When Joacim tried to track his use of nicotine using his smartphone he found frustration. Every time he wanted to take a data point the phone needed to be taken out of a pocket, then unlocked, then the app needed to open and consumption could be registered. This felt like an overcomplicated process to him, and he began to look for an easier way to automate a series of routine tasks. Joacim took his team of engineers and designers from Shortcut Labs and tried to create a smart device that could perform a series of tasks with one button push. After releasing the Flick in 2014 the group is back with a crowdfunding campaign to launch the new generation of their product, the Flic 2.
Flic 2 works through the Flic App and can communicate with IFTTT, Zapier, Microsoft Flow, Sonos, Uber, Slack, and more. This new iteration of button has faster setup and now has a suction adhesive on the back for sticking to most surfaces - one great part of the campaign page is seeing a user throw the button up in the air to adhere to a ceiling. Stickers can also be placed on the surface to show that a certain button is meant for ordering pizza, starting your morning routine, or sending your location to a friend. A three color LED is added for visual feedback, and can show green for a successful action or yellow to show that the action is in process and red to signify an error. The software development kit does not require licensing or an internet connection to program, and everything is backward compatible with the previous Flic buttons.
Flic 2 doesn't necessarily have revolutionary new electronics or material capabilities, but it's an incredible engineering tool that users are already implementing to perform tasks. The campaign page is full of examples of people automating their routines, and ideas for end users to create new routines. A list of corporate partners from fishing products to software developers to pizza makers show the versatility of this tool and it's great to think there's a new iteration here for us to use. The campaign is already successful and ends on June 20, 2019.