The Dragons were left spellbound by duo Richard Blakesley & Chris Barnardo and their universal remote control which looks like a magic wand.

Well done Wand-Makers, I hope the investor money will allow you to continue to invent and create such awesome products. All the publicity through the show should empty your stocks quickly.

You can see the video here:

If you don’t know Dragon’s Den Show on BBC TWO – here is a short description from their website:

First launched in Japan, Dragons’ Den is now an international brand with versions airing in countries across the globe.
Entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from our Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.
Since series five, the five Dragons have been Duncan Bannatyne, James Caan, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis.

What you can see on the show

• Chris and Richard entering the scene via some dark stairs, perfectly dressed
• asking for a 200.000 pound investment for 10% share of the company
• quoting Arthur C. Clars third law of prediction:
  “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
• pointing to the really large and still growing fantasy market with the likes of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and such
• presenting the wand and accessories by letting a large black silk cloth slither down
• Richard: “looks pretty much as you expect for a wizards wand”
• “being a real wand it actually can do something”
• letting it play Harry Potter theme on an iPod touch deck
• controlling volume by turning it, switching tracks – and making the investors smile
• telling them it could control anything in their house
• Richard shows controlling TV, fans and even lighting a candle
• the history of business, started in September, by Christmas 10.000 units sold.
• ask for money, expertise to take the company to a 18 million GBP company over the next three years
• they hand the investors the wands to have a try for themselves
• we even spot one of the rare dragon serpent wand stands that was designed by Chris (I got one of my own)
• James Caan wants to know what is behind the magic
• the infrared emitter tip is supplied by one of the largest remote control manufacturers in the world
• the wand also contains a universal remote control chip for learning and sending the codes
• meanwhile the others look at the beautifully laid out manual
• its gesture based approach is compared to the Wii-remote
• with its internal orientation sensor it always know which way is up
• Chris refuses to say what the next product is – but it is awesome, so stay tuned
• “and it’s all based around magic?”
• Richard answers that TheWandCompany will become a brand for all sorts of surprising and magical products
• zoom in to the wand and dragon wand stand
• the Dragons are clearly absorbed by the product
• Duncan wants more information about the inventors
• they tell about their electronics company (where they met) that already sold (about 2 mio) advanced remote controls and embedded displays before
• speaking again about sales they were asked about prices
• impressive margin, great product, Chris and Richard are clearly doing well in the Den
• then Theo asks them about revenue and profits, he is wondering what they want the 200k for if their numbers are already that rock solid
• Deborah talks about the Harry Potter movies, of which the last two will air this and next year
• Chris speaks about people who like fantasy and wizarding things and of the appeal to people who play online games like World of Warcraft and the like, also about other fantasy themes like Narnya and LotR
• the wandmakers speak about deals with Target (US) and the Sky magazines of airlines
• Duncan is the first to break the ice, he offers 600k for 30%
• Duncan being dubbed “Voldemort” by “Hagrid” – Peter who offers 200k for 25%
• then the game starts with Theo asking them “what would make them happy”
• and Deborah offers half the money for 10%, ask they asked for 23% and two dragons
• James sat there listening and as he likes the product and the wand makers he offers what they wanted 200k for 20% later scaled back
• after the real time discussions of 2.5 hours have been cut down to five minutes for TV, Duncan increases his offer substantially and gets accepted
• Now there is money and a strong business partner to look forward to

The awesome GBP 900.000 (in sum) offer got quite a lot of press coverage

• Daily Mail – Dragons’ Den panel in record £900,000 bidding war for the ‘Magic Wand’ they think could replace your remote control
  

  It’s just the thing that Harry Potter could use while watching TV at Hogwarts – a wand that changes channels or turns down the volume at the flick of a wrist.
  And this buttonless remote control certainly seems to have magic properties because it has just attracted the largest investment in the history of Dragons’ Den, BBC2’s entrepreneurial reality series.
  Chris and Richard have already sold more than 20,000 Kymera Wands since the launch in September last year and it is now on sale in 41 countries. They expect to turn over £2million in the next year with the help of Duncan Bannatyne.

• The Guardian – The most successful Dragons’ Den pitch ever?
  

  It sounds like the far-fetched plot of a fantasy movie: crazy inventor enchants dragons with magic wand. But on last night’s episode of Dragons’ Den that is exactly what happened.
  Barnado reckons he has been inventing since the age of 14, when he wrote to Tomorrow’s World with an idea for an artificial limb controlled by nerve impulses; more recent brainwaves include a new form of cheese packaging, a one-piece baby- bottle – and a scatological version of Top Trumps called, er, Plop Trumps.

