Kickstart This! Turn your smartphone into a virtual reality headset

Daniel Fisher scours the internet's many crowd-funding sites for the best (and weirdest) projects looking for finance. This week: a wearable smartphone gadget and the end of caffeinated drinks...

vrAse claims to generate crisp 3D visuals that won't strain your eyes
The vrAse claims to generate crisp 3D visuals that won't strain your eyes

Pick of the week: vrAse

The vrAse claims to be “the biggest revolution your Smartphone has ever seen”, transforming your smartphone into a pair of 3D virtual reality glasses for gaming and watching films.

The headset is really just a pair of specially designed goggles attached to a smartphone case. Simple though the concept may be, it's still generating a lot of buzz. vrAse creates a 3D image by “sending each eye its own information” through the goggle's dual lenses. This generates crisp 3D visuals that won't strain your eyes, and, the developers claim, means all existing smartphone games can be converted for use on the headset.

The downside? You know how 'vrAse' looks a bit like 'Arse' – well that's exactly what you're going to look like walking around with your smartphone strapped to your face. If you can get over that, then this gadget might just be the first step to enjoying proper virtual reality gaming at an extremely competitive price – just £48.

What they say

Today Smartphones have everything we need to enjoy movies and games in a portable way. The BIG issue is they have small screens to do so, and your hands are kept busy holding them. We have created vrAse to solve these two problems.

The money

The team behind vrAse have until October 21st to raise £55,000 . Given the surge of interest in their headset, it looks all but certain they will hit their goal. Pledge £58 or more and you can receive your own vrAse when they begin shipping in February next year.

Here's the video (which, admittedly, does lend credence to the suspicion that it might all be a big spoof)...

Coming soon to a shop near you: Sprayable Energy

What if you never had to be tired again? That's the bold opening statement from the brains behind Sprayable Energy, a caffeine-based spray that supposedly gives you a better, more natural energy boost than caffeinated drinks, and doesn't include the dubious chemicals, sugars and calories. What's more – it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

When studying for our finals, a friend of mine drank so many caffeine drinks that the sugar/caffeine buzz kept him awake for 40 hours straight. He was sick, had headaches all through his exams and failed spectacularly. On the face of it, Sprayable Energy looks like a great alternative. If it works (that's a big 'if') it's easy to imagine that the product could become hugely popular on campuses across the country, not to mention boardrooms, offices, gyms and so on. The potential is massive. With a week still to go before the project stops taking donations it has smashed its $15,000 goal, taking more than $85,000 - and that number is rising all the time.

But, does it actually work? That's the question we'll have answered when they begin shipping Sprayable Energy in November.

Punt of the week: Algorithymns Poetry Squared

What is it? “A poetic cosmonaut's algorithmic campaign to create a personalized web based poetry request form, personalizing each poem to the desires and needs of the user.”

Understand? Me neither. If you fancy trying to work out what on earth this chap is on about you can read his lengthy, lengthy explanation here, and if moved to do so can contribute to his $20,000 – yes, $20,000 – goal. Is it worth it? I'm still none the wiser.