InMotion Slider: Cinematic Camera Moves At Your Fingertips

Update #16
over 5 years ago – Sun, Jan 20, 2019 at 07:00:08 PM

Dear Backers, 

Recently I’ve been mad busy with all the paperwork related to budget and strategic planning required for the company and investors to step into 2019, to make sure everything runs smoothly, thus my biggest apologies for being quiet for past few weeks. The team has been working hard on getting everything ready. Once this madness finishes in February I will be able to get back to more frequent updates about the progress and estimated shipping date. We’ve made final iterations of electronics and most of mechanical parts. 

Now we work very closely with Samsung to develop the best possible Android app for InMotion Slider and to test the mechanics of InMotion Slider. As the best case testing scenario for reliability, we’ve worked with subcontractors to create so-called InSlowMotion – a fully automated SuperSlowMotion (960fps) confetti recording Galaxy S9 booth where we’ve delivered the InMotion Slider. It utilizes Samsung Galaxy’s SuperSlowMotion recordings and InMotion Slider to provide flawless InSlowMotion experience. It is a great tool to present the smartphone in the animation as the slider automatically moves and rotates to match the animation displayed on a transparent screen. Because the booth operates for 24/7 in Samsung Showroom, it has been great in detecting all minor annoying bugs with the Slider that included: 

• Rare bug related to Bluetooth that occasionally caused the slider to freeze
• Rare bug related to SPI communication that sometimes caused the sliding motor to work on lower frequency than expected causing the slider to work louder
• Untightening of screw holding the drive’s belt 
• Too loose thread for ¼” phone holder screw that after sometime caused the thread to wear

We’ve resolved these issues and currently we work on kicking off the production of extruded aluminium parts for the sliders as well as the PCBs in upcoming few weeks. 

Here are some photos of InSlowMotion with InMotion Slider hidden behind a transparent LCD screen :  

Here is the video showing the booth at work: 

We really want to ship the sliders as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there were some issues and bugs that postponed few processes. The bugs and issues have been resolved and we are going full speed ahead with our subcontractors and manufacturers. 

I will prepare a precise estimate of shipping date with next Kickstarter update. Keep your fingers crossed! 

Wish you all the best in 2019, 

Slawek 

Update #15
over 5 years ago – Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 09:33:59 PM

Dear Backers,  

November has been extremely busy for us with lots of debugging here and there. My biggest apologies for posting the update that late. The beta Android App is finally there - We have finally finished beta 1.0 version of our Android app. The app enables timelapse and video recording as of now including Slider settings, manual camera capture settings and firmware updates. There are still some issues that will be debugged in near future as well as features that will be added, but the app works and it is a strong foundation for next steps of development. This means that when you get your slider both iOS and Android apps will be available.

Samsung Developer Conference – We were invited by Samsung Incubator for Samsung Developer Conference to San Francisco last month where we have presented InMotion Slider based on Samsung Artik chip with Samsung Galaxy support . The device got strong feedback from visitors and it was also a great way for us to debug the device: all app crashes were going directly to our servers what have enabled us to get a lot of new user scenarios and debugging information.

We also presented InMotion Slider to DJ Koh – President of Samsung Electronics who was very impressed by our device.

Electronics has been finally closed. Since last update we have still encountered some issues with the PCB design, but these things have been finally cured. Below you can see our tester board for big batch production.

The board has small latch mechanism and pins on springs that enable us to test the board fast and precise with firm connection between the tester and the board. The board enables us also to program all PCBs in a much faster way without the need for reconnecting connectors.

We have the logistics for production: last week we have rented additional 110m^2 facility that will enable us to assemble, inspect and ship the sliders with highest possible quality and precision. We already hired first assembly employee that will be trained in upcoming days.

There are 4 rooms. Each one will be put into different focus: electronics, mechanics, testing and shipping

Summary: We did catch unexpected delay in few areas unfortunately. We still have to close the mechanical BOM and produce mechanical parts, but electronics is finally closed and ready for production that will start very soon. Despite that we have started preparations for production in Poland and we are doing our best to deliver the sliders as soon as possible. I wish we could have delivered you the sliders much sooner but even though we do whatever is possible, we work usually 7 days a week, at least 16 hours a day (average is 18 hours a day) there are still plenty of details that have to be secured. I know it sucks to wait for a Slider, but it is much more difficult that we initially expected, especially in a field of running business where employees, cashflow, competition and so much more things make a massive impact in the technology development. Believe me dear Backers I am as eager as you to deliver the sliders. I am in a extremely stresfull situation and I do whatever is feasible to ship the InMotion Sliders. I gave up all my private live, all hobbies, holidays and gave whatever it takes to deliver the Sliders as soon as possible, but it still was not enough to deliver the sliders sooner. We look with big hopes in January: the PCBs should arrive as well as mechanical parts so we can start the assembly. 

