Browse Tag: kickstarter

4 Most Anticipated Inventions of 2018

Who doesn’t savor that feeling of anticipation, counting down the clock for your favorite movie, music, or video game to be released? For us, our eyes are on the prize: product development. Waiting for our favorite new inventions to hit the market can feel unbearable, but 2018 is here, and we’re ready! Here are some inventions wrapped with interesting or promising discussion since announcement. Let me know if I missed anything, so I add any new product developments to future lists. In the meantime, here are some highly anticipated inventions I can’t wait to put my hands on:

4. Sleep.Ai

This product settles the classic couple’s dispute: snoring. Does your spouse say you snore, or maybe you’re not getting the sleep you need? Sleep.Ai helps diagnose the problem. Literally.

It’s alright, I’m not a morning person, either….

This wearable product comes in the form of a soft arm strap that connects to an app on your phone. Simply record your sleeping through the app, and its’ expert-built-algorithms analyze both the factors and remedies to reduce snoring. If you snore too loudly or uncomfortably, the wearable arm strap will gently vibrate, like a “soft poke”. It will not disrupt your sleep, eventually training your snoring habits over time. Do your teeth grind? They have an app for that, too!

This product is on my list because it uses invention assistance to help diagnose snoring, teeth grinding, and possible sleep apnea. National Sleep Foundation states snoring affects approximately 90 million American adults – 37 million on a regular basis. This is not only a very common struggle, but poor sleep and sleep apnea can accumulate into bigger problems in the long run.

“The partner of someone afflicted with sleep apnea loses approximately one hour of sleep per evening and may wake up as many as 21 times per hour, a side-effect of apnea known as “Spousal Arousal Syndrome”

Even the partners of struggling snorers are suffering. It’s about time they received some outsider assistance. I look forward to watching Sleep.Ai’s effectiveness in helping not only the user, but relationships as well.

 

3. HoverBike

I know, it’s disappointing, we were all looking forward to jet-packs in the future. We may be lacking in that regard, but hopefully the Malloy Aeronautics revolutionary HoverBike can remedy this dilemma. This diverse tool can lift it all. It’s most current build allows transporting up to 300 lbs of food, aid, equipment, or most importantly, people! Welcome to the future.

credit

The design is backed by research conducted at the US Army research labs.  This vehicle can lift 130kg (300lb) just like a helicopter, can fly to the same speed and height as a typical light helicopter, but unlike a helicopter it can operate safely close to the ground and around people, and can be done so, with little or no training.

This English based team has already signed a contract with the US Army granting them full collaboration with their research laboratory. With the help from SURVICE Engineering and only 2 mysterious Angel investors, they’ve basically created a user-friendly helicopter bike. 2018 doesn’t get any cooler than that.

 

HoverBike’s easy to learn, easy to use features make this invention market friendly. That combined with it’s sheer strength and power based off a helicopter makes the HoverBike stand out from any similar prototype of the past. Its’ patent is currently pending, but they anticipate this product to enter the market by the end of the year. We may not have jet-packs, but we’ll have the HoverBike.

 

2. Canute Braile e-reader

Bristol Braille took due diligence working closely with the blind community and for the blind community when creating this special e-reader. Nooks and kindles are integrated into our society at an affordable price, and Bristle Braille took the initiative to accomplished this feat for the blind community.

This pristine new braille e-reader holds thousands of e-book files easily accessible by its interactive user interface. Canute introduces the first “multi-line” technology, in comparison to the single-lined machine standard. Multi lines are incredibly important because they give greater interpretation of context to subjects such as science, mathematics, music notation, and even poetry.

“The foundation of Center for Braille Innovation was to be the broker around the world and find what new technologies we can leverage to really support braille, e-braille as well’

says Brian MacDonald, president of the National Braille Press, a contributing organization to the Braillists community. He continues,

“I have to give credit to two guys…two doctoral students at MIT from India. They went to a school for the blind there and saw that these kids were struggling to just measure inch marks…just struggling”

The Bristol Braille community works with the Braillists, in addition to other organizations, in the research and creation of the Canute. If it sounds like a lot of organizations and groups came together to work on this, it’s because they did.

Bristol Braille Canute is expected for release by Spring of 2018 and is available for pre-order now.

 

 

1. Pilot Translating Earpiece

After closely watching every step of this product’s development, this invention makes top of the list, no question about it. I believe Pilot to be the most exciting, and potentially, the most influential of all. What’s greater than breaking barriers, in real time? Everything from their design, product development, online marketing, and user-friendly interface makes this the most anticipated product of the year for me.

