I showed the Wand to the people at the first tutorial. They were really impressed and said that it could become the next generation presentation tool. Its not as boring as the current pieces and really well made.
The balance, careful finishing and supporting materials were also appreciated.
One idea (perhaps for the presentation / hackable version). Use a gesture or a differnet mode to set a timer that lets the wand vibrate when the time is due. So perhaps use a new gesture to enter this timer mode and then use for instance tapping to setup the timer to x minutes. (double tapping is tens and single tapping is onces). Present the time by pulsing the tens (decimal) and after a pause pulsing the ones.
The holster also got some attention, making it a perfect acessory for the wand.
P.S: I noticed that I need a cap (made from a felt tip pen) for the wand to not remote control other people’s Macs when walking around.
Thank you for your patience, your wait has now been rewarded and you are about to be one of the first people in the world to own (or be able to give as a present) the amazing new Kymera Wand buttonless, motion sensitive remote control.
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As I practiced wandmaking with my children before I received the Kymera Wand, I wanted them to become accustomed to each other. I used the opportunity to take some magical images.
crossing two wands to make them accustomed to each other
The radius of the wands invisible magic field (invisible light) is about 18 meters and the magical power source lasts about 8 months if you cast spells continuously for 15 minutes per day.
You should take out the power source when transporting the wand. Otherwise it will stay active and recognize gestures and send out magic. Then your power source will be depleted much more rapidly and all sorts of magical irritations will occur in your environment.
Even the wand dimensions are designed to be magic. As we all know, prime
numbers are magical mathematical stepping stones to a higher dimension. So
it follows that the wand was designed around these magical principles.
The overall length of the wand is designed to be 353mm (the 71st prime
number),
the wand breaks down into three sections (three is a prime), the shaft, the
crisscross (magical engine) area and the handle body and they are 173mm,
79mm and 101mm, respectively – themselves all prime numbers.
Here is one of the early concept sketches of the wand. All the basic
features were there from the start.
The aim of the design was to provide balance in the hand and a good
weight distribution.
The look had to borrow cues from Victoriana, so
that the finished item looked and felt like something that you really
wanted to touch and hold and to keep.
The design had to give a clue about the magic that was within.
Of course the design also had to house all the necessary
components. In this case the magical engine at the heart of the wand
has to draw its power from somewhere. Exotic power sources and even
real magic was considered, but given the rather patchy availability of
these we felt that the simplest solution was to draw all the power
needed from two AAA primary cell batteries.
Two other pictures show some of the reference we gathered to help the
design process.
One of the first photographs of the first model of the wand. The shaft was
turned in box wood, the crisscross area cast in resin and sprayed and then
painted and distresses, and the handle was made in a number of parts from
ivoroid (a mock ivory made from a very hard plastic that is good as an
engineering material) the end cap / battery door was turned in metal (just
like the real wand) and gold plated.
Universal Electronics the one of the world’s largest remote control companies considers licensing The Wand Company technology and shows the wand on their stand at the annual IBC show in Amsterdam recently. The wand was a huge success at the show.
Chris Barnardo, co-inventor of the wand attended the show as The Wand Company representative on Universal Electronics’ stand.
“The wand was definitely a hit. ” Said Barnardo. “It proved to be a crowd pleaser and everyone was queuing to have a go.”
Universal took over serious 50 commercial enquiries about the wand, but at present there are no plans to sell the wand through high street retail. “The only place to get it will be online for a good while yet, ” Barnardo added.
Your Kymera
is a truly magical feat of
circuitous wizardry
sensing your every movement
& thence employing beams of
invisible light
to control most domestic
equipment at a distance.
This Wand is not a Toy,
it is a finely tuned
Instrument of Control
The Kymera Wand is a
Universal Infrared
Remote Control
that recognizes up to 13
gestures and sends the
according infrared signals.
It can learn infrared codes
from any remote control
(also Mac Apple Remote).
Gesture recognition is
achieved through an
built in accelerometer.
Ihr Kymera Zauberstab
ist ein wahrliches Meisterstück
funkensprühender Magie
der jede Ihrer Bewegungen
spürt und durch Strahlen
unsichtbaren Lichts die
meisten Geräte Ihrer
Umgebung aus der Ferne
steuern kann.
Dieser Zauberstab ist
kein Spielzeug sondern
ein sorgsam kalibriertes
Kontroll-Instrument.
