Amazon Launchpad is a brilliant programme run by the company that helps support startups and small businesses. A showcase of some of the best products on the site for people to buy, with a range of brilliant gadgets and gizmos getting the exposure they deserve.
We have seen some incredible bits of tech over the years, these are just a handful of those supported by Amazon Launchpad. Take a look to see which ones you recognise.
Sphero education bot
Sphero is known for creating some pretty special little bots. The SPRK+ bot was designed as an educational robot to help teach people how to programme. This little guy boasts multiple programmable sensors, LED lighting and is waterproof to boot. Simple drag and drop app design make learning code a breeze.
Sense Sleep System
This obscure little ball is designed to help you get a better night’s sleep and wake up feeling rested and refreshed. It sits near your bed, monitoring various aspects of the room – temperature, humidity, light, noise, and air quality – tracking all that data inside the app.
An accompanying “Pill” clips to your pillow to track movement and sleep patterns. The system can then combine this data to give you personalised information on what you can do to sleep better.
Anki Cozmo robot
Anki is another company known for creating some pretty awesome bits of robotic tech. This is the Anki Cozmo, a real-life robot that’s designed with a personality and a passion for fun.
Like the Sphero bot on this list, the Anki Cozmo is lovingly crafted to help people learn to code by making the process fun and engaging. This robot likes to play, explore and react to people it knows too. Plus it has a super cute face and a quirky design that we love.
SubPac Wearable Audio System
SubPac is a wearable audio system that looks like a backpack but is designed to help wearers “feel” the music. It’s built for many different uses – whether by DJs and music producers trying to engage with their music or VR gamers looking to enjoy full-body immersion. An unimposing design includes a comfortable ergonomic shape, bacteria and odour resistant materials and a system that lets you feel the music without offending those around you.
Meeting Owl
This interesting little guy is one of the most unique video-conferencing devices we’ve seen. It boasts a 360-degree camera, eight microphones, a speaker system. It’s also compatible with most web-based conferencing systems.
The tech-packed inside this little devices gives a panoramic view of the conference room and then automatically zooms in on the person speaking. Certainly quirky if nothing else.
Solar powered lights
Solar powered lights are nothing new, but these cubes are pretty special. They’re self-inflating, flexible, waterproof and durable lanterns that can really brighten up your garden. No batteries needed thanks to the solar powered tech and they’re even made from recycelable PET, so they’re environmentally friendly too.
Exploding Kittens
This is a quirky card game that’s highly-strategic and packed full of kittens, explosions and laser beams. Styled like Russian Roulette, only with Exploding Kittens instead of bullets, the game is a real hoot. It was originally a crowd-funded project but soon took off and was supported by Amazon Launchpad too.
AYO Sleep aid light therapy glasses
Don’t be fooled, this is not Google Glass 2.0 but is instead a wearable blue-light therapy device designed to help improve your mood and health in various ways. Apparently wearing these weird looking goggles for 20 minutes a day can reduce problems with winter blues, improve energy levels and even help with jet lag and fatigue. Sounds amazing right?
Wonder Workshop Dash coding robot for kids
Another cool looking robot designed to help learn coding and programming. This one is designed specifically for kids.
Dash is aimed at children aged 6 years old and up. It’s built to help children learn the foundations of problem-solving and computer programming at the same time. It has multiple sensors that help it get about and explore the world and can even be improved upon with the addition of building blocks like Lego.
Alexa powered board game
A board game for the modern age. “When in Rome” is a travel trivia game powered by Amazon Alexa.
Split into two teams, players are encouraged to visit 20 different cities from around the world from the comfort of their own home. Through the power of Alexa, the game gets players answering questions from real local people in order to win. Certainly an interesting twist on the classic board game design.
Fingerlings Glitter Monkey interactive pet
Who doesn’t want some talking pet monkeys? These interactive pets do everything from moving to blowing you kisses. Sure they’re not as interesting or intelligent as some of the other devices on this list, but they did prove popular.
WowWee CHiP Robot Toy Dog
CHiP is a cute little trainable robot dog that responds to voice commands, will follow you around and can play games like fetch or football. This robot dog can learn new tricks and has an adaptive personality that’s full of love. It’s not quite as cool as Sony Aibo but the price tag isn’t nearly as hefty.
Hiku shopping button
Hiku was an interesting little device designed to help you with your weekly shopping. It scans barcodes, collates shopping lists and even responds to your voice. We like to think this might have been the inspiration for Amazon Dash buttons and the future of Amazon shopping.
Coravin wine preserver
Wine enthusiasts likely rejoiced over this device. Much more than a bottle opener, this gadget is capable of extracting wine from a bottle without removing the cork. Meaning you can get a glass or a taste without opening and wasting the entire bottle.
FiftyThree Stylus for iPad
This funky, chunky stylus for Apple iPad was built with an interesting easy-to-use finish that includes the classic pencil and eraser design. Ideal for writing, drawing and creating. Plus it’s large enough to ensure it’s not easy to lose.
Sugru Moldable Glue
Sugru is one of our favourites. Not a piece of tech in itself, but an incredibly handy thing to have around the house. This moldable plasticine-like material is great for mending and making things in all kinds of ingenious ways.
Smart pet feeder
The SmartFeeder allows you to remotely feed your pets from your phone. This intelligent little device allows you to manage portion sizes, feeding times and receive notifications to ensure everything is happening as it should be. A cool looking device for cat and dog lovers and an incredibly handy way to keep them fed while you’re away.
BB-8 Droid
Sphero’s BB-8 Droid was incredibly popular when it first released, not just for its association with Star Wars but because of how brilliantly simple it was to control via the accompanying smartphone app. The little droid had plenty of personality, perks and pizzaz too.
Anki Overdrive
Smartphone controlled supercars that can be raced with your friends or head-to-head against artificial intelligence. Every small child’s dream, we only wish we’d had toys like this when we were nippers.
2000W electric skateboard
The Boosted Dual+ is a revolutionary skateboard that’s capable of accelerating like a sports car. With a dual-drive system, it’s even capable of going uphill and can brake on the way back down too. Wireless controls, multiple sensors and microprocessors make this one of the most interesting skateboards ever built.
Beer brewing machine
Feast your eyes on the world’s first all-grain beer brewing machine for your home. Serious homebrew enthusiasts everywhere rejoiced at the release of this monster machine. A device that comes with a recipe library of hundreds of craft beers to brew. The system is also capable of brewing any beer in less than four hours.
