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

The Kymera Wand is featured prominently as gift-bag item of this years TED Global 2010, which started today in Oxford, UK.

The WandMakers Chris and Richard were happy to provide 800 Kymera Wands as gift to the TEDsters. Here is their warm, welcoming note:

Technology Entertainment Design

TED started out in 1984 to bring people together from these three worlds. Today, these fields have been combined in many fantastic ways, so we were honored when the nice folks at TED invited us to participate in this gift bag. We’ve taken a little of todays technology, applied creative design, and developed a product which has already entertained customers in more than 50 countries around the world.

It’s been a great start for our fledgling company, and we’re really excited about the future possibilities with help from people like you. That’s why we’re delighted to present you with your very own Kymera Magic Wand, and would love to hear your comments, thoughts and ideas – so please drop me a note at chris.barnardo(at)thewandcompany.com, or visit our website here: www.thewandcompany.com

Chris Barnardo, CEO

They created a great looking package specially designed for TED. The same kind of packaging is available for corporate customers that want to give away the Kymera Wand as a gift – to customers, partners or employees.

There are already the first tweets about it:

@PaulRieckhoff
Best gift bag item of #TED: a Kymera Magic Wand-”not a toy, a finely tuned instrument of control” http://twitpic.com/24okbb

Kymera Wand @TEDGlobal2010 by @PaulRieckhoff

@whiteafrican: #TED Fellows can practice their quiddich with their new wand in the Harry Potter dining room. #Oxford http://twitpic.com/24b8xh

Harry Potter dining room by @whiteafrican

@freeworldmedia: Opening up the famous TED Gift bag. The highlight is the magic wand that controls anything from the TV remote to… http://fb.me/CgZcExin

@paulrieckhoff: @thewandcompany Thanks for the cool gift. After some drinks, there will be TEDsters running all over Oxford screaming “Abracadabra”! #TED

@gregorymiller All but the floating candles & white owls at #TED. http://twitpic.com/24×3xl

TED Magic Lunch by @gregorymiller

@giorgiotedx TEDxDubaiLive – TED Magic Wand ,inside delegates bags. Will need to try it on a couple of folks back in #DXB http://twitpic.com/24wcbs

@rodrigocvc: Refeições a la Hogwarts no TED Global. http://bit.ly/a2ECOR (expand) #ted [afichacaiu]

Hogwarts at TEDGlobal

Gift bag contents

Look out for TED content anyway. These are the worlds best presentations on various topics online, collected for more than 25 years and available for free (Creative Commons).

Wishing all TEDsters much fun at the event.

Dear Mr. NeeNaw, we’ve seen your videos –
the Harry Potter one appealed to us greatly,
and we figured you’d enjoy one of these

to the crazy Mr. NeeNaw aka Neelesh.
After some problems opening the package (like a man) he lifts the lid of the black box with sound effects he finds the “big piece of paper” then he figures out that it is a wand but very unlike the HP ones.

His electronic knowhow helps him to find the little piece of plastics that keeps the batteries from conducting and to remove it. “I didn’t read that, I don’t know what it is. It does make magical noises.” Then he reads the instructions aloud anyway – you all know that about the universal infrared remote control that can recognize up to 13 gestures.

We follow him to his “lounge”. He presents the wand again but talks about fake leather of the box and saving cows. But acutally it is Faux Dragon Skin (important difference). After presenting the “nicely themed mass of instructions”, he switches on his TV which is slowly waking up (as all TV’s seem to do nowadays), pulls back to leave the tv guide, double tap to enter it again, changes channels and the like.

“They take a small while to get used to but then they can replace TV, Sky, Apple remotes.”

“The way you program it is pretty awesome, it gives you feedback because you can feel beating it your hand. Which is a very very creepy feeling.”

“I’m very grateful that TheWandCompany sent me one of these, because I love them now. I think it will make a great gift. ”

If you’re in England you’ll receive it within one day.

When my sister is watching crappy music on MTV I can switch it off.

And now I’m going to program it to everything thats in my skull. So I can get up to mischief.

He’s blown away:

It is pretty damn awesome (6 times or so) … I love it.

Coolest thing about the video are the bloopers Like the planes and the wand biting.

I should ask the people that received a free wand from me to do a similar cool video or blog post.

Charlie also presents the Kymera Wand in this unique collection of high quality images provided by TheWandCompany.

The Kymera Wand from Marc LaFountain on Vimeo.

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.

ThinkGeek did a funny video and introduction of the Kymera.

Tame the Beast of HD Pictures with this magic device!

You know you have always wanted to be a wizard. But not one of those swish and flick wizards from the movies. You want to be the Dungeons & Dragons wizard – the party’s controller. See that word there? CONTROLLER. It means you control the battlefield; you control everything! Sure, you’re squishy and sometimes there’s collateral damage when you let out a blast, but it’s all in a day’s work. As a wizard, you have a choice in implements, but everyone knows The Wand is the ultimate when you want to be an elite controller.

Teach it

Our Wand may not make legions of kobold minions explode into flames, but it will learn up to 13 commands from your existing remote controls and map them to particular magical motions. Flick the wand from side to side to flip the channels, twist the wand to turn up the volume. A beam of light will shoot out the unicorn tail hair and magic will happen! The Wand can learn from any remotes in your house and once you master its 13 movements, you can mastermind a symphony of electronic enjoyment from the comfort of your couch. Then, and only then, are you an epic level controller.

They show on/off (big swish), skipping (left, right), volume control (turn), eject cd (pull), switching sources (tap).

Have fun watching it.

They also added a cute picture of the wandmaker Chris Barnardo bespelling you with the Kymera Wand.

Chris Barnardo holding Kymera Wand

Just skip forward to 05:50 and enjoy the show.

news:lite also did a short intro to the Kymera Wand (from 3:45)

Guy in Bremen shuts down various branded tv’s with a magic wand. Even from 15 meters. Really cool gadget. It’s a product that you get at SKY.

Opening the wand parcel, looking at the wand and taking out the battery tab

Practising with the wand to make sure you are doing the right gestures

Teaching the wand a code

Using the Kymea Wand

Have fun watching those and give us feedback, how you like them and if there should be more videos of the Kymera Wand.

Perhaps these could go on the blog?

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!

There you can see him controlling a TV and a IR-light switch with the wand.

If you look carefully you see that most movements are very subtle. Only the “Big Swish” is  like a young wizard’s movement.

The gestures you can see in the video are (with their pulse counts)

• Big Swish (9)
• rotate clockwise (1)
• rotate counterclockwise (2)
• Flick Upwards (3)
• Flick Downwards (4)
• Flick Left (5)
• Flick Right (6)
• Tap On Top (7)
• Tap On Side (8)
• Double Tap On Top (11)
• Double Tap On Side (12)
• Push Forward (10)
• Pull Back (13)