Two years ago, we interviewed Anthony Mattana, founder of Hooke Audio, about his comically arduous hardware startup story. And today, he’s back. His first product, the Hooke Verse, are wireless headphones that record in binaural 3d audio. More than just stereo sound, this tech gives listeners a literally jaw-dropping feeling of physically being where sounds…
We saw Core, a “meditation trainer”, popping up all over at CES 2020, covered here! Now, they’re sharing the physical product engineering challenges behind creating this wellness device. And there were MANY engineering prob… er, lessons to be learned. Watch the video below to see our interview with Sara Weber, Director of Marketing & Partnerships,…
Between September 16th-20th this year, Denver was overflowing with out-of-towners for Denver Startup Week. (Which was much to the dismay of native Denverite Uber passengers.) Here, you can read about the many physical product development related goings-on at this free conference. There were a lot. See below for the video: https://youtu.be/e5wj_1jtyvo The Venue I try…
We head to Berlin, Germany in the 2nd installment of my Euro tour learning about HW tech development across the pond. Here, I interview the CTO of Next Big Thing, Jasmin Skenderi. There’s also a video of their facilities at Factory Berlin, and an interview with a portfolio company, Sensry. Some Thank-Yous As with the…
Recently, I toured Europe to learn about how hardware startups grew there. Where is the Euro Silicon Valley? How are startups treated there compared to in the U.S.? How does networking, funding and team-building work over yonder? One of my stops was Warsaw, Poland. Here, I’ll share what I learned touring the FabLab powered by…
As I travel around the world searching for fellow HW nerds, I’m happy to share my findings with you, dear SolidSmack reader. In this article, I bring you the best events and organizations to check out in the San Francisco Bay area. There more than, perhaps, anywhere, the term “tech” gets conflated with “software”. However,…
On January 30th, 2019, an impressive concentration of hardware pros could be found at Synapse Product Development’s downtown Seattle office. Usually, HW people are in the minority at tech events, but not this time. What was the buzz about? Dragon Innovation was there to sponsor a HW startup panel which also included representation from Hackster,…
Did you know there’s a packed, 11,000 square foot makerspace just 15 miles north of Seattle? We stopped by The Facility Makerspace to see the toys inside this new space funded by Edmonds Community College. If you’re worried about not being a student there — don’t! This makerspace is open to the public and you…
In San Francisco, Hardware Massive put together their first “HW Summit SF” on November 7, 2018. This organization was also behind April 2018’s HardwareCon which we covered here. Turn out for the first annual Hardware Summit San Francisco Apologies for not getting this coverage out sooner (some HW engineering stuff got in my way), but…
Ever since Amazon’s Alexa was released back in November 2014, I’ve been afraid of inanimate objects suddenly greeting me or setting my schedules. It’s gotten so bad I’ve decided never to name any future pets or daughters ‘Alexa’, for fear I might suddenly activate a bystanding Alexa-enabled device. This is only going to get harder…
We’ve said it time and time again, but the Raspberry Pi is just so dang cool and we think everybody should have one in their toolkit. While there is a bit of a slight learning curve, it’s nothing that today’s designers and engineers can’t handle on a leisurely Saturday. To get things up and running…
While some of us grew up with LEGOs and bandsaws to flex our inventor muscles, today’s kids are living a totally different world entirely — a world where creating Bluetooth-enabled hardware is nearly as easy as assembling a LEGO spaceship. Available starting this week, the new littleBits Gizmos & Gadgets Kit, 2nd Edition, is the…
To call the Raspberry Pi a runaway success is a wild understatement, but that doesn’t make the process of getting started with the credit card-sized single-board computer any less daunting for new users starting from scratch. While some of the most basic beginner Raspberry Pi projects are surprisingly powerful – including making your own portable…
The lasting contribution to society from today’s reality TV shows can be endlessly debated, but if there is one that can do more good than harm, it’s likely the Intel-backed America’s Greatest Makers. The reality competition show, which pits 24 teams of Makers against each other with weekly build challenges leading up to a $1…
As any hardware developer worth their salt knows, getting part dimensions accurate is key for success in manufacturing and ensuring that assemblies fit together in the real world as intended. Among other common problems that can occur and cause a domino effect disaster down the line include mismatched fastener hole placements and loose or overhanging…
Between the various product design entrepreneurs and hardware startups that continue to find success without formal industrial design or mechanical engineering training – as well as the increasing costs of college tuition, the line between needing to have a formal product development education or not for striking it out on your own is becoming increasingly…