If you're looking for for the best wearable projects that are looking for funding on Kickstarter, Indiegogo or other crowdfunding platforms, you've come to the right place.
You can't move for a wearable tech startup at the moment, and the industry is being driven by the great ideas being realised by the internet of things revolution.
Every week we pick out the most promising ideas hoping to get public funding to make their idea a reality. It's not all one-way traffic, however, and it's a great chance for anyone to become an investor in the next big idea.
We've already virtually backed AmpStrap, Pavlok, Lineable and the Jolt Sensor – all of whom have now hit their targets (read more about them below).
Read on for our top crowdfunding picks and also take a look at our guide to being a crowdfunding success story.
HIRIS
Most wearable devices are simply a bunch of sensors in a band and an application layer that makes sense of it all, working out real world information such as steps and calories from a stream of registered movements. However, imagine if you could download apps to do tonnes of new things with that same information.
That’s the plan behind HIRIS. It’s a sensor laden ‘wearable computer’ that lets you decide what it's for. Apps will include fitness tracking, exercise sensing, home automation and even gesture controls for important Minority Report style PowerPoint presentations or controlling drones.
It’s also modular, an essential buzzword to cover off in 2015, so it can be upgraded with new features in the future.
We’ve not seen too many wearables take this strategy, yet it makes so much sense. Your basic activity tracker can be an app download away from being able to do so much more, and since you’re buying the tech anyway, why not get your money’s worth? The only issue is whether a start up like this can sell the volume to make its platform worth developing for.
HIRIS is looking for $80,000 before 1 March 2015, and $94 gets you a tracker which should be delivered by October 2015.
NapTime
Another idea that demonstrates that a product doesn't need to be overly complex and rich in features to catch our eye - NapTime is a Bluetooth connected wristband that parents of babies and toddlers wear to bed at night.
These wristbands connect to a smartphone app that, in turn, connects to a Wi-Fi camera in the baby's bedroom. The idea is that, when audio is detected by the camera, it tells the smartphone, which makes one of the wristbands vibrate. Whatever parent has chosen to be 'on duty' that night gets woken up and the other can remain in dream land.
The app has a calendar feature, so you can plan ahead or you can simply set it to alternate each night. The vibration alert can also be used as a smart alarm.
The design is pretty naff for now but NapTime's makers claim that the funding they are seeking will go towards designing a more polished product. They arelooking for CA$100,000 and have a long old way to go in the 24 days that remain.
RestOn
We've featured a non-wearable sleep monitor before in our Beddit sleep monitor review and RestOn is a similar tracker that's currently going for less on Indiegogo.
The early bird price is $99 with free shipping to US, Canada and China ($20 extra everywhere else).
So what does it do? The 2mm thick belt is placed on the bed underneath you and measures sleep time, heart rate, respiratory rate and sleep cycles. The companion Sleepace app analyses and scores your sleep each night giving you personalised tips and reminders to help improve your sleep - something we found Beddit was missing in our review. As for accuracy, it claims to be the most accurate sleep monitor ever.
Weekly and monthly sleep quality reports help you look at the big picture, rather than sweating the small stuff over one night's sleep and Sleepace also says that RestOn will look to support Apple Health, Microsoft Health and Google Health in the future.
Update: Success!
RestOn has already tripled its original target of $50,000. The Sleepace team has already sent out units to its Holiday Early Bird backers and received feedback. Current estimated delivery if you pledge now is February 2015.
AmpStrip
The heart rate monitor you'll never take off, AmpStrip is $99 on Indiegogo and promises to shake up how you track your training. Stick this waterproof device, that's the size of a plaster, to your chest with the supplied adhesives and you're ready to start tracking heart rate and zones, activity, exercise load, sleep, skin temperature and posture.
It connects to the AmpInsights companion app, which looks easy to read and comprehensive from the screenshots, via Bluetooth. And it charges wirelessly on a charging mat too.
Essential reading: Best heart rate monitors and HRM watches
It's no wonder then that AmpStrip has already bagged itself a CES Innovation Award ahead of the tech expo in Las Vegas in January. It sounds to us like an affordable all-rounder that we could easily forget we're wearing.
