Team Ampere
CREATOR
18 days ago
Project Update: Production update, color survey results, and more!
Heya Sport (said in the tone of a little league coach)!
We’re popping into your inbox with a quick product update (and a few other announcements).
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
- Production Update
- Survey Results
- Manufacturing Timeline
- Investing in Ampere
Production Update
We continue to make solid progress on Dusk Sport. It’s been exciting to see all the features taking their final form as we make the shift from prototyping to mass production. Here are a few highlights from the product development-side since our last update:
- We’ve shortened the length of the “speaker section” of the arms. Our early beta-testers have said that this design change makes them feel more comfortable and secure. We’re finalizing the materials and texture for the ear tips. We are working with different rubber-like materials that are comfortable, grippy and durable.
- We’ve finalized our audio solution. After a lot of experimentation, we’ve made a small design change where we extended the sound chamber outside the housing. By covering the speaker section, we were able to really improve the directionality of the audio (louder for the wearer, quieter for everyone else). This is even more noticeable when you are moving fast (like cycling). Here’s a rendering of what that looks like.
Updated speaker on the arm Looking good!
- We now have a functional EQ section of the Ampere App. This allows you to customize the sound levels based on what you're listening to (or just because you want to pump up the bass).
Screenshots from the new app
- We’ve finalized our solution for the ambient light sensor. The sensitivity can be controlled within the Ampere App. But, here it is at the current default setting:
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Survey Results
Thanks to everyone who took the time to fill out our survey. We got some great feedback from you all.
Our most popular lens color was…Smoke!
No big surprise there but we were happy to see that at lot of you also liked our Fire and Reef lenses. So, we’ll be moving full speed ahead with all of those lens colors. As for the open-ended lens question, the most popular write-in response was for a blue option.
Our most popular frame color was….Stealth!
Many of you noted that you wanted Stealth to be more matte black. So, we are adjusting our CMF to make Stealth more… well… stealthy. We have our next round of prototypes underway and will be able to share photos of the next round soon.
Please feel free to write us with any questions or requests if you feel inspired — [email protected].
Manufacturing Timeline
The timelines for first manufacturing runs are tough to predict but, right now, we don’t foresee any major issues that would substantially change the schedule outlined below.
- End of May - Confirm frame housing structure and finish.
- Mid-June - Sample with all audio and basic tint functionality (using our same low voltage solution as current Dusk)
- End of June - Prototypes with all audio and full tint functionality (with our new high voltage solution that has a wider tint range) -
- July + August - Open tooling and prepare for production.
- Early September - Pilot run
- Late September - Mass production and shipping
We’ll keep you updated on our progress along the way—exciting times ahead!
Speaking of exciting…
Investing in Ampere
Ampere was born on crowdfunding, it’s part of our DNA. Through it, we’ve been able to innovate, take risks, and bring a lot of fun, functional tech to life. Now, for the first time ever, instead of owning an Ampere product, you can own a piece of Ampere itself.
We opened the Focus Raise on April 18 and immediately oversubscribed the round. In order to accommodate the large number of oversubscriptions we received and make room for members of the Ampere community who missed out, we have decided to increase the funding cap. However, space is limited so, if you are interested, we encourage you to move fast.
To make an investment, or simply to learn more about The Focus Raise, go to invest.ampere.shop.
The future is bright for Ampere — so make sure you wear your sunglasses.
That’s it for today! Thanks again for your support. We’ll be back with another update soon.
Chase, Reid and The Ampere Team
Team Ampere
CREATOR
4 months ago
Project Update: The surveys are coming! Details inside.
Hello fellow adventurers,
The Dusk Sport campaign on BackerKit has come to an end but our journey is just beginning. To everyone who backed Dusk Sport, thank you so much! We could not be more excited to expand our line of electrochromic smart sunglasses with Dusk Sport.
The Dusk Sport campaign on BackerKit has come to an end but our journey is just beginning. To everyone who backed Dusk Sport, thank you so much! We could not be more excited to expand our line of electrochromic smart sunglasses with Dusk Sport.
Since launching Dusk in 2021, we have received a ton of feedback about all the features and functions that you all wanted to see in the next Dusk frame—Dusk Sport is the result. As outdoor enthusiasts ourselves, we are amped with how Dusk Sport turned out. This version of Dusk is truly fun, functional tech, so it's near and dear to our hearts.
While the campaign is over, we have a busy few months ahead as we open molds, prepare for mass production, and get Dusk Sport out the door.