The worldwide supply crisis has resulted in a shortage of electronic components. While this has impacted large vendors more than it could me, it never the less has caused obstacles. The electronics of Minder1 have to be assembled onto a PCB, which is a distillation of the circuitry onto a small plate. This is done […]
The pre-release of Minder1, the theft deterrent for bicycles, is expected to be January 2022. Though years have been spent on its development, the ‘final’ stages–which comprise productization, behavioural refinements, promotion, parts and purchases–will take months! As well, there is a worldwide supply crisis, affecting electronic components. If you’d like to be kept updated, add […]
No bicycle lock is safe, I said yesterday. It’s a mere finger when the dyke itself needs reconstruction. A pitiful dearth of safe cycling routes, in most of North America, is the oldest, and most obvious, of the systemic disregards for micro-mobility. Similar neglect is seen in other aspects of cycling on this continent. There […]
Of the innumerable videos out there, showing the blight of bike theft, this is a rather comprehensive one, in showing all the major attacks on assorted defences sold in your local bike shop. The good people at the City of London Police have kindly arranged a demonstration of assorted cable cutter, bolt cutter and angle […]
One of the unforeseen consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic is the rise in, and the volatility of, the prices of integrated circuit (IC) chips made in China. ICs that were often less than a dollar, are now several dollars; a CPU that used to be $2 is now $15, affecting the base cost of the […]
In North America at least, much manufacturing has turned to what they call ‘low volume, high mix’. The story told is that, with large-volume manufacturing having been off-shored, what remains is only low-volume; for manufacturers to survive, they have to adapt to having lots of clients, ordering a variety of small jobs. Having designed the […]
A 2019 test of the system’s measured response to shakes. It certainly is too measured in this instance, but refinement was planned for later. And theft-detection is incorrect as well; but that was to evolve later. Note: As of today, there is no plan to include voice messages in the final product. Instead, there will […]
A February 2020 test that I shot on video. While there had, of course, been years of tests of the system, those were development tests–of the electronics, and of the firmware. This checks the loudness outside. The device is not inside an enclosure, but wrapped flimsily atop a saddle. The alarms and messages are not […]
Most of the engineering has long been done; it is the productization (i.e. turning the device into a consumer product) that has taken–and continues to take–a long time. (In fact, it was an obstacle since the outset 😉 !) The enclosure is being selected, and will subsequently be tested. Once that succeeds, enough interest has […]
Unknown to the general public is that, 1.5 years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a supply crisis. Large, Western firms–and presumably others, elsewhere–have trouble getting supplies from China. The ostensible Factory to the World cannot provide, thus becoming the bottle neck to consumption. In brief, shipping containers are at Los Angeles’ […]
