About this project
Sgnl - Make Phone Calls with Your Fingertip, literally.
$1,469,202
中文(繁體) | 中文(简体) | 한국어 | ภาษาไทย | 日本語
Sgnl is the smart strap that enables you to answer phone calls through your fingertip. Simply place your fingertip to your ear while speak through the embedded microphone. Replace your existing watch strap with Sgnl and you’re done, whether you wear a classic watch or an Apple Watch, Samsung Gear, or Pebble Time.
There's no one who never lost their earphone in their lifetime. With Sgnl, you can keep your cell phone alone in your pocket and simply raise your hand to answer a phone call without carrying any extra headset or earphone. When you place your finger to your ear, your finger not only transmits the sound but it also blocks out background noise. So you can hear very clear voice in a loud places without worrying about other people listening in.
Stretch Goals
Sgnl in the Media
Fingertip Communication
Hear your caller’s voice simply by placing your fingertip on your ear as you speak through a microphone embedded in the Sgnl strap.
How Sgnl Works
Sgnl receives voice signal from your phone through Bluetooth. When a voice signal is received, Sgnl will generate vibration through its Body Conduction Unit (BCU) which transmits the vibration through your hand to your fingertip. As transmission is made through vibrations, there is no risk of harm to the human body. When you place your fingertip to your ear, the vibration echoes to create amplified sound within the closed space of your ear.
Sound Quality Test
The Blue graph represents the original sound signal, as inputted and the Magenta graph represents sound signals when received through the tip of the fingertip. In the transmission of speech, the voice frequency ranges approximately around 2000 Hz. Within this range, the sound signals through the fingertip don’t show much variation from the original inputted sound signal.
However, when this 2000Hz threshold is exceeded, the disparity between the sound signals begins to grow. This growing variance shows that it can be difficult to experience high quality sound when listening to music through the fingertip.
With Sgnl, our primary focus is the transmission of the human voice, therefore we continue to diligently work towards lessening variation in that frequency range. Once frequency response in that range meets our standards, we have plans to extend Sgnl’s functionality to work across a wider range of frequencies.
Hear the Evolution of Sgnl: A comparative sound quality test
January 2016 (featured at CES)
May 2016
July 2016 (featured at IFA)
Watch Compatibility
Sgnl is a wearable smart strap, a watch companion. It is designed to fit all sorts of classic and smart watches with its specially designed lug adapter. Upgrade your watch strap now!
Even if you wear your watch on your right hand, ensure that Sgnl main body & Sgnl band are attached in the same position in relation to the watch face: Attach the band at the 12 o' clock position and connect Sgnl at the 6 o’clock position
Watch Compatibility Guide
The Sgnl App
Experience More in Your Life
The Sgnl works seamlessly with the Sgnl app to make your day healthier, more manageable, and organized.
Hardware & Specification
What's included in the package
Backer Reward
Color selection will be done by survey at the conclusion of the campaign.
Our Team
About Innomdle Lab
Sgnl is the brainchild of Innomdle Lab, the first company ever to officially spin off from Samsung Electronics. Pronounced ‘i-nom-dul’, it means ‘dudes’ or ‘guys’ in Korean with an added nuance of friendliness and intimacy. It also stands for 'Innovation Medley', which conveys the team’s ambition for the endless pursuit of innovation through resolving daily discomfort with ground-breaking technology.
Innomdle Lab began as an internal project of Samsung through its new internal acceleration program, C-LAB, in 2014. In September 2015, after only about a year of acceleration and incubation, Innomdle Lab became the first company to officially spin off from Samsung, because of its outstanding performance. Upon incorporation, Samsung contributed a small amount of seed funding, with no board seats. Although Innomdle Lab began within Samsung, it is now a fully independent company with all IPs, and no board seats available to people outside of the company.
Story & Timeline
With just a small simple idea, CEO Hyunchul Choi developed Sgnl after winning 1st place during Samsung's C-LAB competition in 2014. He stated, "A colleague was boasting about his smart watch, but was embarrassed by the fact that everyone around him could hear the conversation. As the number of smart watch users increases, they will all face the same problem." From there, CEO Choi began to wonder if there was a way to solve this and came up with the idea of using one's finger to transmit sound. He immediately proposed the idea to Samsung's internal corporate venture department and thus Sgnl was born.
