The following is a summary of the Emotion Mood Sharing Ring crowd funding campaign. You can access the official Indiegogo campaign here.

Silver Mood Sharing Ring

What is old is new again: though this time with an innovative twist! Our Emotion Mood Sharing Jewelry™ project starts with something old and adds a large dose of today’s technology to make something that is altogether novel. Emotion Mood Sharing Jewelry combines the iconic, 1970’s mood ring with today's wireless, sensor and mobile apps technologies to define an entirely new wearable market segment. Our Mood Sharing Rings connect to smart phones and other similar devices to power an emerging category of software called emotive apps. Emotive apps better understand our needs and by doing so may make smart devices exponentially more useful to us. Example emotive apps include video games, which adjust in difficulty based on the emotional state of a player, and music players which change their playlist order based on a wearer’s current mood. 

Our story begins in the 1970s--a uniquely disruptive decade which was punctuated by war, civil unrest, a longing for peace and immense social change. Beyond space travel, the 1970s gave birth to a number of other noteworthy technological advancements which still reverberate today. The ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, was expanded to allow host computers on the west coast for the first time to communicate with peer computers all the way on the east coast of the United States. The liquid crystal display (LCD) was invented and quickly became a corner stone for visual communication; a position that it continues to hold. Moreover, the LCD made it possible to produce the first mood ring. More than a fad, the mood ring remains a long lasting pop culture phenomenon.

Inspired by our vision of the Emotive Internet, wherein biosensors and software algorithms combine to enable the real-time detection, recognition and sharing of human emotion, Emotion Mood Sharing Jewelry develops, brands and sells high-end, luxury jewelry which is powered by Mood Sensing Sharing Device (MSSD) technology. MSSD technology was invented by project team member Tony Clark and is formally described in US Patent No. 9,064,390, June 23, 2015, titled "System and Method for a Novelty Mood Sensing Sharing Device.” 

Mood Sensing Sharing Device and System Patent

We passionately blend high tech metals, crystals, silicon and software to create truly stunning, statement-worthy pieces.

Aquairius Mood Sharing Rings Preview Video

Each piece of mood sharing jewelry contains an MSSD, comprising a mood stone and an electronics subsystem (ES)—consisting of one or more biosensors, a microprocessor, memory and wireless connectivity. The MSSD is expected to be placed in the setting of all types of jewelry, including rings, bracelets, earrings, pendants, et cetera. Our first proof-of-concept prototype, produced in late 2015, is a sparkling mood sensing sharing bracelet. See Image Set (1) below. The bracelet was our first form factor for two primary and related reasons: development cost and the size of the electronics. 

Regarding development cost, we may have big dreams, but we are a small company. Our size comes with advantages and disadvantages. Small size means that we can be more decisive, nibble and quick. Conversely, being small also burdens us with the reality of having limited discretionary financial resources. Thus, we are forced to work smarter and are constantly looking for ways to do more with less. Because of this, the pursuit of fully custom digital hardware, to implement the ES portion of the MSSD, was a non-starter. Going down that path would have easily set us back by several million dollars. 

Luckily, we found an “off-the-shelf” electronics development kit that we hoped we could shoe horn into a first design. The catch was that we had to design an attractive piece of jewelry around the physical size of the part. The roughly 42mm x 32mm x 7mm footprint of the development board severely limited the type of jewelry we could pursue. This practically meant that anything smaller than a cuff bracelet form factor was out of the question. Logic dictated it, so we decided to go down the bracelet path. The mood sharing bracelet prototype that is shown in Image Set (1) is an outcome of that decision. We configured and programmed the aforementioned development kit to implement ES version 1 (v1) for the bracelet’s MSSD. Mood Sharing Rings, the next part of our story, would have to wait until the next version of the ES. 

Our mood sharing bracelet prototype is fully functioning implementation. It pairs with an Apple iPhone smart phone running iOS 6.x. A simple test application mirrors the mood color currently being displayed on the mood sharing bracelet on the screen of the paired phone. Our proprietary backend service coordinates the interaction between the mood sharing bracelet and the smart phone regarding the test app. See Image Set (1) and Image Set (2).

Though we came up with what we believe is a stunning mood sharing bracelet design, our own primary market research told us that what customers really want is the ring form factor. So, we went back to work and spent the past 18 months developing and prototyping the first set of mood sharing ring designs that are featured in our crowd funding campaign. Our primary design goal was to reduce the size of ES v1 to fit inside the cavity of a ring (chassis). This meant reducing the size of ES v1 by slightly more than 80%. See Image Set (3).  

