Power Up!
almost 9 years ago
– Wed, Aug 05, 2015 at 10:07:03 AM
It’s been an intense couple of weeks here at Linkitz Labs in the dog days of summer. We turned our engineering team’s efforts toward the toughest problem facing any wearable device: power supply.
Battery life is always a challenge for wearable devices, because in order to be wearable, you have to keep your batteries small. Consider the size of a device meant to be worn by an adult, then think of the size of a child's wrist. Those size constraints are even more challenging! But smaller batteries don't hold as much power.
By the time we launched on Kickstarter, we had already been testing different battery options-- size, chemistry, shape, supplier-- for nearly a full year. With our decisions about batteries made, we’re now focussed on getting the most out of them.
Even though we are limited to small (but powerful!) batteries, we still have several ways to optimize their performance. Some of this will be done pro-actively in our firmware, as we find the sweet spot between the performance of our sensors and outputs and their power consumption. Some of it will be done through clever battery management and charging systems. Finally, Linkitz will be able to dynamically respond to power consumption and adjust its behavior. That final system is the one we are most excited to explore as we push toward a new round of long-term play testing with our research partners at UOIT.
Moving Right Along!
almost 9 years ago
– Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 08:24:24 AM
There are big things happening behind the scenes at Linkitz this week as we get set to deliver more of your rewards. Since our last update, more than 70% of you have filled out your Backerkit surveys, and we have raised additional funding through pre-orders. At this stage, every additional unit we sell makes the manufacturing process easier, so if you were considering buying a second set of Linkitz, please do!
The next set of rewards coming up are magnets, coloring pages and t-shirts, and we are just about ready to begin production on all three. We have finalized designs for the magnets, we have finalized our design for the t-shirt, and our brilliant graphic designer (Hi Amanda!) is hard at work on what we expect to be the final revision of the coloring pages. Full steam ahead!
In core product news, we have nearly completed specs for the Linkitz programming interface, and are now beginning to devote more of our energies to development and user-interface design. And yes, we will often need additional testers, so if you are interested and --ahem-- open-minded about what early-stage software looks like, let us know!
As always, thank you for your support!
Lyssa, Chris, Drew and the Linkitz Team
Rewards and development update
almost 9 years ago
– Tue, Jul 07, 2015 at 11:57:52 AM
Hi Backers!
We have big news on several fronts as push toward fulfilling our Kickstarter rewards.
Backerkit surveys were enabled for all backers this morning. We've noticed that they are going out in batches, so if you have not received yours yet, you should receive it shortly. We're keeping a close eye on things, so don't worry! Remember, these surveys are what let us collect the information that we need to send out the rewards. Please fill them out at your earliest convenience-- especially if you ordered a t-shirt. Thank you to those of you who have already filled them out and returned them!
Our Hall of Fame is now live. To respect your privacy, we have listed our backers only by first name and initial. If you would like your name to appear differently, you can specify this in the Backerkit survey. Those of you who backed at the Stem-spiration, Celebrate with Linkitz, and Ultimate Toymaker level will be contacted directly to arrange additional details of your rewards after you fill in the survey.
You saw the Basic Kit links in the videos on our campaign site. We have the remaining set of boards (radio, hub and speaker) for the Linkitz Plus and Best Friend kits ready to fabricate and test, and work continues apace on our software and power management systems. Our Lily t-shirts and coloring pages and magnets are being finalized.
Thank you again for your support!
Lyssa, Drew, Chris, and the Linkitz Team
Surveys coming soon!
almost 9 years ago
– Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 03:46:20 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Our Team is Growing!
almost 9 years ago
– Thu, Jun 18, 2015 at 12:36:41 PM
It has been a wild six weeks here in Linkitz Labs. Back in May, we launched on Kickstarter with the outrageously ambitious goal of raising $95,000 to make toys. With your help we sailed right past that goal and into the small group (less than one percent) of projects that have raised more than $100,000. Even after letting the reality of it sink in for a week, we are still thrilled by your response to our campaign. Now we know for certain that there is a market for tech-toys for girls! And you are all ahead of the curve!
Last Friday, after the final pledges had rolled in, we took a few hours celebrate how lucky we are to be making Linkitz. And also to recharge our batteries as we shift into production mode. To that end, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the newest member of the Linkitz team: Mofeed!
Mofeed will be helping us with testing and designing our power management system--he’ll be making your Linkitz magic last longer! We hired Mofeed on the strength of a recommendation that called him “One of the five best engineers I’ve seen in 20 years on the job,” and we haven’t been disappointed.
We are going to be using Backerkit to collect shipping addresses and the other details we need to start deliver your perks. The surveys will begin going out in August. Inductees of Linkitz Hall of Fame will be hearing from us very soon(watch this space for updates). With the addition of Mofeed to the team, we are pleased to report that we are still on schedule to deliver on time. We want your experience with Linkitz to be as great as ours, so please let us know how we can help! You can reach out to us either here or through [email protected]
More to come soon! TTFN!
Lyssa and the Linkitz team
