Kickstarter

We reached a big milestone since the last update... our first beta unit is now in the hands of one of our Kickstarter backers for testing and evaluation! We're planning on getting a few more beta units out for some initial testing that's going to help us with the larger roll out.

Big thanks to Wayne for helping us with the test and for making history! 

We hope to start receiving several more dozen units in a few weeks to start sending out to select backers to help with evaluation and improvements. 

Hardware 

We've upgraded the Ubi to slightly larger speakers that provide better sound. The Ubi's voice readout and music playing on the Ubi can easily fill a room now. 

After triple checking over all the dimensions and design, we've put in our order for the tooling for Ubi's case. This takes several weeks but will allow us to produce parts in high volume very quickly. 

Software 

We've been able to improve the performance of the microphone pick up by applying filters to remove echo and reverberation that dramatically affect speech recognition. There's still some work to do here but every week has brought steady improvements. We've successfully integrated sensor reading into the portal. 

We're now polishing up the UI of the portal to make it much more user friendly and for the data to be streamable and downloadable. 

Collaboration 

We're very excited for the relaunch of Spark with the Spark Core. They allow for WiFi control of almost anything. Ubi and Spark will allow for voice control of these tiny boards. Check them out and support their campaign here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible 

What's next? 

Next on the docket is submitting the Ubi for CE, UL, and FCC certifications. We're also working on integration with different hardware and getting the API ready for release. There is still more testing and debugging of the hardware that we'll need to overcome as the Ubi goes out in the field. 

Thanks! 

Thanks for all your support and feedback. 

You can always reach us directly at info@theubi.com 

Sincerely, 

Amin, Mahyar, and Leor

Hello backers,

Video time! We have some video of the early beta Ubi (as opposed to the alpha Ubi from many months ago). If you're eager to view it, you can skip down to the bottom...

Another three-week sprint has brought us a lot of satisfaction and we're making many good steps towards delivery of the Ubi as well as overcoming obstacles that have popped up.

We are still pushing to get several early beta units out this month and the larger batch of units (approximately 50) by the end of next month. The results of the tests from that second batch will determine how quickly we can ship out the rest of the units. We're going to continue with a lot of rigorous testing to make sure that your Ubi works as intended.

It's really amazing when everything snaps together and starts working! We've been enthralled to start playing with the Ubi in our own homes, asking questions, making calls, and getting the Ubi to speak back to us. The Ubi can sometimes come up with some sassy answers and we're trying to tame them down.

Hardware

Some of the challenges we're overcoming are cleaning up the audio signal to allow for longer distance and reliable voice pick up and long duration operations. For audio, we're tuning the filters and adjusting gains on our audio DSP to remove environmental noise. We've also come up with some adaptive controllers for ensuring steady input volume - a necessity for proper voice recognition.

We're putting in the final touches to allow for FCC and CE certifications. While these won't be on the early beta units they'll be part of the larger shipments. The Ubi qualifies as a low voltage device since most of the power conversion is done with an external adapter that is already certified.

On the casing side, we're about to make the order for our tooling that will allow for injection molding of the cases. The early beta units for this month will have 3D printed cases that will have the same form factor as the injection molded parts, but not the same sheen. Those early units will be replaced with units that have the new case once they become available.

Software

Over the past month, a lot of focus has shifted from the hardware design over to software development and implementation. We're now counting off the feature list and getting the different apps to run more easily.

For voice calls, we've tested out several services and are using a SIP client that can be configured with contacts from the portal. For Ubi-to-phone number calls, this may require the setup of an external account. We're still finalizing the service and hope to have more details by next update. However, Ubi to Ubi calls within your network of registered Ubis should be free (intercom, for example).

We're now polishing up the triggering and rules for Ubi's sensors. We have them setup for sound level but will now have them run for the other sensors. We're also looking at several different voices for the Ubi. We hope to have more on this in future updates.

Want to help more with the Ubi? We're doing tests on audio conditioning in Android (echo cancellation, dereverberation, buffering). If you'd like to help us out with this aspect or others of the project, send us a quick note here:

goo.gl/5Gt7s

Hat Tip

We'd like to send a hat tip out to engineering.com for covering our progress and to Shuttereaze for mentioning our integration with their system.

Videos

Finally! In this video we show some of the operations of our early beta unit. You can check it out to view:

Registry

It's time to register for your Ubi! We'll be verifying your address before shipping but we need some more details. Please take a moment to fill out this sheet so we start making the preparation for shipment:

http://goo.gl/RO7bj

Timeline 

We're still on track for getting the first beta units out to a select few in April. The next round of beta units is going to go out in mid to late May, once we're able to start getting the injection molded cases back. As we receive feedback and make changes, we'll start to ship out the remaining Ubis. 

Partnerships

We'd like to announce that we'll be able to integrate with two very creative Kickstarter projects... Greenbox by 22Seeds - imagine if you can just ask for the lawn to be watered and voila... it's done. 

Greenbox will keep you lawn green while saving you some green. Only a few hours left... http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/22seeds/greenbox-smart-irrigation-for-everyone

Ube and Ubi - We must be related! Dim the lights just by asking for it. 

Ube is another one of the amazing new Internet Of Things devices coming out - check them out for a limited time at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/702772580/ube-wifi-connected-smart-light-dimmer

Thanks! We're also eager to hear from you. 

Email us anytime at info@theubi.com. 

Sincerely, 

Amin, Mahyar, and Leor

Time is flying by and we know you're probably eager to hear from us as we are eager to get you your Ubis. Over the past three weeks, we've made some very big strides in moving towards delivery.

Hardware

Our first production run of the Ubi prototypes is underway. We are making several test units to get into the newly designed case and make sure that the performance and functionality matches what we've planned for.

Pictured below is the rendering of the PCB board with the speakers and sensors still to be mounted. You can see the array of LEDs around the edges.

We've also been testing fit and functionality of the new case design. You can see the 3D printed version pictured below with space for the iPad-like power supply on the back. The adapter makes it really handy to mount in different spots. 

Software 

We've overcome several technical challenges on the software side and have made a good dent into our API development. The Ubi portal also has more and more functionality being added to it every few days. 

For example, we can now command the Belkin WeMo through voice as well as the Ecobee Thermostat. We're working on a framework to make it very simple to add different devices and services into the Ubi. While now we still have some latency between the trigger word and the voice command, we've been working to reduce this to make the interaction with the Ubi much smoother. 

On the API side, we hope to have some early documentation out in a few weeks. We think your imaginations are going to go crazy once you see some of the ways you can interact with the Ubi through software.

Poll 

Special thanks to the 300+ backers who answered our survey. Big congratulations to those who overcame the link challenge to the survey. It turns out our backers are very social, with over 65% of respondents living with one or more persons. 

Timeline 

Our revised timeline is still holding up. In mid-April, we hope to send invites to register for the Ubi portal. We also hope to send early beta and inner sanctum members Ubis to start testing in late April. Based on that feedback, we'll start shipping out units. 

In the meantime, we'll continue to update you at least every three weeks on our progress and are always glad to see your comments and questions! 

Sincerely, 

Amin, Mahyar, and Leor