RHL Vision Technologies, a startup which developed the gesture-based wearable device called Fin, has raised over $200,000 on the crowd-funding platform Indiegogo. Fin, is a tiny hardware product that can be worn on your thumb as a ring, which converts your whole palm into a gesture interface.
Fin is a Bluetooth enabled device. It has sensors that can uniquely recognize each segment (phalange) of the fingers and can be linked to other devices like your smartphone, TV as well as another wearable devices. Users can assign different functions to each finger segment and can perform multiple functions by just making their thumb, touch the relevant segment.
The device was developed by Rohildev N, a 23 year old engineering graduate who established RHL Vision Technologies 8 months back. The company originally targeted to raise $100,000 and reached that target in mid-February. Later the company revised its target twice – first to $150,000 and then to $250,000. Now, the product has managed to raise about $200,000 from some 1,600 people around the world who have pre-ordered the device.
“There’s no effort, no stress. Unlike other touch-less technologies, you don’t have to raise your hand, wave your arms, nothing that tires you,” says Rohildev.
Fin will be priced at $120 each, but the cost could come down with mass manufacturing. “The Indiegogo campaign helped us identify some good manufacturers and distributors too. Many want to fund us now. We expect to finalize a $1 million funding in another month,” Rohildev says. The raised money will be used to complete the product development and also for marketing. The first shipments are expected in September 2014.
This is the second Indian hardware/software startup that has raised money on the crowd-funding platform in recent times. Last year Gecko, the coin-sized electronic device, developed and marketed by a Bangalore startup, raised funds worth $135,485 on Indiegogo. As many as 3,731 people around the world ordered the device.
Source: TOI