Latest developments

Dear friends and supporters!

We want to give you an update about the development of Useeme Bicycle Turn Signals. We are working hard to finish the product and bring it to you. Some of you already preordered Useeme during our IndieGogo campaign. To you guys, we owe an apology for the delay. We promised to deliver the wristbands this autumn, and we will be late. We’re very sorry for that. 

There are 2 reasons for the delay:

• We didn’t raise enough money during the campaign, so we’ll need to use our own resources to finish development - which makes thing a little slower.
• We realized that our prototypes still need improvement in terms of light intensity, reliability and design. We decided to fix those before delivering, it wouldn’t be fair to deliver a product which is not 100% ready. (And hit the market with the improved version shortly after that.)

The upside is that all Useeme wristbands will feature:

• much-much brighter LEDs, perfectly visible even in bright daylight
• an updated design (the picture above is close to the final look)
• more reliable and accurate detection algorithms thanks to a better 32-bit microcontroller
• the possibility to get them with rechargeable batteries (and a USB charger)

Long story short: everyone will get their wristbands later then promised, but they will be much better than what you paid for. As promised before, all deliveries will come with a special discount for your next order.

Things we did since the campaign finished

• Tested different LEDs to achieve better visibility.
• Purchased all the material for the first test batch of 100 pairs (2 types of plastic and more than 10 different electronic components).
• Re-designed the electronic circuitry for the new microcontroller and LEDs (both flexible and non-flexible parts).
• Changed and reprogrammed the microcontroller for more accurate detection.
• Updated our website a bit and prepared it to start taking pre-orders.

Things we’re doing at the moment

• Finishing the design of the outer casing (and the 3D models)
• Having new plastic mould plates produced for the updated design. This is something we can’t do ourselves, they cost a lot, take a lot of time to produce, and there are 3 of them for the 3 sizes. Hopefully this is the last time we need to throw out the previous version.
• Waiting for the new printed circuit boards to arrive.
• Working with a plastic additive expert to find the right additive to color the top layer.
• Designing and producing our own USB charger for rechargeable LIR2032 batteries because the ones we found on the market didn’t seem reliable enough.
• Looking into different options to finance a speedier development and market entry, and also the development of some future ideas for cyclists ;)

We are working to finish the tasks above and start producing as soon as possible. As things look now, delivery dates will be:

• Test pairs: Dec 2014.
• IndieGogo orders for the final product: Feb-Mar 2015. (first orders served first)
• Website preorders: March-April 2015. (preorders start soon)
• We also work to get Useeme into some stores for spring 2015.

Sorry for being slower than expected, we hope you agree that we have to deliver a fine product with no compromises, instead of something that is only halfway there.

We're aware of some inquiries piled up in our mailbox, they will all be answered within the next week. If you have questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to contact us.

Stay safe, and watch this space for updates!