• Stroke of genius: magic wand entrepreneurs secure highest ever Dragons’ Den investment
  

  Richard added: ”I didn’t expect all five to like the product and I thought we would have some of them saying ‘fine but it’s not my cup of tea’.
  ”They were all pretty good offers so we just picked one.”

• smarta – Dragon’ Den: episode seven, reviewed
  

  That concluded a fantastic spell in the Den for the Wand Company. They left with all their cash, retaining 90 per cent of their business. It makes you wonder if maybe the founders had a few magical powers themselves. Their performance in the Den sure went like a charm…

• Steve van Dulken covers the patent of the Kymera Wand on his Patent Blog
  

  The patent application for the invention was published in May 2010 as Remote control device, in particular a wand.

  I am unlikely to buy it, as I would forget which command meant what. Maybe that is an attraction — different waves of the wand would mean different commands for each person’s wand, making it a truly personalised remote control.

• Technology on MSNBC – Harry Potter-style magic wand conjures big money
  

  The Kymera wand buttonless remote control claims no direct affiliation with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter empire, but there’s a reason it’s selling like pumpkin pasties on the Hogwarts Express.
  The need for such a product is obvious to anyone who’s endured those Hagrid-sized commercial breaks that muck up each and every ABCFamily Very Special Harry Potter Weekend Event.
  The U.K- based Wand Company’s Kymera wand — that operates via wrist movements rather than buttons — remains one of the website’s top 150 products, out of thousand-plus products ThinkGeek sells.

• Telegraph – Record Dragons’ Den investment for Harry Potter-style magic wand
  

  They expect to turnover £2million in the next year with the help of Mr Bannatyne.
  The Dragon said: “I see the magic wand rolling out very quickly over the next six months and I think it will do very, very well.”

There are lots of comments like

• useless gadget
• I don’t need it
• patent infringement
• how to switch 500 channels
• to pricey
• how to memorize 13 gestures

But I think after you tried it for yourself for the first time you perhaps think differently. And who needs 500 channels and can’t memorize 13 simple gestures?

Some positive comments

• Excellent idea I would love one if you have any going spare. Have you thought about making limied edition versions with different designs of handles etc or trying to approach the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings people to see if they are interested in a specially designed version. Can’t wait to see your next invention
• Well done to Richard and Chris, looks like a great idea! Will be looking out for your next products. Looking forward to seeing your company at the Autumn Fair. Hope Duncan can give you the help you need.
• When you reach 45 years old your eyesight starts to go for close up reading. Most remotes have really small text on the buttons so you’re scrabbling around for your reading glasses or pestering the kids to change channels or operate the TV guide for you. This gadget will be so useful. I’ll probably get one… I hope it works OK! Well done guys.
• I love it…much better than having 4/5/6 remotes sitting around (all needing batteries!!)…If I buy one I think I’ll get hubby to make a ‘holster’ to go on the side of the sofa to hold it..looks like it could be a brilliant invention for those not able to use buttons too….well done to you both and good luck!

And some shots from the video as a gallery

Unfortunately all the Korean text is within the images so, I can’t have it tranlated.

There are also nice instructional images like this one:

Chris and Richard published a whole lot of beautifully crafted image and animated resources for the press and resellers of the Kymera Wand.

We’ll publish a post with some background information of the making of of those gorgeous images later this month.

If you want to point to the Kymera Wand site you can use one of the eye catching moving images.

This clever move generated a lot of interest and was covered by all major and minor press publishers. A great step to make the Kymera Wand known throughout Germany.

Hier ein paar Zitate:

Die Fantastische Universalfernbedienung

Manche Dinge muss ich einfach haben. Und der Zauberstab von Kymera gehört definitiv in diese Kategorie!

Tipps und Tricks

Leider kommt der Zauberstab derzeit nur mit einer (wunderschönen) englischen Bedienungsanleitung. Auf der Website des Herstellers gibt es auch einige Hinweise in deutsch. Da nicht alles ganz praxisnah beschrieben ist, hier noch eine weitere Anleitung für Deine Zauberstab-Fernbedienung aus meinen persönlichen Erfahrung.

Videos und Bilder

Der Zauberstab kommt in einer edlen Verpackung – außen Schwarz mit “Schlangenhaut” – innen mit edlem, roten Stoff ausgeschlagen und mit Goldverzierungen. Die Anleitung ist ebenfalls sehr aufwändig gestaltet und großformatig zum auseinanderfalten.

Es gibt Verweise auf Händler und auf zukünftiges Zubehör.

