At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. In this column, we cut through all the worthless wearables and Oculus Rift ripoffs to round up the week’s most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects. But don’t grab your wallet just yet. Keep in mind that any crowdfunded project can fail — even the most well-intentioned. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

Here’s how it works: Knocki starts by using a set of noise and vibrations sensors to pick up knocks on whatever surface you place it on. With a bit of help from the user, the device can learn to associate different knock patterns with different commands — which it can then execute via the magic of the internet. The accompanying app allows you to connect Knocki to a wide variety of IoT devices, so you can do just about anything with it. Two quick knocks might turn on your alarm system, while three slower knocks help you find your misplaced smartphone.