Slawek

InMotion Slider production timeline
over 5 years ago – Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 01:09:54 AM

Dear Backers,

as promised, today we present an update with InMotion Slider production timeline. Right now we are finishing the mechanics for smartphone holder, motion trigger and smart clapper that can fit new, smaller yet more advanced electronics. They should be finished within 3 weeks from now. Afterwards we will start the production for entire mechanical setup. The electronic design is already closed and a small production batch has been produced and shipped to us from China. It should arrive this week and we will start intensive testing if everything was manufactured properly. If tests go well, we will start the production batch to fulfil the campaign.

Within 4 weeks from now we will start the production. Because of size of production batch, it should not take longer than two weeks. Afterwards we will assemble sliders and check each one of them to provide highest possible quality. The sliders should be shipped early December.

My biggest apologies for not meeting the originally planned schedule, even though we had the best intentions to do so by working 7 days a week, sometimes 100-120 hours a week. My hair started graying in May due to stress even though I am just 25 years old. Unfortunately the business is always much harder than it initially looks, even if you give 110% of all your efforts every single time. Dear backers, keep your fingers crossed, we are almost there!

All the best,

Slawek

Final version of electronics is there and sent for test production batch
over 5 years ago – Sat, Oct 06, 2018 at 05:47:17 PM

Dear Backers,

My biggest apologies for not making an update lately. I got married last week and after that I got a 5 workday break from work to rearrange my private life: I still made the decision to work for at least 10-12 hours a day during my break. Unfortunately, it was not enough time to make an update of what the team was doing, so here it finally is.

The Progress:  

When we tested sliders in Singapore, there was an issue with power button that caused accidental powering of the slider. The problem was solved by completely redesigning the power button circuitry, rewriting the software and adding a very small reset button on the enclosure.

 Some of the changes are indicated in the orange circle on the photo.

Now, the slider’s microchip is using so called “deep-sleep” mode – a bulletproof solution that enables us to modify the way slider is turned on even in the future after shipping the sliders using a software update. Here’s how it works: All the time only the microchip of the slider is turned on, consuming a very small amount of power ( about 2.5 μA – a current that enables the slider to wait for power button to be turned on for 10+ years on a single charge). When the power button is pressed for two seconds, the microchip initializes all peripherals including motor drivers etc, so it is ready to operate within a second.

The good things about that approach are:  
- We were able to use mono stable button that is much harder to press and when released it immediately returns to OFF position, so the accidental press should not turn on the slider.  
- The mono stable button is significantly smaller than a bi-stable switch, so it improves the looks of the slider 
- If you require additional feature in the future such as: displaying the battery level by clicking the power button, we can add it 
- If most of you decide that two seconds are inconvenient to turn on the slider, we can adjust the procedure to a different method or length (two clicks instead of one long click etc.)
- If it ends out that pressing the slider for two seconds can also cause accidental turning on the slider by some users, we can find a better solution
- If for some reason the slider freezes in a sleep mode, it can be reseted using a very small reset button on the side panel. 

We have been able to make the PCB board smaller by about 10% and shortening the board by 5 mm in a critical dimension, what drastically improves cable routing. Finally the wires will not rub against each other inside of the slider. Smaller PCB Board means also that we can install bigger batteries to the slider. Right now we are working with three suppliers on fitting as big battery as only possible. We are aiming at fitting a battery between 5000 – 7500 mAh with an extraordinary shape into a much smaller and easier to carry slider’s control unit.

Despite the power button, smaller PCB Board and a bigger battery we have added a test points to the PCB Board, so it can be tested after the production easily using a convenient testing board that has standoffs to securely connect the pinouts of two boards. It means that the current PCB design should be the last one – ready for a big batch production to fulfil the campaign.

Right now we have ordered 10 sample pieces together with the tester. If they work fine, we will order the production batch.

Thanks to a complete redesign of the Smart Clapper and Motion Trigger, we have been able to unify the board design between them. The boards are different in the Bill of Materials: just by soldering different components to the board, we can have a Smart Clapper or any of two Motion trigger boards.

Below there is a board for receiver of the Motion Trigger. It is charged via Micro USB Cable and its software can be updated using Over The Air update from InMotion App.

We have also ordered a test stencils for the board to check if there are no issues with placement of the components. Stencil is a very thin aluminium foil with CNC laser cut holes for placing the solder material in right places.

Here is a soldered PCB Board of Motion Trigger’s receiver: 

The board is powered by 18650 Li-Ion Battery, so the whole board is made in a shape of the battery.

Here’s the Emitter of Motion Trigger, it does not have a microprocessor on board, because the board only emits the IR signal after turning on.

