Bruno, Hugo and Theo Lussato launched a Bluetooth tracking device in France and learned lessons about design and manufacturing. They also learned that customers responded very well to the idea of ergonomic product use and luxury. The team partnered with designer Philippe Starck to redefine their Wistiki product and are running an indiegogo campaign to fund their launch of the Found YOU! collection.
The overarcing goal of Wistiki is “the end of lost” and that fits with several products on the market today. The team is hoping that the full range of devices, the enhanced look of luxury in the design, and the charity donations (25% of net profit this year goes to help those who have lost parents or homes) will differentiate from the large group of Bluetooth trackers already on the market.
Four different devices are being created for this campaign. voila! is a slim rectangle and attaches to your keys. hopla! has a slim card shape and is designed to go in your wallet. aha! looks like a medallion and has a strong plastic casing, designed to go around your pet’s collar. ta-da! is a brightly colored triangular toy that can be given to a child.
The app itself for Wistiki has several features. A leash feature tells you if the Wistiki is getting closer to or farther away from your phone. Your phone can make the device ring, or if you lose your phone the device can make your phone ring. A gps locator can show the location of your objects at any time and you can allow others to view the object’s position as well.
When meeting with Philippe Starck the designer only wanted high quality materials in his products. The team had to find a way to used brushed metal housings, gold antennas and transparent plastic in the design to hold a high design value but also properly transmit the Bluetooth signals. The 90 decibel ring was also a major design hurdle, as the hopla! device is only 3 millimeters thick but the design requirement was to hear the ringtone from 100 meters. The team is also working to incorporate LoRa and Sigfox into their next generation of products.
The housings for each of the products is designed to be waterproof and resist loads up to 50 kilograms. The app works with both iOS and Android, and a Panasonic CR2032 flat battery is used in each product. It’s great to see a company use elegant design to differentiate their ideas from a crowded marketplace.