Signul is powered by 2 AA batteries (no
crazy super coin cells from outer space). On a couple of AA's it should run for
at least a year. This is really important - many of the other beacons on the
market require power adjustments or other compromises to run this long because they
are using really small batteries. We went with something easy to maintain that
can transmit continuously for a year. The best part is when you need new ones in a year you can just "borrow" them from your TV remote!
We're really excited about this one because it's a direct result of feedback we received from our beta group on Erli Bird! At $50,000 we'll activate our first stretch goal, the Signul SDK. We want Signul to be extremely flexible and to automate anything you can think of, and if we hit this stretch goal also anything you can develop!
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Who we are
Signul is a product of the IoT Design Shop,
a small, diverse and extremely efficient group of engineers in Vancouver that
love making really cool s#&$. We’ve built submarines, mobile Apps, video
games and countless side projects that could be considered on the verge of
insanity. We’ve been completely obsessed with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and
iBeacon technology for the past 6 months. Seriously. It’s all we think about.
Every single product idea we’ve come up with involves BLE, and if for some
reason one didn’t, the fault of the maker was immediately flagged and the idea
enhanced with a dash of BLE spice.
Meet
the Signul team!
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Risks and challenges
Delivering mobile Apps - low risk
The Signul iOS and Android Apps are
available for download today! There are a couple of reasons we decided to
complete and release them early. First, it ensures our pre-production backers
will have a fully functional product when their Signuls arrive. It also gives
us additional time to run the Apps ourselves to make sure we catch any bugs
before the production units hit the street.
Delivering hardware - low risk
The hardware is complete and has been fully
tested for functionality. We’ve completed an FCC prescan and our contract
manufacturer is waiting for us to push the big red button.
Manufacturing tooling - medium risk
Our enclosure design is complete, we’ve 3D
printed it and we’re ready to proceed with having the tooling built. We’ve
selected a local partner to machine the tooling for us who is in the process
of checking the model for injection mouldability. The first risk here is that
we will need to iterate our design to make it manufacturable. Another risk is
that having the tooling built will take longer than expected. Either of these
risks could push the delivery date out should a problem arise but neither would
cause the project to fail. Having not been through this process before we
aren’t really sure what to expect! To minimize these risks we’ve consulted with
our partner throughout the design process and are confident that our design can
be manufactured and that we also understand the amount of time it will take to
have the tooling built.
Scaling - medium risk
What if we sell 1m Signuls on day 1? We’ll
probably throw high fives for a couple of minutes until it sinks in that we
need to deliver that many units in a timely fashion. To minimize risk here
we’ve established plans to manufacture small runs ourselves, larger runs using
local partners and massive runs overseas. We’ve already initiated these
relationships and can activate the best partner to help us deliver Signul. That
being said, I’m sure there are many challenges associated with producing
100,000 units that we haven’t thought of yet.
Our track record with projects like this
Our team has a history of delivering high
profile projects on time. We’ve built man-rated diving suits and rescue
submarines, subsea power and telecommunication systems, social networks and
some of the biggest video game titles in the world. We aren’t saying that
delivering Signul will be easy, but we have a track record of overcoming obstacles
and delivering top-quality work to our customers (in this case, you!).
Safety statement
Signul uses Bluetooth Low Energy. It is
powered by two AA batteries and transmits about 10% of the power that a
standard WiFi router does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How will you use the money you raise from this campaign?
A: Primarily, we need funding to put our hardware through the regulatory certification process (FCC and CE) and to tool up so we can injection mould super-pro Signul enclosures. Certification is the most important thing since we need this to legally sell Signul. For enclosures, we've put a tonne of work into Signul and have a product that we can demo today. However, our "maker" version and what you might want to put in your home or office have been known to differ a bit. Any funds that are raised beyond our $25k goal will be used to accelerate the development of some other awesome stuff we have planned for Signul.
Q: What devices are supported?
A: The key to device support is Bluetooth 4.0. For iOS this includes iPhone 4s and newer and iPad 3 and newer. For Android we’ve tested Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and S5, Nexus 4, 5 and 7 (not first gen), HTC One m7 and m8, Moto G and Sony Xperia Z2. Other devices may work, but we haven’t tested all of them. We’ll keep updating our list every time we do.
