Thanksgiving is a time during which we give thanks for what we've been through and what we have, but the campaigns in this edition of Crowd-Fueled Kickstarter Thursday promise tech that could make the world even more grateful in the months and years to come.
Skipping the stuffing and heading right for the heavy stuff, the first campaign in this week's roundup seeks to eliminate sweatshop conditions around the world.
e-Grievance
When working conditions are devoid of humanity and a supervisor dismisses or stamps out complaints, the e-Grievance app gives employees a direct line to those at the top of the chain. The e-Grievance complaints will show up on the dashboards of large corporations whose brands the workers are handling, and raise flags at each of the partner facilities when workers complain about conditions.
"Our main risk will be overcoming the factory management to introduce these systems to improve transparency in the factories," states the campaign. "To date, we have leveraged support from organisations such as Better Work, through the International Labor Organization, and brands such as Adidas to pilot SMS systems in Indonesia."
With just over two weeks left, the e-Grievance app still has a long way to go to reach its goal of $10,000. Right now, the campaign has 25 backers who have pledged approximately $670.
Rescue Me Balloon
Getting the attention of rescuers may soon step into the modern age, as one campaign aims to redesign today's short-lived flares into a SOS balloon that marks an individual's location for an entire week.
The Rescue Me Balloon resides in a compact, Coast-Guard orange-colored canister. When the balloon is deployed, it launches approximately 150 feet above the distressed individuals and uses an LED to illuminate an SOS signal.
"While the prototype works, we know we have some design improvements to be made and we need the funding to ensure our engineers can make the improvements we need," the campaign states.
The Rescue Me Balloon has attracted 244 backers who have pledged $16,748 of the campaign's $100,000 goal. The campaign has about a month left.
Lunar Mission One
While many people appreciate every step of scientific research, it's often years or decades before scientists can propel technology that benefits the entire world. Lunar Mission One's trip to the Earth's moon may be inspiring, but this in-development unmanned robotic landing module aims to land at the moon's south pole to carry out research.
"Ultimately, the project will improve scientific understanding of the early solar system, the formation of our planet and the moon, and the conditions that initiated life on Earth," states the campaign.
To pique the interest of more supporters, donors to Lunar Mission One can submit items that will be buried in a time capsule when robot has finished obtaining its samples.
The campaign is being propelled to its goal of approximately $948,000. With 21 days left, 4,253 backers have pledged roughly $583,138.
Check out last week's Crowd-Fueled Thursday story to find out about some of Kickstarter campaigns that are looking to evolve the way people interact with electronics.