FitLinxx are looking for $50,000 of funding on Indiegogo and the campaign runs until 8 February.
Update: Success!
AmpStrip has smashed its $50,000 target. Updates on what the team plans to do with the extra money are coming soon. Its CES appearance probably helped boost backing.
Moodmetric
CrowdedRocket launched recently and then crashed from the huge amount of traffic to the site. It's up and running again now, with a handful of projects carefully selected by its dream team of bloggers, investors and wearable tech experts.
It's very different from Kickstarter but founder and CEO John Gotts explained to Wareable that's the point. "We go hands-on with a very limited number of startups," he told us. "We're interested in the long-term viability of the companies we launch and in helping them attract traditional funding after succeeding on our platform."
One of the standout campaigns is Moodmetric – a ring designed by a Finnish jewellery designer that measures galvanic skin response - the moisture from sweat - to track emotion levels.
The smart ring also measures autonomous nervous system signals that can be used to understand emotional reactions and to improve quality of life.
It’s got a way to go before it reaches its $50,000 target but there’s plenty of time left with the campaign ending on 31 January.
StrikeTec Sensor
Ever get the sneaking suspicion that you punch like an uncoordinated child? It's time to find out for sure as this boxing wearable hits Kickstarter.
Designed for boxers, kickboxers, MMA fighters and amateurs just looking to get fit, the StrikeTec Sensor tracks punch speed, force, type and count and syncs this live to the StrikeTec Boxing Training app over Bluetooth. In the campaign video, the sensors are placed in wrist wraps but in the final, smaller version, the StrikeTec will come in a band that can be worn with any type of boxing or MMA gloves.
StrikeTec looks to be iOS and Android compatible, from the video and screenshots on display, and anyone pledging $75 or more will receive a sensor and wrist band.
Elliot Fight Dynamics needs $100,000 to build the final version of the StrikeTec Sensor - the Kickstarter campaign is running until 15 January so Wes and his team have plenty of time to spread the word to would-be boxers around the globe. The project says it will deliver final units by May 2015, in the US only.
UPDATE: Cancelled!
It looks like the StrikeTec campaign has been cancelled after raised just over $1,000. We will let you know if this device pops up again.
Stridalyzer
We've been following Stridalyzer – a pair of connected insoles for runners – since the product was unveiled back in September, and have to say it's one of our favourite Kickstarter projects of the year.
Essential reading: Best running watches
The idea came from a pair of injured runners hailing from India, who wanted to improve the way they ran. ReTiSense – the company behind Stridalyzer – claims that 60% - 70% of runners will suffer an injury and 40% of those will include the dreaded 'runner's knee'. That's the problem Stridalyzer is trying to solve.
The connected insoles feature a host of pressure sensors, which monitor your footfalls, looking for imbalances, over-pronation and stresses on your limbs, which can lead to serious injury. The app live tracks your run, offering feedback if it notices serious problems with your form and offers a "form score" after every training session.
Runner's form will deteriorate as fatigue kicks in and Stridalyzer will also help long distance runners stay aware of how their bodies react to tiredness, which can focus gym sessions away from the track.
Away from your technique, Stridalyzer will also help optimise cadence and ground contact time, which can yield improvements in speed and time, too.
As injured runners here at Wareable we feel there's real value in this project, but a lot will depend on the quality of the hardware and how much analysis is offered through the app. As we've seen, showing the data is one thing but helping people act on it is quite another.
ReTiSense is looking for $25,000 of funding before 7 January. A pair of smart insoles will set you back $90.
Update: Success!
ReTiSense has hit its $25,000 goal - the team gives its heartfelt gratitude to all its backers on its Kickstarter page and says it will start working with manufacturers straightaway.
Fineck – Neck fitness wearable
For those of us who spend far too long sat in front of a computer screen neck problems can be an occupational hazard. That was the problem facing the creators of Fineck, who decided to make a wearable to help.
According to the company's Kickstarter page "72% of 24-45 year olds suffer pain on the shoulder muscles, 11% on the cervical nerves and 4% on the cervical artery." We've already heard that bad posture will be the "smoking of our generation" – and there's certainly a problem to be solved.