 

Pilot’s earpiece provides universal audio translation from one earbud to another, in real time. Essentially, you can speak to your friend in your native language, and they will hear theirs. CEO of Waverly Labs, Andrew Ochoa, initially came up with this world changing idea when he simply met a French girl. He felt frustrated by his inability to communicate with her, all efforts to use translating apps to no avail. He recalls the experience to be horrible, and I can understand why. Having phones up, in our face, takes away the human connection of speaking with someone. The goal of the Pilot Translating Earpiece was to take us back into the real world, phones down, connecting with another human being.

 

It’s easy to see how the function of the invention is invaluable, but what separates Pilot from other tech doesn’t stop there. With electric product development, every minute detail makes a difference. I find all of Pilot’s aesthetics to be visually satisfying in every category to hit. Their logo is smooth and original, the headphones come in three polished colors, and even their websites graphics are super. The headphone’s sleek design is almost reminiscent to Apple’s AirPods with it’s clean and slender design. Even the small holding case screams of the stylistic modern tech design, and it works.

Pilot translating earpiece is scheduled for Spring of 2018.

 

If you’re now looking forward to the release of any of these exciting products please like, share, and subscribe with your friends. I have so much more I look forward sharing with you on future releases, tips, and general inquires about the inventing community.

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Marketing your product

When it comes to bringing a new product to market it’s your responsibility to get your product out there and seen.
You have a great invention that solves a huge problem for people but no one will buy it if they do not know it exists! Marketing is key in product success it can make or break you!

When marketing your product it’s important that your product is seen by your target demographic. Knowing how to reach them and what content potential customers are looking to is imperative! Building a community of potential customers that are engaging and resharing your content is key!

Create value for your followers, a user is likely to unfollow a page that does not push out different content and only is pushing ads for sales! If you have a fitness product keep potential customers engaged by continuously posting fitness related content, recipes of nutritional value, quick workouts, and other fitness products that interest you. Sharing the content of other pages and businesses also helps your reach by tapping into a network of potential customers that you may not have been able to reach otherwise!


At Source Direct we can schedule posts for you across multiple social media platforms, edit and bulk upload your images when you use our services. We target your preferred demographic when posting ads. We want to show how great your product is to people who may be looking for a product just like yours! Using state of the art technology and our expert designers, you will receive the highest quietly representation of your product. We make it affordable and convenient for us to manage your social accounts. get in touch with us today for more information!

 

888-373-3876 X 214

Crowdfunding your Invention: Best Practices

Chances are, if you are an internet browsing human being, you’ve stumbled upon a crowdfunding website, or have seen people trying to raise money on a digital platform. It’s very common to see folks raising money for a trip, buying a new iPhone, medical expenses, vacations, charity, and even invention launches.

There are a few things to know before jumping into Crowdfunding. If you are an inventor looking to raise all of your funds on a Crowdfunding platform, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into. There are different rules and constraints for each popular Crowdfunding site…I’ve done the research for you so you know which one works best for you!

Don’t get involved with crown funding until you have a quality video demonstrating your product as well as a functioning prototype to show what your product does!

Kickstarter – This is the most popular, I have seen, for Invention funding. A few things to know: Firstly, it’s an all-or-nothing method of fundraising. If you do not reach your funding goal, you wont get any of the funds pledged. Secondly, there are also fees associated with it – Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds off the top, and then there is also a 3% and $.20 per pledge fee for payment processing (fee breakdown – citation here). Though Kickstarter is the most popular, you may want to avoid it if you don’t necessarily have the largest following and support backing.

Kickstarter Fee Structure
Kickstarter Fee Structure

Indiegogo – Indiegogo is a pretty substantial platform for Crowdfunding, alongside Kickstarter. From the Indiegogo website, “It is free to sign up, to create a campaign, and to contribute to a campaign.* When your campaign raises funds, Indiegogo charges a 9.0% fee on the funds you raise. If you reach your goal, you get 5.0% back, for an overall fee of 4.0%.” There are a few more fees to pay, and different tiers of funding:

