In this week's Kickstarter fundraising campaign roundup, Tech Times takes a look at emerging tech innovations poised to help artists express themselves with a flair. All are wildly different and nearly all have hit funding goals and, in some cases, exceeded support expectations.
3D Printing Pen
Described as a pen that puts a 3D printer in an artist's hand, the Polyes Q1 ejects heated plastic that hardens nearly instantly. It offers another dimension to drawing, as art rises off the canvas when the pen is guided by a skilled hand.
The campaign's roughly 7,000 backers have driven the funding effort long past its goal of $30,000, with support now over $1 million. And there's still over a week left in the campaign.
Polyes uses LED technology, which the creators describe as safe, reliable and eco-friendly. It is not hot to the touch, notes the campaign site, claiming other 3D printing pens can hit 500 degrees Fahrenheit when in use.
JACK - The Wi-Fi Guitar Cable
Jump and twist without jarring and denting your acoustic gear -- that's what Jack is promising, and more. The Wi-Fi attachment connects any electric guitar to amps, computers, mobile devices and other equipment.
Without the tangle of cable, musicians are free to grind which ever way the music inspires. The projected sale price is just under $300.
A little more than 100 backers have pledged roughly $26,000 to get Jack to market. That funding puts the campaign just shy of its approximately $30,000 goal and there are over two weeks left.
Solderdoodle Pro 2.0
Building on its initial version, Solderdoodle Pro 2.0 aims to improve the ergonomics of the creator's first cordless, rechargeable USB soldering iron.
Solderdoodle Pro uses a high-efficiency, high-power charge controller, the same battery used in the Tesla electric car, and replaceable tips. Solderdoodle has set a goal of $2,300. Its 18 backers have pushed the campaign just shy of the half-way mark and there are still four weeks to go.
Atlas 3D
This prefabricated kit smashes several barriers that stop many artists from delving deeper into computer-aided design and works as a 3D scanner. With Atlas 3D, users can scan physical objects and render in 3D. For example, artists who have had trouble sculpting in a digital space can now set sculptures on the Atlas 3D and then scan them for 3D printing or inclusion in digital projects.
As the site explains, the software runs onboard the Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized single-board computer, so there are no required drivers or software packages to install. A web browser communicates with the scanner on your home network and once the scan is done, the browser is used to download the resulting models.
So far, Atlas 3D's 548 backers have managed to meet and surpass the campaign's goal of $3,000 by roughly 3,400 percent.