Fineck wants to be that solution. It's an activity tracker for your neck, and it offers help and insights into maintaining a healthy posture. It will track and record your posture, your spine's shape and the way you walk, and offer reminders for you to sit better and stop slouching. However, unlike many wearables that simply nag, Fineck is designed to help you strengthen your neck – and it does that in an innovative way.
The titanium-clad necklace hooks up to your smartphone to challenge you to do neck exercises via the medium of simple games, which will help you gain strength and ward off negative long term effects.
On the tech side, the small titanium module has four LEDs, and accelerometer and gyroscope in order to keep tabs on your movement.
The company is asking for $20,000 before 10 January. A Fineck tracker will set you back $69 if you bag an early bird unit.
Update: Success!
Fineck has hit its $20,000 target on Kickstarter and its campaign update says the team is working hard on production for an April 2015 delivery.
Pinć VR
This week’s focus is Pinć VR – a virtual reality headset designed to take on the likes of the Archos VR, the Zeiss VR One and the Samsung Gear VR. However, there’s a twist with Cordon Media’s prototype as it’s a headset and a smartphone case all in one.
Built to sit snug around an iPhone 6, the Pinć (pronounced “pinch”) is designed to fit in your pocket with the aim of making VR truly portable.
The reason behind the name is the second unique feature of the product that’s looking for $100,000 in funding – it is controlled by rings worn on the user’s index fingers to pinch and click.
The case aspect looks a bit, er, naff let’s say and we’d rather gesture control was on offer without the need for additional devices but we applaud the effort to distinguish the device away from the first wave of mobile VR headsets.
With just over a week to go, Pinć is still $15,000 short of the $50,000 it is seeking. The campaign ends on 22 January.
Pip: GPS tracker for your pets
Here at Wareable we love pets, which is why we’ve already dedicated plenty of column inches to the wearable tech for cats, dogs and even cows. So when we spotted Pip, we couldn’t help but take a second look, and it looks like a fantastic product.
Now, we’re going to start with the caveat that Pip needs a design overhaul. Compared to Whistle, crafted by New Deal Design, the plastic coloured design is the biggest bugbear, but under the plastic is a genuinely clever device that solves real problems for pet owners.
The collar is GPS connected, so if your beloved pet runs off, or doesn’t come home then you can get an immediate fix on their location using the company’s bespoke PetSimpl app.
Using GPS all the time would be a battery drain, but Pip gets clever by turning off the GPS when it’s near your home. The company claims this means the battery will last three months – a real boon.
Finally, the unit acts as an activity tracker, which will alert you to changes in your pet’s behaviour, which can be a sure sign of illness.
UPDATE: Success!
Pip has hit its target of $50,000. The company says it will deliver in June 2015.
Ditto
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective, and that's what Simple Matters is hoping with its new wearable: Ditto. Ditto is a small device that clips on to your clothes, or pops into your pocket, and connects to your smartphone using Bluetooth.
There are no buttons, there's no display, no LED lights and no battery charging port.
You simply set up your Ditto using an iOS or Android app, telling the device about the alerts you want to know about. The idea is that you can create a notification system personalised for yourself, for the calls, texts and emails from the people you actually want to hear from. Your Ditto will buzz when one of your 'favourite' notifications hits your phone, and you can even set up unique vibration alerts form different contacts.
Sure, Ditto isn't doing anything that hasn't been done before - but it's certainly taking a fresh approach by completely stripping back the extras.
Like the Misfit Flash, it uses a regular watch battery that will last months and is waterproof so you can wear it in the pool or at the gym. Aside from the notification alerts there are a couple of tiny additional features; most notably a silent alarm and a warning for when you've left your phone behind (and it loses its connection).
UPDATE: Success!
Simple Matters hit its $100,000 target on Kickstarter.
Xmetrics
There are plenty of wearable swimming devices already on the market but none are any good. That's the verdict of Andrea Rinaldo, at least; ex-pro swimmer and co-founder of the company behind Xmetrics, the self-proclaimed "first activity tracker for swimmers".