Q: What is the range of Signul beacons?
A: In ideal conditions a large Signul zone is roughly 30 m in diameter. Signal (not Signul) strength, and thus range, can be affected by obstructions such as walls indoors.
Q: Can I adjust the size of my Signul zone?
A: Yes, you can choose from small, medium and large which range from 1-30 m.
Q: Is Signul secure?
A: Signul beacons transmit a unique ID that the App looks for. This ID is factory locked and can’t be changed by a third party. It’s also not tied back to users in any way so there is no risk of vulnerability through the beacons or hardware. On the system side we’ve done a number of things to make Signul secure. There is no login or collection of personal data and you can only share tasks with people in your immediate proximity. Therefore, there is very limited opportunity for someone to intercept or interfere with your use of Signul.
Q: How is Signul powered?
A: Signul is powered with 2 AA batteries.
Q: How long will the batteries last for?
A: Signul will run on 2 AA batteries for roughly 8 months.
Q: How will we know when the batteries are running low?
A: Signul will deliver a notification via the App when the batteries are running low. The goal is to provide a few weeks worth of notice so you have plenty of time to swap out your batteries.
Q: Are you planning to have a version that is powered with a wall adapter or USB?
A: Not at this time. Being tied to a wire for power takes away from the portability of Signul.
Q: What are the physical dimensions of Signul?
A: Signul beacons are roughly 9 cm in diameter and 2.5 cm in height. They are shaped like a thick pancake.
Q: Is Signul waterproof?
A: No. Signul is designed to be used in dry locations.
Q: How durable is Signul?
A: We’ve done some basic drop testing of our 3D-printed version and so far there has been no mass destruction. More thorough testing will be performed on the production enclosures and the goal is to pass a 1 metre drop test.
Q: Can we get Signul in neutral shades?
A: We have received a lot of feedback about colours and will be making an announcement about this soon. Expect additional options.
Q: Will you have IFTTT functionality?
A: Yes! We’re working out the details now and will be making an announcement soon.
Q: Can more than one person create a reaction using the same Signul beacon?
A: Yes.
Q: Can Signul work with home automation systems?
A: Signul can make web calls, so if your system can receive commands this way then you’re in luck. We’ll be making an announcement about an additional stretch goal that’s related to this very soon.
Q: Do I have to pay for the App as well?
A: Nope, the Apps will be free to download from the App Store and Google Play.
Q: How is this different than using GPS?
A: GPS let’s you create broad geofences to trigger events from. Signul let’s you do this at a much higher resolution. For example, if you’re in an apartment building or office tower GPS will located you in the same place regardless of where you are in the building. And that’s if it works at all since you’re in the air above a city. With Signul you can dial down the size of your Signul zones and have thousands of unique reaction points in the same building. With GPS, you’d be lucky to get a single functional trigger. A Signul beacon can also move around and still trigger reactions, e.g. launch Apps in your car.
Q: What are the benefits of having more than one beacon?
A: Having more than one Signul beacon allows you to create multiple proximity zones to base reactions on. This could mean having one at home, one in your car and one at work, or even one in every room of your house. We know that everyone will use Signul in a slightly different way and have design the product to be flexible enough to support this.
Q: Where will you ship?
A: At this point we have decided to limit our shipping to anywhere on earth, with the exception of embargo zones of course. That being said, we’d love to send one to the ISS. NASA and ESA, we’re sitting around the red phone waiting for your call!
Q: What is used to mount Signul to the wall?
A: Sorry, it’s nothing fancy. Just 3M double-sided tape!
Q: How did the Signul team get started?
A: We work together at the IoT Design Shop, the Internet of Things innovation centre at Finger Food Studios. We are a services company that focuses on developing Bluetooth proximity, indoor location, wearable and remote sensing solutions for our partners and customers. Signul is our first push into the world of consumer electronics.
Q: Where are you based?
A: We are based in Vancouver, BC.