 

indiegogo
Indiegogo Fee Structure

GoFundMe – Finally, the 3rd Crowdfunding source I’d like to go over is GoFundMe. Probably the easiest of all, this platform just deducts 5% and $.30 per donation, and a 3% processing fee for payments (fee structure here). The fee structure is very similar to Kickstarter, however, you get to keep any and all of the funds that you raise, even if you don’t reach your goal. GoFundMe is growing in popularity, and has claimed to have raised $1.2 billion in donations since it’s inception.

gofundme
GoFundMe Fee Structure

Final Thoughts from Source Direct

It’s up to you, the inventor, to make the decision that is most appropriate for your product. From a professional marketing standpoint, keep these thoughts in mind:

  • Use Kickstarter If…: You have a large following of people, ready to give. Also, be prepared to have incentives to give to the donors.
  • Use IndieGogo If…: You have a medium sized following and a reachable goal in sight. Make sure you use a lot of social interaction to gain a following.
  • Use GoFundMe If…: Your following isn’t huge, but your product/idea is something that any browsing donor may be interested in. Promote your GoFundMe as much as possible, because you’ll get all of the funds regardless of your goal…but still set a reasonable one!

We would like to suggest using GoFundMe, because as an inventor, you are relying on any/all funding and assistance to get your product moving. This is a good way to get a head start on your funding. Try out a goal of $1000, see what happens, and then go for more!

PRESS RELEASE – Gotta Potty!

Local Dog Trainer Seeks To Simplify Dog & Puppy Housetraining With New Product

St Peters, MO June 15, 2015 – Local dog trainer Shane Wisdom is bringing a new product to market that will make potty training puppies and dogs easier and more effective.  The Gotta PottyTM system is a wireless, recordable, dog potty training alarm system that consists of a pressure activated mat equipped with a digital transmitter and a wireless handheld receiver.

The premise is simple. The Gotta Potty mat is a pressure-activated mat that you place in front of the door discretely under your existing rug in other areas that the dog might be having “accidents”. The mat features a wireless transmitter that is voice-recordable and reinforces the proper command to the dog when it cues;  for instance, when the dog walks over and stands in front of the door to be let out but the owner is nowhere in sight. With the Gotta Potty mat, when the dog cues like this, the mat delivers an audible recorded message to the dog in your own voice that it will begin to equate with going outside (consistency is a key to success)

The mat transmits a separate, recordable message to the hand-held receiver to alert you that your dog is signaling to be let out. The dog hears “Gotta go outside?” (or what ever your want your command to be) in the owners voice and the owner hears “Rex is at the front door, hurry and let him out!”.

Wisdom says he created the system to reduce the time it takes to properly potty train their dogs by training owners to listen to their pet’s body language.  By alerting owners to cues that are sometimes overlooked or not observed, the Gotta Potty mat gives owners a helping hand in the necessity of potty-training their dog. “Owners are constantly telling me that their dog has ruined the paint on their door from scratching to go outside,” said Wisdom. “They also said they didn’t realize their dog was at the door in time to prevent an accident, resulting in the need for more effective potty-training tactics.”

“ As I started researching, I also found out that one of the most common reasons a dog ends up in a  shelter is potty-training related.” said Wisdom.  “New owners quickly get frustrated with cleaning up messes and the property damage that comes with a dog that isn’t properly potty-trained. Typically, a dog that is not potty-trained has had an owner that does not understand what is required to change the behavior.  The Gotta Potty system simplifies this process and delivers real benefits through today’s technology,” he continued.

 

System Benefits include:

Consistency
The Gotta Potty system reinforces consistency, which is critical to effective dog training – Your dog hears your same recorded command every time the alarm is activated.

 

Portable
The wireless transmitter allows you to be anywhere in your house and still get the notification alert! The Gotta Potty system is self contained and can easily be moved to areas of concern or travel with you.

 

Invisible
The Gotta Potty pressure activated mat conceals under any door mat or rug so it becomes virtually invisible and matches any decor!

 

Customizable
Both the command the dog hears and the alert you hear are voice recordable. Plus, the system can be paired with an additional mat (sold separately) in order to cover two locations at once!

The company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Gotta Potty system to finalize the initial production.  Now, backers can reserve a Gotta Potty system at a deep discount through Kickstarter.  Wisdom plans to have the product available for purchase in late summer 2015. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1550714304/gotta-potty-wireless-recordable-dog-potty-training)

Shane Wisdom is a Certified Dog trainer and owner of DogWisdom dog training with more than 17 years of experience in the pet and training industry.  For more information on the Gotta Potty system, please visit www.gotta-potty.com.