Fitting on the back of a swimmer's goggles, the buttonless device records critical swimming factors such as the number of strokes, time per lap, efficiency of technique and the quality of flip turns and gives the user real-time audio feedback through the attached ear buds. The idea is you'll effectively have a swimming coach in your ear at all times. Not literally, of course.
The data collected also syncs with the accompanying app and software, allowing you to program training drills and monitor your progress with ease. We're told the app will be available on all major platforms - yes, even Windows Phone.
Xmertrics is looking for $50,000 in funding. If you want the device itself, $125 is the early bird offer. It's currently around the 20% mark with just under a month left.
UPDATE: Success!
This campaign has reached its target.
Darma: smart cushion
“Sitting has become the smoking of our generation” proclaims Darma’s Kickstarter, and the evidence backs it up.
Slouching at our desks is leading to Type 2 Diabetes, obesity and crushed spines that will cause future generations to walk around like contorted office crabs. That’s why Darma’s smart cushion has already smashed its $40,000 crowdfunding target, despite having 30 days left to run.
Darma is packed with sensors that monitor your sitting behaviour. In the first instance it pairs with a smartphone to guide you to sitting straight and evenly, and then will prompt you to take the necessary steps to stop your spine bowing like a postmodern Quasimodo.
It’s a serious operation that has genuine benefits for many of us deskbound workers. What's more, the company has enlisted ex-NASA director of Life Sciences Dr. Joan Vernikos (awesome) and the publishers of Guitar Hero Charles and Kai Huang (no, we're not sure either) as advisors.
There are so many sensors inside the cushion that it can even sense when you’re stressed – thanks chiefly to the heart rate sensor – and will advise you on some anger management strategies to stop you hulking out in the office.
If the target’s been reached, why back it you might ask? Well, pledging $129 will bag you a cushion for 35% off the retail price, although you will have to wait until June 2015 to receive it.
UPDATE: Success!
This campaign is now sitting on a hefty $200,000+ of funding, a five-fold of its original goal.
Pavlok
Usually with this regular weekly roundup we try and bring you a product you wouldn't have heard about that has caught our eye. But the chances are that you're already familiar with Pavlok - the 'habit changing' wearable with a twist.
Or rather, a shock, as the Pavlok device will give you a small electric shock when you fall into bad habits - such as not being active enough, not getting out of bed, or wasting time online (which you're definitely NOT doing right now while reading Wareable).
The Pavlok device itself is actually a Fitbit-style module and you don't have to necessarily wear it with the wristband; you'll get some adhesive stickers that last for a week on skin, so you can put it anywhere you feel a quick shock would be most effective...stop sniggering at the back.
And it's not just about fitness and health. With an IFTTT partnership in the works, the makers of Pavlok have opened up the shock therapy to scenarios such as texting your ex or stepping inside a pub.
Pavlok is certainly getting a lot of hype and coverage and understandably so due to its shocking differences with the rest of the wearable brigade. However, with bold claims about behaviour training and good habit formations, we're hoping the end product proves effective and isn't all novelty.
UPDATE: Success!
It's already hit its target.
Totem VR headset
The VR market is getting to be a mighty crowded place. As Oculus takes the wraps off its much improved new Development Kit codenamed "Crescent Bay" a competitor has hit Kickstarter – as Oculus did before them – to raise $350,000.
Totem is no minnow. The VR headset features 1080p OLED display, 360 degree movement tracking, which was only recently added by Oculus, and a host of impressive specs that place it shoulder-to-shoulder with the gaming elite.
Its standout feature is the dual cameras on the front. They enable the wearer to have the real world streamed into the goggles, as well as virtual worlds. The benefit here is that you won't need to take them off to grab the remote or check a phone notification, and it opens up the possibility for augmented reality gaming, where digital elements are super-imposed into the real world.
We haven't seen or tried Totem to vouch for its quality, but the company did unveil its prototype at the Games Developer Conference.
UPDATE: Fail!
The company raised $181,000 of its $350,000 target, but cancelled funding ahead of deadline. That's a real shame, but we're sure it's not the end for Totem.
