus on how people can benefit from local businesses. It helps local businesses connect with their customers more often, as well as efficiently identify their customers so advertisers can target specific groups of people.

How did they do it? The team consists of 4 people, two of which are from MIT and the other two are from Harvard. They've been working together since 2010, and this is their first project that they have ever had. "Most freshmen don't have the opportunity to build on their own idea with a team and see it all the way through from beginning to end." - Zafer Adili , one of the MIT group members.

Crowdfunding Campaign Ends: May 5th, 2014. Complete Project Funding: $50,000 . . .Note: I'm pretty sure they're going to have to refund all the donation money, so $50,000 - $0 = $50,000.

Where are they now? "We're still a long way from our goal, but we've received a great response and are now at 60% of our funding in less than a week" - Zafer Adili . They're expecting the final prototype devices for their testers in about two weeks. This project has been covered by over 50 top publications including TechCrunch, TheNextWeb and GigaOm. Blip has already been selected as one of five projects out of over 600 entries to receive funding from the MIT Sandbox Accelerator program.

Website : www.blip.com ; www.facebook.com/blipapp ; www.twitter.com/blipapp . . .(I've tried to embed all their videos on this page, but it looks like I can't. Sorry!)

Title: PanaFinder

What can it do? PanaFinder is an application that includes all information about a camera lens (model, speed, focal length, etc) and allows you to compare different lenses for whatever type of photography you want to do. The app also offers things like articles about photography techniques, products and tips. They are currently in the process of creating mobile apps for both iOS and Android. The mobile app will be available by next month as long as all goes well with the first lens that's being sold through the Kickstarter campaign. Of course PanaFinder will be able to identify most lenses, but they're focusing on Canon users for now.

About this product? PanaFinder was created by a team consisting of a mix of students from Harvard, MIT, and Boston University. The team started working on it in December 2012 and in February 2013 they were able to get their first prototype device together. They've since run multiple campaigns for the development of their first lens and are currently offering it through Kickstarter.

How did they do it? The current team consists of three members who have been working together since they were freshmen in college. The group is made up of one student from Harvard, two students from MIT, and one student from Boston University. The team was formed with the intention of creating PanaFinder.

Crowdfunding Campaign Ends: May 19th, 2014. Complete Project Funding: $40,000 - $50,000 . . .Note: I'm pretty sure they're going to have to refund all the donation money, so $40,000 - $10,000 = $30,000.

Where are they now? Currently developing the beta version of their mobile app and waiting for iOS/Android devices to be ready to use later this summer (2014). They will start selling a lens in August. They will also be releasing an Android phone under their own brand name this summer as well.

Website : www.panafinder.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this useful! 🙂

I'll be making another post about the Kickstarter campaigns I've found, so be on the lookout for that if you enjoyed this. My next post will include a section that compares Kickstarter campaigns and Indiegogo campaigns, as well as my favorite campaign of all time, TikTok & LunaTik (the world's first smartwatch).

Did you know there were two other crowdfunding websites where you could invest in new products? Check it out! Investing in Startups | AngelList Crowdfunding Platform: CrowdCube . . .Note: I'm not sure how safe these websites are or what kind of things they are invested in.