Newsletter: August 2013

August 29, 2013

The Puzzlebox Newsletter

Updates from the makers of brain-controlled devices for minds of all kinds

First Puzzlebox Pyramids Completed

We are proud to announce that we’ve received confirmation from our partners in China that they have completed manufacturing and assembly of the first 50 Puzzlebox Pyramids to be shipped to our original $249-tier Kickstarter Backers. There have been extreme, repeated delays throughout this process (more details below) and we share your frustrations. However none of this would have been possible without the incredible patience, feedback, and support we have received from all of our early adopters.

At this time all Pyramid Backers and Pre-Orders should have received the Orbit Mobile Edition (the EEG and Orbit helicopter portions of your order). Please email contact [at] puzzlebox.info if you have not received your Orbit Mobile Edition and have pre-ordered the Pyramid.

Orbit Apple iOS Update

The next major release of Puzzlebox Orbit for all Apple iOS devices has been submitted to the App Store for approval. This update features a redesigned interface, complete with step-by-step tutorial walkthrough on online support resources.Initial support for advanced flight control of Thottle, Yaw, and Pitch have also been introduced, although further development is required.

Android Update: Featuring Raw EEG

A minor release update has been made for Android as well, now featuring live graphing of the user’s raw EEG signal. In this screenshot we can see an example eye blink. Notice that the the amplitude of the muscle contraction (EMG) is an order of magnitude larger than the normal brainwave signal (EEG). This is one reason why it is helpful to keep still and avoid talking while flying the Orbit – the “noise” from muscle artifacts can drown out signal we wish to process.Our next move will be to merge all features between Android and iOS.

Puzzlebox Pyramid Delivery Update

We are now into production on the next 150 Pyramids. Once the rest of the shells are printed, then our partners at SEEED Studio will complete the assembly and we will ship to to the $299 Kickstarter Backers followed by all of our post Kickstarter Pre-Orders.

Anticipated delivery for having received all outstanding Puzzlebox Pyramids is now November 2013. We actually expect most deliveries to occur in September and October but we’ve received too many false reports already and are choosing to exercise caution over optimism.

Our manufacturing partner has estimated that the remaining Pyramid shells will be complete by the end of next week, followed by one more week for assembly. One additional week will be required another for testing and quality control. Finally we are estimating 2-4 weeks shipping time to all international and domestic buyers.

Manufacturing Status in ChinaHao Zhang is our rock star chief engineer, who has been stationed in China since our original Kickstarter for the Orbit was launched this past November.Though we have thrown every possible distraction at him – setting up a warehouse and fulfillment facility for Asia, managing international customs shipments, and printing product boxes – he’s still managed to complete the work on the Pyramid in between chasing down deals for the necessary materials and labor.We’ve done our best to keep his time free but he’s still had to deal with several ongoing delays. He can probably best explain directly the current status of Pyramids and the rationale behind our expected delivery date of November:

“The first 50 that are 3D printed will finish assembly on September 6th, and will be on their way to our U.S. headquarters as soon as possible. They will be redistributed in [the] U.S. immediately after arrival. There might be some delay in Customs, but everybody in [the] U.S. should receive [their] reward within September.

“We have encountered a lot [of] problems, lack of funding, 3D printer stability, quality of filament, 3D printing production rate, and so on. We are trying out best to overcome [each of the] problems we met, and let our backers get their reward as soon as possible, with the highest quality possible. So we are now working on a new production method that could produce high quality shells of Puzzlebox Pyramid. The test run is just about to finish, and once the sample is confirmed, we’ll finish all Pyramids’ shell production in 10 days.” — Hao Zhang

Latest Press for Puzzlebox

The Puzzlebox Orbit was recently featured on UK’s The Gadget Show. Some of our long-term users may recall The Gadget Show was the same series in which we established a new Guinness World Record for Brain-Computer Interface back in 2011.

The National also recently featured the Puzzlebox Orbit in their article “Brainwaves to raise the tech game.”

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