Lineable
After we got past its frankly awful name, we got quit excited about Lineable. The premise is a wearable band for kids that acts as a beacon, but unlike the current crop of kid's trackers, it costs just $5.
The Korean company says that over 2,000 children get lost in the US every day, so the idea behind the band is a simple way of getting back some control in that worst of moments. The band uses Bluetooth 4.0, which means it can communicate with the app in excess of 100 feet.
In a neat and ambitious twist, if your child manages to get out of range, other Lineable users will be alerted to the missing child to help with the search.
UPDATE: Success!
Lineable has hit its $30,000 goal.
Jolt Sensor
Safety in sport has been heavily debated recently, with NFL players particularly suffering the delayed after-effects of so many pounding tackles, which this why this intriguing device on Kickstarter caught our eye.
Jolt is a wearable sensor that alerts coaches – or parents, as it has been positioned – to dangerous head trauma that could need treatment.
The device itself is a small clip that goes inside a helmet, goggles or other headgear. Charged by Micro USB, it connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone app that warns the user that a dangerous impact has taken place. The app also includes a cognitive test to check the player's wellbeing.
The problem in sports are that most dangerous concussions happen without a loss of consciousness. If missed it can cause extremely serious injury, especially if the player receives a second blow.
We're fans of this project and see its potential to become part of professional sport. We are slightly concerned about the creator's lack of scope, targeting concerned parents when we feel that the biggest benefits would be gained at the highest level. It would be worth investigating this angle.
UPDATE: Success!
Jolt Sensor has now crept over the line, with the $60,000 funding now in the bag.
RunScribe
A huge part of wearable tech is about helping runners get more from their training, which has been made evident by the vast number of GPS running watches and fitness trackers on the market. As a team of runners at Wareable, we’re addicted to our watches, and in our opinion, if a run wasn’t tracked it simply didn’t happen.
So imagine our excitement about this running wearable currently looking for funding, which clips onto your trainers to deliver a host of data about your runs.
It‘s designed to capture 13 different measurements about your run; from your pace and speed to stride lengths, contact time, pronation (where on your foot you land), impact shock and more. The information can help conquer technique problems – such as overpronation – that can cause annoying injuries such as Team Wareable favourite shin splints.
RunScribe, which hit Kickstarter back on 20 August, has already received over twice its original funding target, and has entered into a third stretch goal. After getting the basic module funded, it’s now asking for extra funding to change the technology so it can become compatible with third parties such as Garminwatches and Apple HealthKit.
If RunScribe delivers what it promises, it will be a fantastic tool for serious runners, who want more information than the current crop of running apps can offer. We’d like to see more information on how the apps interpret the data from RunScribe, and how much of an input it can make on training.
UPDATE: Success!
RunScribe absolutely smashed its funding target, amassing a whopping $257,294 from an initial target of $50,000.
Elemoon
Aimed at the fashion conscious wearer, the Elemoon bracelet’s design is as much about tying together your outfit as it is delivering notifications to your wrist.
This smart bangle is dotted with 75 LEDs that are individually controlled, so you can customise the colour, like a Philips Hue of the wrist. You can then match the band to any outfit by customising the colours from the accompanying smartphone app.
It also charges wirelessly, which means it might have a chance of spending more time on your wrist, and less time collecting dust with the rest of your unwanted jewellery.
Of course, there’s more to a wrist-worn wearable than simply tying together your outfit, and the Elemoon offers a host of notification alerts and of course obligatory activity tracking tech, too.
The surface of the bangle is touch sensitive, so you can swipe away notifications and start extra features, which could include activity tracking, or phone-finding features.
Details are shady on what sort of notifications Elemoon will receive, but calls and texts are name-checked, and we’re hoping to see support for Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, too.
It’s a smart idea, and the team’s early designs look pretty good. We’re not sure if wearing coloured lights is going to be the next trend – we're dubbing it cyber-bling – but the white bangle looks pretty good on its own, and it’s a neat way to get notifications. The popularity of Ringly has underlined there’s an appetite for this sort of dual-purpose jewelry.
UPDATE: Success!
Elemoon gathered 373 backers and hit over $122,000 of its $100,000 funding goal.
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