Kickstarter Weekly: Become a Ping Pong Master with Trainerbot, Make Any Surface Smart with Knocki and More

A new week means new opportunities to learn more about the varied technology based Kickstarters out there in the world. This week, we have a smart lamp controlled by gestures, a wallet you’re never going to leave behind, and even a ping pong playing robot. It’s all part of the Kickstarter weekly, summing up the highlights of the crowdfunding platform.

Roome
Roome promises to be the world’s first gesture controlled smart lamp. It lights up automatically through motion detection, meaning it’ll switch on as soon as you walk into a room, as well as switch off if you fall asleep nearby. Besides that, you can also adjust how much it dims by moving your hand vertically above it, and switch it off by simply waving your hand across it. It’s a much cooler way of controlling a light source than simply hitting a switch or even clapping your hands. A pledge of $59 gleans you one Roome Smart Lamp with the campaign ending June 18.

Knocki

Knocki is a smart gadget with an emphasis on turning ordinary surfaces into easy to access remotes for all your most used devices and software. Aiming to simplify the world of smart technology, placing Knocki on any surface instantly turns it into a place to use touch gestures to tweak things. You’ll be able to place it on a wall then simply tap a couple of times to turn the lights on, change channels on your TV, or track down your phone. The amount of options are near endless, even for those without smart home setups. A pledge of $79 will snag you one Knocki with the campaign ending July 2.

Trainerbot
Ping Pong is a pretty fun way to spend some time, whether you’re a keen amateur or something more. It also tends to require a partner, unless you buy yourself Trainerbot. The smart robot means you can play Ping Pong at any time and anywhere with a ping pong table. You can use it to program specific shots, simulate particular games, and generally work on your abilities. Tying into an app, you can easily tweak its game. Pledge $329 and you gain one Trainerbot robot, as well as 30 ping pong balls.

Acanvas
Ever struggled to decide what artwork to show off in your home? Acanvas could solve that issue. The gadget is a customizable art display that hangs on any wall, and works via Wi-Fi to offer you different pieces of artwork throughout the day. You simply set up what you want to share via the smartphone app, and the display does the rest. There’s a choice of having it framed or not, and you can even use the app to discover new pieces of art you might appreciate. It’s self charging too, meaning no unsightly cables. A pledge of $399 provides you with one Acanvas, along with a year’s subscription to the art streaming service, and a custom matted frame in a choice of colors. The campaign finishes June 11.

Walli
Solving the issue of losing one’s wallet, Walli is a smart wallet that connects to your phone and sends you a notification any time you leave it behind. Alongside that, it’ll give you a heads up if you do the same with an important card and even your phone. Besides the technology involved, Walli offers 6 card slots and 2 cash pockets, while remaining stylish, so it ticks off all your design and technology needs. A pledge of $79 will buy you one Walli with a choice of three colors. The campaign ends June 17.