TK-002 - Meet the Bluetooth ErgoKiwi

After many desperate messages from users having lost their Kiwi, we started to imagine how the Kiwi could let you know when it gets lost.

In our past studies we’ve discovered that, by connecting the ErgoKiwi to the internet, the Kiwi can passively let you know when you’re about to leave it behind. By designing this concept prototype, it was critical that the Kiwi should never seem like a smart object, it should work exactly as any other handle. Only when you leave it behind, or if you need to find it, will technology come into play.

The Kiwi below is the first prototype that we created. It feels and functions like any other plywood Kiwi, yet as you can see below, the prototype reveals that there are two primary aspects of the Bluetooth tracker that need to be addressed.

STEP 1 - Making sure the Bluetooth device will work

To see if we could make the ErgoKiwi Smart, we decided to take a generic Bluetooth tracking chip. Bluetooth offers great potential for our purposes because of its simplicity-

• these low voltage chips are synced to a phone or computer, just like a speaker or headphones.

• They are like your pet, once connected, they are synced only to you, making security simple.

• Energy efficient - One chip can last more than one year on a tiny 2032 battery!

There are only two aspects of the Bluetooth device that are critical:

The Button - The button is what enables the user to sync the chip to your device. Once the chip is synced to your phone, the button also makes it possible to make your phone start ringing if you’ve lost it!

The Battery - While this battery can power the chip for more than a year, we expect Kiwis to last a lot more than a year! Therefore, we hope to make replacing the battery possible.

Fabrication

To start we began to figure out how to house it inside the Kiwi. You can scroll through the image gallery below to see how we went about it. Fun tip: If you need the exact dimensions of a small object, use your scanner, the image will give you exact dimensions to work with!

Setting up the cut file for a snug fit

Milling the pocket on the CNC. The pocket can be integrated into our existing manufacturing process.

Fits Like a glove! This Bluetooth device has a replaceable battery, so we cut an opening to make replacing the battery easy. We’ll plug this later.

Now, to laminate the halves, just like any other Kiwi.

Battery access is plugged with a piece of Walnut. The Kiwi feels exactly the same, the Walnut plug sands to a seamless finish

Perhaps the most distracting thing is the pinhole giving the user access to the button and enables the speaker in the Bluetooth to be audible.

The final test product

The original Prototype

The original prototype is clearly a bit rough around the edges.

Creating an accessible battery

Battery access is plugged with a piece of Walnut. The Kiwi feels exactly the same, the Walnut plug sands to a seamless finish

Perhaps the most distracting aspect to the design is the pinhole which gives the user access to the button and enables the speaker in the Bluetooth to be audible.

Smart Kiwi Capabilities

With a simple Bluetooth implementation, there are a variety of ways that your Kiwi will stay connected to you

Find your Kiwi when it’s lost:

FIND YOUR KIWI WHEN IT’S LOST

You can find many Bluetooth apps that make your Kiwi beep when you’re looking for it.

IF YOUR PHONE IS LOST YOUR KIWI CAN FIND IT

As long as Bluetooth is connected you can trigger the button in the Kiwi to get your phone alarm to go off.

SEE WHERE YOU LEFT IT

Whenever your Kiwi moves out of range, it will record your last location so you can go back and find it. It will even help you get an Uber if you need to! Once it’s back in range, use the built-in beeper to find it faster.

Picking the Perfect Material

We’ve always got plenty of different woods laying around the studio, each and every one as unique and special as the next. We decided that Wenge would be the perfect choice for this project. As the wood darkens as it ages, a subtle grain still apparent. The tendonous fibers make the finished surface almost porous, a subtle indication of its strength. We sought to create a Kiwi that offers a powerful resource with little distraction from the original design and Wenge was the perfect way to express it.

A special wood must apply

We decided to use Wenge, a beautiful, strong African Hardwood for the final material. It’s not a material we use often, though its dark grain and subtle detail seemed like the perfect way to express the ideas we had approached for this project.

Coming Together

Sand from 220 through 1000 grit, the handle is smooth to the touch, yet the thick grains of the Wenge are still present. FInishing it with a touch of mineral oil made the wood seem to glow while it dried.

The wood seemed to darken as it dried. the finished product is almost black, we couldn’t be happier!

Bluetooth is a simple, passive way to make your things work for you

Throughout our studies we’ve begun to truly understand the impact of Bluetooth within commonplace products. While the notion of a Smart Kiwi seemed a bit Kitschy at first, these studies have made us feel that such a simple implementation changes the way that we relate to our valuables.

The Smart Kiwi is a knife that can take care of itself. Even if it was lost yesterday, it can tell you where you left it. In a world where technology often seems to bring new burdens to our daily life, this project has shown us that simple, elegant tech can improve life without altering the traditional tools we rely upon everyday.