Evolution of Sgnl
We believe in the power of design. We’ve gone through numerous prototypes to make Sgnl sleek and easy to use. Take a look below to see how Sgnl has evolved from its first prototype to its current and final design (5th generation, Sgnl).
Risks and challenges
When developing something completely new, unforeseen circumstances do tend to arise. Yet, we are confident that we have made all preparations to follow-up on the promises we’ve made on our campaign page. With a working prototype developed and testing completed successfully, we feel prepared to enter the mass production stage. To facilitate mass production, we are currently simplifying the design and assembly processes. Manufacturing will be solely based in Korea so that we can ensure quality control of the product despite increased cost. The designs of the cases, packages, accessories are yet to be decided, but we will share with our backers as soon as it is confirmed. Should we come across any deviations in our schedule we will be sure to inform you promptly so that you can follow along with our development!
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Sgnl can be attached to most standard watch lugs with a strap width from 18 mm - 24 mm. The key is the shape & size of your watch lug. A more detailed explanation will be uploaded on the campaign page.
For your reference, we have tasted a number of watches and if you have a watch lug of similar shape & size with the following watches, it is highly probable that your watch will be compatible with Sgnl (we will continue to update this section):
Classic Watches: Hamilton H70505133, VOID V03D, Luminox A.3081.BO
Smart Watches: Apple Watch (special lug provided), Samsung Galaxy Gear S2&3, Pebble Time Series, Fitbit Blaze, TicWatch 1&2 -
Delivery will be done from South Korea through DHL or FedEx.
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For EU backers (not for all backers), there is a risk that when the reward is clearing customs, a VAT will be affixed (depends on the countries) + import fees. If this happens, customs clearance will be taken care of by us(which is why we chose to use Fedex), however backers will be responsible for applicable tariffs and VAT. However, we will do our best to minimize the risk when passing through customs.
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Only slight contact with the skin is required to enable fingertip communication. Volume and sound quality may be slightly effected by degree of skin contact.
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Currently Sgnl is expected to fit on wrists as small as 160 mm. We will continue to update you on this matter & we are trying our best to fit everyone
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Even if you wear your watch on your right hand, ensure that Sgnl main body & Sgnl band are attached in the same position in relation to the watch face: Attach the band at the 12 o' clock position and connect Sgnl at the 6 o’clock position
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Sgnl transmits your call through vibrations. It does not emit ultrasonic nor electromagnetic waves and so we promise that it is safe.
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Sgnl uses a lithium polymer battery which can support up to approximately 500 recharges. If we assume that the battery is charged once a week, Sgnl’s battery could be used for 8-9 years. However, of course this varies by use patterns.
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Currently no. As the battery is embedded in the Sgnl strap it cannot be replaced.
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While this varies by use patterns, it can support up to 4 hours of continuous calling. Normally, this is sufficient to last for a week.
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We are in the process of creating the final mold in preparation for mass production. Once this is complete, we will apply for CE (Europe), FCC (USA), IC (Canada), KC (Korea) and SRRC (China) Certification.
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Sgnl is connected similarly to a Bluetooth earphone or headset. Therefore, when the call is outgoing you can use your phone to simply select which device to make the call with. When a call is incoming, as long as Bluetooth connection is enables, you can receive the call simply by pressing the Sgnl function button.
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Yes. Through the Sgnl app you can set 5 contacts. For these 5 contacts, you will be able to make an outgoing call. Each of the contacts will match one of the 5 corresponding LED lights. After cycling through the lights using the volume buttons, if you press the function button you can make a call to those 5 designated contacts without touching your phone.
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In terms of waterproof level designations it often is set from a scale of 0-8. This can be seen in its IP Rating. A score of 6-8 is considered "waterproof." For example, as Pebble 2 can be used in water up to 30 m, it is likely a 7 on this scale. For your reference, Sgnl is a 6.
We are resistant to call it "waterproof" out of caution. We don't suggest that people shower or swim while wearing Sgnl. However, we can imagine that most "waterproof" smart watches are not much more waterproof than Sgnl is.
This scale of 0-8 is based on Sgnl's IP Rating. Sgnl's IP rating is IP56
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Please contact sgnl@innomdlelab.com
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Funding period
- (38 days)