Sehr schön gemachte Seite, mit viel Liebe zum Details und wichtigen Informationen.
Ich hoffe, Arno behält die Begeisterung und findet die Zeit, die Seite weiter auszubauen.

About Thrillist:

Thrillist: The Daily Candy For Men

If you’re still stumped about what to get your husband, brother or boyfriend this holiday…listen up. There’s a virutal place that helps to uncover the coolest gifts and gadgets for guys. And no matter their profession or pasttime… you’re bound to find something different and unique.

About the Kymera Wand:

Your significant other can get his Harry Potter magic on with the flick of a universal remote wand.


“It kind of works like an Nintendo Wii. You wave it around and program it to different motions that work to function different appliances,” says Joseph.

Fast Forward to 01:10.

Harry Potter lässt grüßen

Gut, das Date hätte besser laufen können, aber bei der WG-Party im Haus gegenüber kannst du dich später sicher ablenken. Bis dahin verplemperst du deine Zeit beim Zappen durch die TV-Kanäle. Um wenigstens stilvoll hin- und herschalten zu können, nutzt du natürlich den „Magic Wand“ von Kymera. Dreht man den Zauberstab im Uhrzeigersinn, wird die Lautstärke erhöht, ein Schnickser nach rechts bringt Dich zum nächsten Programm. Insgesamt beherrscht der Magic Wand 13 verschiedene Gesten und kann so alle Grundfunktionen von Fernseher oder CD-Player steuern. (www.thewandcompany.com, ca. 60 Euro)

Kymera Wand Feature in UniKing Nov/2009

Title Page UniKing Nov/2009

Kymera Magic Wand within its exclusive Box

Two English inventors, Chris Barnardo and Richard Blakesley are leading the way in a remote control revolution that will have users controlling their home entertainment systems with natural and intuitive gestures instead of button presses.

Developed over the last two years, the Kymera Wand is the latest consumer electronics gadget to employ emerging motion detection technology to give the user a richer and more intuitive user interface. Technically the Kymera Wand is a universal remote control, but as Chris Barnardo explains, that that was not what was originally intended by the design.

“Essentially we set out to design a magic wand that uses modern remote control technology to give the user a magical experience.” Says Barnardo.

“The result not only delivers a magical experience but is the first gesture based remote control that doesn’t have any buttons,” Barnardo adds.

Both the packaging and website have also been very carefully designed to be part of the fantasy experience. Visiting the non-traditional website is like a voyage of discovery, and opening the Chic black Kymera Wand box for the first time and seeing the dark brown, elegant wand cradled in its luxurious silk brocade, certainly does set the heart racing. But don’t be fooled, the old fashioned look and feel of the wand hides a highly advanced piece of technology.

The wand understands 13 different movement “gestures”, each of which can learn and replay the remote control function from any button on almost any existing infra-red (IR) remote control. All of which means that the Kymera Wand can be used not just for changing channels on your TV but for controlling hi-fis, DVD players, set-top boxes, iPod docks, Apple Macs and even remote-controlled light switches and curtains for example.

Techno magic

Kymera Wand Rear View

The technology that powers the wand is based on science, but it is so advanced and so miniaturised that it might as well be magic.

Based on the advances in motion sensing, the accelerometer that tells the wand’s microprocessor how hard it is and in which direction accelerating was originally developed for use in cars. These tiny silicon architectures are microscopically small but can detect the force of gravity even at rest. They are the sort of thing that detects if you are slowing down very rapidly in a traffic accident and signals for the airbag to deploy, or you’ll find them in mobile phones and cameras telling the device which way up to put the picture.

The wand has a special three axis accelerometer that can measure the g force in x-y-and –z. Using this information, and constantly updating the programme for the orientation of the wand, a special program on the onboard microprocessor can tell how the wand is being moved about.

Using some clever maths the microprocessor determines if the move made by the wand bearer was a deliberate on and if so, whether or not it was one of the predefined gestures programmed into it at manufacture. If it recognises the gesture then the wand’s microprocessor plays back the infra red remote code that it has been taught by the user to associate with that gesture.

A very small vibration motor similar to that found in a mobile phone gently pulses inside the wand to give what is called haptic feedback to the user so that they know that the wand has understood the gesture and has emitted an infrared remote control code.

The whole assembly is squeezed into the shape of a wand, and put together so that there are no visible seams and no unsightly screws to give the game away and that’s it, the Kymera Wand.

It’s simple really.

Spin back 50 or 100 years and what the wand does would have been real magic, but if you spin back a further 200 years it’s likely you would have been burnt at the stake for using the Kymera Wand. But then you wouldn’t have had a 72inch plasma screen to magically control.

