March has been productive. We left off last time with a major decision to change out a key component, the microcontroller that handles all of our sensor IO and power management. We’ve had our heads down for the last couple of weeks working on that and a few other things. tl;dr: New mainboard prototypes have… Continue reading Forward March
The setback episode
Since the last update, we’ve largely been sweating increasingly smaller details in the same areas as before, but it’s not all been forward motion. In any engineering project, setbacks are expected, and we had a few in the last month—though nothing major. We appreciate the comments to keep quality a priority over speed—it takes some… Continue reading The setback episode
Hardware Lyfe
Hi – we’ve been a little distracted by the holidays and more recently, the terribly cold weather (for Texas and me—some of you are made of sterner stuff). In spite of my preparations, we didn’t have hot water for two days, but it’s thawed now with no damage. This is when I break out the… Continue reading Hardware Lyfe
Pouring concrete
Hi—I wanted to post an update earlier but holidays slowed things down. We’re in the thick of measuring out and laying down the foundation— the final hardware designs that will get produced. This is some of our most critical work, as it will be costly to unwind. It’s a fiendishly complicated multi-dimensional puzzle to balance… Continue reading Pouring concrete
Thank you. Now back to work.
To the earliest Twine backers in 2011, those of you who just discovered us and everyone in between, thank you for funding Pickup. This relationship we have on Kickstarter is special—there aren’t a lot of arenas where you can talk directly to the product makers, and where customers are willing to put down money for… Continue reading Thank you. Now back to work.
That’s a zoo, not an ecosystem.
While hobbyist IoT got nerdier, consumer IoT picked narrow lanes like thermostat or light bulb and worked on experience. Unfortunately that lasted only until growth proved shallow and users had to be squeezed for more money. And now “Internet of Things” is a poisoned brand.
Rewild physical computing.
IoT used to be cool. Them were heady days, when it felt like the physical world could be reduced to just another API target. Twine raised a large amount based on that excitement.
Monitor air quality where you need it.
Air! Filled with all sorts of little bits of matter, some of which are good for us, and some of which are (increasingly) not. CO2, smoke, allergens, vapors from off-gassing building materials. But we can’t see how much of those are in the air, and so the actions we take to breathe better air are… Continue reading Monitor air quality where you need it.
Deshittifying the Internet of Things starts with me.
What was once a promise of technology to allow us to automate and analyze the environments in our physical spaces is now a heap of broken ideas and broken products. Technology products have been deployed en masse, our personal data collected and sold without our consent, and then abandoned as soon as companies strip mined… Continue reading Deshittifying the Internet of Things starts with me.
Pickup has an app.
Pickup may be nice to look at—who doesn’t like a cheddar wedge?—but it’s not something you’d usually interact with, by design. But the companion app is, so a here’s a preview of how it works. It’s a web app that runs on Android, iOS and desktop. The Monitor screen will by default show you all… Continue reading Pickup has an app.