What’s more we have hired two new employees to increase speed of development. Daniel and Michal support us in daily product development by doing a great job in assembly, negotiations with subcontractors and soldering. Here’s a part of InMotion team with new empoloyees on board!

Right now we wait for last iteration of electronics to be shipped to us from the production line in Asia. After that, we will be able to order the required quantity.  

The Mechanics development is moving forward too! We have finished the moving mechanisms, we iterate now the leg supports design and the smartphone holder.  

And last but not least, here’s the news that we wanted to share with you guys in a previous update. Samsung wants us to create a Galaxy Note 9 Slow-mo showcase using InMotion Slider in a InSlowMotion booth. It is a great news, because we would get additional funds dedicated to investigate the 1000fps recordings that are possible with smartphones and InMotion Slider.  

After we ship the Slider, we will further investigate the possibility to develop the InSlowMotion Booth, but it seems that in a future we will have a dedicated slow-mo feature set including motion triggering the super slow motion recordings etc !  

The InSlowMotion booth would thrown confetti into the air and then the InMotion Slider would record at 1000 fps a face of a visitor while going through the confetti that is falling down.

To summarize: 

We move things forward all the time. Even small things are throughly investigated before implementation. We can send you the slider only once so it is crucial for us to make as close to perfection slider as only possible. I think that it is worth to invest far more money on our end into the development then we initially planned and I do think that even if the profit margin for our product is not met, it is definitely worth it to take some more time and revise every little detail. Having said that, we really would love to send you the sliders sooner, as it would also mean that we meet the shipping time and lower our costs, but we really want to spent as much money as only feasible on our end to make sure that our lovely Backers - first customers - get a product they deserve. The whole InMotion team really wants to build a product that really makes you smile everytime you use it. It means a lot of sacrifices on our end including working for 120 hours each week, not meeting the profit margins planned and some very tough business decision to keep the ball rolling, but I do hope that in the end, after you get the sliders, we will get a whole new bunch of great dudes to hang out with after we ship the sliders and you fall in love with them!

UPDATE 12
over 5 years ago – Mon, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:08:46 PM

Dear Backers,  

Apologies for delaying the update – we wanted to wait and give an update with some great news about the collaboration we have started, but as the contract for collaboration is still not ready, we will make an update today. With next update we will announce the news mentioned above. Expect something cool!  

In last update we’ve mentioned that the sliders went to Singapore for testing. The test was very insightful with strong feedback and – unfortunately – few bugs being found. During the testing it turned out that the power button that was implemented can be accidently turned on while commuting with slider in the backpack.

It could mean that someone arrives on the shooting location and finds out that the slider is discharged. What’s more there was a software bug with the panning motor which changed the micro stepping mode and sometimes caused the motor to rotate like a moving hand from the clock, instead of super silky smooth motion.    

As of today, all issues detected in Singapore are resolved: the software bug has been fixed. New PCB Board design with improved power button and relocated connectors for easier assembling process are already designed. A prototype production batch is now being manufactured in China. The next generation electronics should arrive within about 10 days. If everything goes well, it would mean that the slider electronics is finished and ready for production.

Mobile App:  

The iOS app in a beta version is done. It is currently being tested. The Mobile App development for Android has already started. Right now the “back-end” of the App is written, but the User Interface implementation will start soon! Our dev team is working strong on delivering the first version of the app as soon as possible. When sliders are shipped the iOS and Android apps will be there too!  

Mechanics:  

We are now working on a final version of the smartphone clamping mechanism. After it is finished and tested with slider as an integral part of the device, we will be able to start the manufacturing of the slider. We’ve decided to manufacture the sliders in East Poland, so we will be able to shorten the production process and be there everyday at the production facility so we know that the quality is there. The whole mechanical production process will take about 14 days once we finish the clamping mechanism design.

Motion Trigger and Smart Clapper:  

The next generation of Motion Trigger and Smart Clapper electronics has been developed. Motion Trigger and Smart Clapper have micro-usb charging and two LEDs: white and RGB to indicate the connection and system status. The electronics is currently checked for production in China. If the electronics works well, we will start producing 200+ motion triggers quite soon.

New Team members:  

InMotion team just got bigger! To make sure things run fast and smooth, we’ve employeed additional two engineers.

InMotion Slider got noticed!  

Samsung invited us to take part in Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco on November as one of the speakers. We will present the InMotion Slider with some amazing Samsung Galaxy S9 features on the big stage! You can learn more about the conference at: https://www.sdc2017.com  

Dear Backers, 

we are working hard to deliver the best slider possible. I know it is August already, but trust me that it will be worth the wait! We are working 16-20 hours a day, seven days a week to move things into production as soon as possible. The production of first elements should start within 2-3 weeks. We will keep you updated about this. 

Stay awesome!  

Slawek