Tago Arc e-ink Bracelet

tago arc is an e-ink bracelet in the process of being developed.  They are currently working the crowdfunding site Indiegogo to raise $40,000 to turn their prototype into a shippable product.  The bracelet will combine a flexible e-ink screen with NFC transfer tech so that a new design can be loaded onto the device via a companion Android app, using an NFC enabled smartphone or tablet to power the transfer. (Support for iOS devices is not currently possible owing to Apple locking down the iPhone 6’s NFC chip for Apple Pay only.)

So, to be clear, tago’s twist is that it needs (and has) no on-board battery. The NFC draws the power it needs for a transfer from the mobile device’s battery as and when the user is changing the design. When in its resting display state, e-ink does not draw power so no battery is needed to power the device at other times — so it’s a battery-free wearable.  Well, at least that’s the promise.

“Our current prototype can change display with a smartphone (through NFC, without external power), with the working tago app we developed,” CEO Zoli Kovács tells TechCrunch. “We are now working on the final design and software optimizations. The electronics (on flexible printed circuits, flexible display, etc) are ready to be put in the final commercial version of the tago arc.”
The choice of NFC also opens the bracelet up to functionality expansion in future, according to Kovács, who hints that contactless payments might be supported down the line “perhaps one day”. Although he also stresses that the primary motivation here is to build a wearable accessory that looks good, rather than to add on lots of functionality bells and whistles.

Owners of the tago arc will be able to load their own designs onto their bracelet via the companion app for free. There will also be a marketplace for downloading and buying imagery and designs from others.

The TechCrunch article about Tago Arc mentions the following quotes from CEO Zoli Kovács: “Our artist community will price their own artistic contributions to the #pic market,” and “Our suggested price for them will be around $1-$2, but we will not pre-set the prices, we will let the supply and demand sort it out for itself. There is also going to be an option here for premium brands and designers to price their exclusive designs at a higher price.”

According to the news the bracelet itself will be made from coated surgical stainless steel, with gold, silver and black color options. The basic price for Indiegogo backers is now $259 per bracelet. Precious metal premium versions are also offered obviously at far higher cost.

You really should read the well written article on this subject at http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/12/tago-arc/

Video http://youtu.be/8Hr8iUwJ17c

You may want to also learn about LookSee Labs.

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