I think this project got the spotlight because of the large amount of money pledged, and the large difference between "money asked for" and "money pledged".

I think it's still possible to fraud people over kickstarter by staying under the radar: ask for little money, and if you receive not much (let's say under 5000? 1000?), no-one will bother to investigate whether your project worked out.

I would chalk it to the fact that if you have a really good idea for a new original product, one that is good enough and realistic enough that it would convince people to part with their money, you might as well try and make it a reality.

What happened in this case is that was a product that too few of the mostly technical-oriented Kickstarter audience understood was unrealistic.