We settled on a semi-custom design for ES v2, which strips away all non-essential functionality from ES v1, while creatively laying out the retained functionality, including the processor, memory and driver software, to meet the smaller space requirements of a ring. The benefit of this approach is that it allows us to extensively reuse the ES v1 software in the ES v2 implementation. We also researched, tested and selected a new battery to help reduce the size of the ES. And, finally, we designed a new wireless charger to charge the mood sharing ring’s selected battery.  

All of the Mood Sharing Rings featured in this campaign are designed around the ES v2. The first mechanically complete mood sharing ring prototype, which accommodates the ES v2, was produced during the second quarter of this year. See Image Set (4) below. The mood sharing ring prototype validates important design decisions, including the mass, weight, size and strength of the ring chassis. After the ES v2 is manufactured, it will be integrated into the alpha test and beta test mood sharing ring prototypes. 

Beta test units of the mood sharing rings are being included in the three Beta Test Experience campaign rewards. Participation in the Beta Test is a unique, exclusive ground-floor experience. Those deciding to contribute to our campaign at one of the Beta Test Experience reward levels will be among the very first to get their hands on a mood sharing ring. The Beta Test is a critical project milestone that precedes retail production. Beta Test participants will aid us in identifying and prioritizing bugs, which need to be fixed prior to the first retail shipment. Participants will also play an important role in helping us to advance the Emotive Internet vision and will influence the future direction of Emotion Mood Sharing Jewelry’s products, especially regarding which emotive apps we should pursue first. Finally, each Beta Test participant will get to keep their test ring. 

Platinum Mood Sharing Ring

Funds Request and Schedule 

We are seeking to raise 247,744 US dollars in this campaign to accelerate the retail sale of the Aquairius™ Mood Sharing Rings. The majority of the requested funding will be used to purchase beta units for the critical Beta Test milestone and nearly 70% of the requested amount will be used to cover crowd funding campaign expenses, including platform fees and perks expenses.  

Expenses Breakdown

• The purchase of upfront bulk components, test equipment, tools, molds and other manufacturing equipment;
• The purchase of Alpha Test units (both rev A0 and rev A1);
• The purchase of Beta Test units;
• The purchase of non Beta Test Experience campaign rewards;
• ES v2 layout, build and software integration;
• App development;
• The payment of crowd funding campaign expenses; and
• The payment of Team Social and Scavenger Hunt campaign perks expenses.

In addition to the mood sharing ring prototype—see Image Set (1)—as far as critical milestones are concerned we have completed the design phase and the formal Request for Quotes (RFQ) process for the project. The received bids have allowed us to identify who our key materials and manufacturing suppliers will be and have allowed us to more accurately estimate the remaining financial requirements for the mood sharing ring project. Assuming a successful campaign, supplier agreements are expected to be finalized during the first half of November of this year. This will be followed by Alpha Test prototypes manufacturing, with units expected in the early December time frame. Following the completion of Alpha Testing and a small number of anticipated revisions, Beta Test units are expected to be distributed beginning in April/May 2018. Finally, after an extensive round of beta testing, which is expected to last up to six months, retail production of the mood sharing ring would begin in late forth quarter 2018, in time for next year’s holiday season.

Team Members

As one can imagine, a project of this scope requires a core team with a broad range of expertise. The Emotion Mood Sharing Jewelry team members for the mood sharing ring project are Tony Clark, John Jurgensmeier, Brian Powell and Vasken Tanielian. Collectively, Tony, John and Brian have more than 100 years of experience regarding the delivery of high tech products and services.  And, Vasken has four decades of jewelry design experience.

Emotion Mood Sharing Ring Team Members

Tony is the founder of and project leader for the mood sharing ring. He has his fingers in most aspects of the project, including defining the overall system level architecture and protocols; project management; product management; product marketing; social media marketing; development of the proof-of-concept prototypes; and device, backend and app software development. Tony is the inventor of the MSSD technology: the technology underlying the mood sharing ring. He is a 24 year veteran of Silicon Valley and has more than 30 years of high tech and hands-on operational experience. Tony is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of 2-Dooz Inc. Tony received his BS Engineering and Masters of Engineering degrees from the school of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Cornell University. 

John is the hardware designer for the electronics subsystem (ES) version 2 (ES v2). He has more than four decades of experience designing and developing electronics, especially regarding communications networking and high end computing systems. John’s ES v2 design is essentially a tiny computer, which comprises a processor, memory, sensor, wireless charging and wireless communications technology. The ES v2 is the successor to ES v1—the version of the electronics subsystem used for the prototype mood sharing bracelet. John’s design allows the ES v2 to fit inside the mood sharing ring’s chassis. This required reducing the volume of the original ES by 80%. 