© C.Barnardo The Wand Company 2009

Chris Barnardo the Creator of the Kymera Magic Wand

The £49.95 gadget was created by Chris Barnardo and Richard Blakesley, whose website has received over one million hits. Over 10,000 wands have sold in 10 weeks since launch in 41 countries and it is on target to sell 200,000 by the end of 2010.

Father-of-four Chris, 47, of Bishop Stortford, said he came across the idea after seeing how enthralled his children were by the Harry Potter series.

He said: ‘Adults and children love the thought of magic and living in a fantasy world, and this lets them live a little bit of that in their own front room.

After their introductory post about the kymera wand writer Jamie did a elaborate review of the meeting with wandmaker Chris Barnardo.

Here is one of the quotes:

It’s a great gift, a great device and a great talking point. If you buy one, it’ll certainly be the first thing you show people when they come round to your house. I can already see it becoming massive at Harry Potter conventions; after all, with a bit of careful rigging, one rapid swish could turn the lights on, turn the sound system up, turn the plasma TVs on and much, much. It’s electronic automation, wizard style, and that’s enough to put a smile on any Potter fan’s face.

And commenters say:

Posted by The6thHorcrux 6 days ago

As an owner of one of these wands, I can honestly say that I have absolutely no regrets in buying this wand. When I started using it, I was stunned at how great the interface was and how easy it was to make it learn. If you’re hardcore like me, I would 100% advise you to throw down the $90 and get it. For sure.

Die deutsche Übersetzung zu dem Review ist bei Harry Potter Xperts zu finden.

Despite only being launched three weeks ago, the wand is already beginning
to get noticed on the conference circuit. The Kymera Wand has been selected
by PopTech, (the world’s premier innovation and new thinking event) to be
one of the handful of technologies that gets present to delegates as
products that will make a difference in the world next year. PopTech 2009:
America Reimagined runs from October 21 – 24 in Camden, Maine, USA.

Update:

Wandmaker Chris Barnardo is currently on his way to Camden where the Wand is being showcased.

The wand was shown and got great attention,

So many people came up to me and after about two minutes chatting suddenly said… “Ahh you’re
the Wand Guy!” I must have had that aha moment about 30 times and always
followed by a warm hearty handshake.

here are some tweets:

• The_WandCompany: What a great few days; PopTech 2009 is over now, but the wand has made a load of new friends and in lots of ways I’ll be sad to leave
• CostaVidaFred: @The_WandCompany I want a wand #PopTech
• The_WandCompany: The wand presented to PopTech, lots of support, outside gorgeous late afternoon New England sunlight is filtered through maple leaves
• bastholm: Read more about the mad wizard universal remote control on www.wand-control.com #poptech
• kevinrussell: @valeskaUX re: chimera wand http://bit.ly/QDp8z (expand) ( @PopTech live on www.livestream.com/poptech ) http://ff.im/anGOJ
• poptech: RT @dickrowan: “Magic” wand for controlling radio frequency devices like your TV remote. Seen at #poptech. http://bit.ly/2FO08h (expand)
• dickrowan: “Magic” wand for controlling radio frequency devices like your TV remote. Seen at #poptech. http://bit.ly/2FO08h (expand) . Got to get one of these.
• valeskaUX: @poptech where do I get one of those awesome magic wand?
• innoceansedge: who Doesn’t want one?? RT @barkwheats: @poptech what was the name of that wand you’re giving away?
• bastholm: Someone actually developed a wand that you can teach to control your home electronics Harry Potter style. So, so awesome #poptech
• RafeFurst: @poptech where do we get one of those magic wand home remote controllers?
• barkwheats: @poptech what was the name of that wand you’re giving away?

Unfortunately its all in danish, but we try to translate the page using some weird kind of magic.

Here is a low quality youtube version of the video (The wand is presented from about the beginning to 2:13).

In the meantime Kymera fan Jan Nikolajsen translated the post for us (with permission).

A review by TV2 beep:

This is how a real wand works

It’s not just bearded men with tall pointy hats, who are allowed to swing with wands. You have the opportunity youself, and we’ve tried the most strange gadget we’ve ever seen.

There are products you really can’t see the idea beind, and then gadgets that are so strange and different, that you would never imagine they would be for sale.

For two weeks ago, we wrote about a very real wand, called Kymera, and to be honest, I though it was a joke, but when a Danish contact person wrote to us, to hear if we wanted to test the wand, we wouldn’t say no.

Many have been running around as little with a stick, trying to make bushes to enemies or make mess in a room disappear. But yet, those “magic wands” haven’t quite worked for me.