Brian is responsible for coordinating and managing the supply chain regarding the manufacture of our lineup of Emotion Mood Sharing Jewelry rings. Brian also owns the fulfillment processes for all Mood Sharing Rings including receiving and performing quality inspections for finished goods; retail packaging; shipping of jewelry; and authorizing and handling returns. Brian also designed the mechanical enclosure which houses the mood sharing ring’s charger. Brian is academically trained as a mechanical engineer; having received his Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering degree from Cornell University. Brian has nearly 30 years of experience as a reliability engineer, study leader and project engineer regarding large scale manufacturing. 

Vasken is the lead designer, responsible for all of the aesthetic aspects, in other words, the physical look and feel of our Mood Sharing Rings lineup. Vasken began designing jewelry, after dropping out of architecture school, under the tutelage of master goldsmiths and designers Edward and Arnock Sutrukian, in the late 1970s in Paris, France. Vasken has worked all over the world, including in Paris, Los Angeles and San Francisco. His many projects and years of experience have allowed him to perfect his design and mold making skills. In spite of a super busy schedule, Vasken also manages to find time to teach and mentor future jewelry designers.

White Gold Mood Sharing Ring

Emotions make us human. They are essential to how we connect. This simple truth drives our vision of the next stage of the Internet, an Emotive Internet, which is less about things and, instead, is about expressing how we feel. We envision an emotionally intelligent network where biosensors and software algorithms combine to enable the real-time detection, recognition and sharing of human emotions. Our mission is to accelerate the realization of the Emotive Internet. Mood Sharing Rings are an important step in accomplishing this mission. We can’t do this alone though. We need your help to make it happen. Share Your Mood.  

Campaign Awards

Risks and Challenges

While we do not expect any undue delays, we have taken a number of steps, reflected in the design of the mood sharing ring, which are intended to lower the overall risk regarding the delivery of the campaign rewards.   These steps include substantially reusing the first electronic subsystem (ES v1) for its successor the ES v2 successor.  To reduce development and schedule risks, the ES v2 uses the same processor, input-output system, memory architecture, embedded system driver code, and sensors as used for the ES v1.   Additionally, the ES v2 uses a radio design that has already received agency certification, e.g., FCC.  Still, in spite of our careful planning, there are some new risks, including some unique risks that are inherent in our project.  

From an electronics hardware perspective, we are pushing the miniaturization envelope from a packaging perspective.   For example our ES v2 design extensively maintains minimum component placement distances.  We have cleared layout, but until a manufactured board is received and tested, we are at risk of having to relax these constraints for possible future iterations of the part.  As such, it is possible that we may be forced to materially increase the size of the ES, which in turn would lead to a larger ring chassis size with possible noticeable aesthetic differences.   

Regarding the application software for the ES processor, there are some minor configuration changes, specific to the mood sharing ring, which have been defined and implemented, but testing on an actual ES v2 is awaiting the manufacture of the ES v2.   

Also, though defined and put through a request for quote (RFQ) process, the Mood Tracker App, which is expected to be included in the Beta Test, has not as yet been coded.  There is, however, a fallback plan in the case that the Mood Tracker App is delayed:  namely, we would simply update our internally developed mirroring test app, which was used for the Mood Sharing Bracelet prototype, for use with the mood sharing ring at the beginning of the Beta Test.   In such as case, the Mood Tracker App would be made available to Beta Testers after the code is available.

We have carefully defined a new, multi-discipline supply chain for the manufacture of the mood sharing ring.  Input from a diverse set of potential suppliers, including from jewelry manufacturers and from printed circuit board manufacturers, was collected during a request for information (RFI) process and a RFQ process.  The received information was iteratively factored into our chosen supply chain and flow.   By explicitly specifying a series of well defined handoffs between respective suppliers, no supplier is being asked to take on work, or processes that are unfamiliar to them.  

Still, as we are dealing with a product that will be handled by several distinct suppliers before it is completed, it is possible that one or more suppliers in the chain may experience some unexpected startup or operational delays.  Possible supply chain delays could in turn result in a delay to the start of the Beta Test.   From a mitigation perspective, our plan, as has been the case from the beginning, is to closely work with our supplier partners to quickly resolve any issues that might be encountered during the manufacture of the Beta Test prototypes.