Considerable skepticism

Therefore, my skepticism was indeed more than apparent, when I received the wand in a black oblong box. But when I saw the wand Kymera down in the box presented in red, I had to give me a bit.

Suddenly I was aware of the magic moments.

I don’t know what I had expected, but wands today still can’t make the mess disappear, make my wife into a bush or do anything else, than act as a good old-fashioned remote control. But it also does that fine.

Magic on your tv

Kymera itself is made by a company, who of course have the firm name, The Wand Company Ltd. Their somewhat different remote control can control a TV from movement, and it’s more techable than one might think.

By turning the wand vertically and tap two times on the middle, you get the opportunity to learn your wand some tricks from your remote. It’s shakes gently when it has understood, and when you’re then sitting in front of your TV, flicking your wand to shift channel, it shakes gently to confirm as well.
It works surpringly well, even though it can be a bit hard to learn the difference between the many movements your hand can perform. But if you just learn your wand tricks with widely different gestures, then you’re one step further.

Of course, this wand is also meant more as a smile, than a replacement of your remote control. It can only learn up to 13 different tricks, and the gestures can be somewhat cumbersome in length unlike what you’re used to – by pushing the button. And as one colleague pointed out, it’s much more fun to have on your table, than an ordinary remote control.

Kymera Specifications:

• Uses 2 AAA-batteries, can learn 13 “tricks”
• Costs about 100 dollars
• Is out from October 1st (2009)

We LOVE: Always interesting with magic wands, pretty techable, looks more fun than a remote control.

We HATE: Can’t make things disappear, actually it can’t do magic! Only 13 gestures, it’s difficult to distinguish between the different movements.

Written by David Guldager (Original danish review here
Translated from danish to english by Jan Nikolajsen

Firebox Minimail October 2009

The Wand has just materialised into the Firebox warehouse, and it’s
simply magical. Its thirteen programmable functions can learn to
control anything that uses a remote – that includes your iPod dock,
TV, digibox, stereo and even a light switch! You’d better snap one up
before they all do a disappearing act.

Until next time

The Firebox Team

Kymera Wand at Firebox

Quoted from their site:

Harry Potter might be a dab hand at casting spells but we’ve yet to see him use his wand to switch off Holby City, series link EastEnders or mute Jeremy Kyle mid-rant. And that’s because the annoying little brat has only got a wand, not the Wand.

Description

Utterly astounding, this beautifully crafted gizmo looks like the kind of thing you might find in Diagon Alley. The difference is you use it to control your telly, Sky, digibox, stereo or any other infra-red device via various abracadabra-ish gestures. Simply swish, whirl and flick to change channels, adjust volume and much more. Incredible! What Katie and Peter Did Next? *ZAP!* Who cares? Your swish really is its command.

Totally button-free, the Wand can ‘learn’ up to 13 infrared codes from your existing remote(s) and fling them into the ether when you perform one of 13 predefined gestures. It’s a kind of magic. Okay, it isn’t but making Vernon Kay vanish has never been such fun. Silencio Imbecilicus!

You can assign various functions to various moves: flicks to turn on and off; spins to control volume; big swishes to mute and so on. You’ll be flicking just for the fun of it. Better still, rival wizards will be unable to mess with the telly or digibox unless you show them your moves. Hocus flippin’ pocus!

To add to its supernatural nature, the Wand also features a ‘heartbeat’ in the form of various pulses that confirm gesture recognition and tell you when the batteries are low. It even goes into sleep mode after 60 seconds of inactivity and ‘wakes’ when you pick it up. It’s just like having a real magic wand, only you won’t have to wear a stupid cloak or marry Debbie McGee. Magic!

Gorgeously packaged in a smart presentation box, the Wand is set to become the remote control of choice for any gadgeteer with Potter-esque aspirations. So don’t be a Muggle, get ordering. It’s totally wizard!

Kymera Wand Booth at IBC

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.

BTW the wand is going to be on the BBC on Sunday morning BBC2 at 10am

So check it out!

“When I came off stage, I was mobbed by people wanting to learn more.” Smith
told us. “A chap from a huge multinational company wanted to buy 200 there
and then, for a big event they are putting on in the next few months.” He
added afterwards.

Video from Firebox:

Kymera Wand Back

The wandmaker Chris Barnardo pointed me to this post of

The wandmaker Chris Barnardo pointed me to this post of David Guldager who too some nice pictures of the Kymera Wand.

Kymera Wand in public

Kymera Wand Box

The post is in Danish but fortunately there are services providing translations to English.