

Thalmic's (YC W13) MYO draws 10,000 preorders in 2 days - TonyReinhart
https://www.communitech.ca/thalmics-myo-draws-10000-pre-orders-in-first-2-days/

======
reso
Here's some amusing trivia: the source on this article, Communitech, rejected
Thalmic from their "Hyperdrive" accelerator program shortly before the company
was accepted by YC. Something about "we don't think people will like it".

Suffice is to say they've been kicking themselves ever since.

~~~
srlake
We did get rejected from Hyperdrive. It was pretty early on, however - last
Spring.

~~~
rocky1138
Aw! That sucks! Woulda been awesome to play with the MYO.

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mindstab
I want two of these and Google glass. Seems like a match made in heaven.

Should be able to get Silent Messaging going, straight out of Vernor Vinge's
"Rainbows End"

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End#Augmented_reality>

~~~
Cushman
Throw in this thing for good measure: <http://www.theaudeo.com/>

~~~
MichaelApproved
Wow. What a frustrating website to learn about a product. It took forever to
try and figure out what this does and how it works.

The homepage should have a description and a demonstration video.

Instead, it has a vague explanation and the only video that worked (the
YouTube videos were set to private) was a video presentation at a conference
which took forever to get to an actual demo.

For those that are wondering, apparently you can speak very silently (or not
at all) and the computer will pick up what you're trying to say and repeat it
louder in a synthesized voice. I think??

~~~
Cushman
Sorry about that :P If you're curious about the technology, it's called
subvocalization and they aren't the only people working on it:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition>

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redthrowaway
I'm not sure how I missed this earlier, but this is the first YC company in a
long time I'm _genuinely_ excited about. This is as close to telekinesis as
I'm likely to get, and I want it, dammit.

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grittathh
Does anyone know if the API can/will provide the raw EMG measurements? (I work
in a lab that does this kind of recording with wired electrodes. A robust
wireless interface that spits out the full bandwidth signal would be quite a
useful research tool).

Anyway, even if it doesn't, I think this will still be awesome.

~~~
srlake
We're evaluating this - haven't announced either way yet. There are a few
reason we wouldn't - namely power usage if we have to transmit that data over
BT.

~~~
Sephr
Will there be an optional wired connection or at least the ability to use MYO
while charging?

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hospadam
Genuine question - have preorders always been this popular? Or are they a
relatively new thing? It seems that Kickstarter has really changed people's
perceptions of purchasing a product. People seem much more willing to pre-buy
something like this.

Either way - this thing looks great. Can't wait to try it myself!

~~~
srlake
This is also a bit different from Kickstarter - we're not actually taking any
money up front. But it's a tool to show and estimate demand, and get potential
user feedback before a product is fully manufactured and ready to ship. This
way we'll be able to work with thousands of developers early on before the
units ship.

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mjmahone17
I wonder if it would work for amputees. I.e. do you need an actual hand in
order for the signals to be processed correctly, or would imagining your
hand's movements be enough?

~~~
troymc
"A myoelectric prosthesis uses electromyography signals or potentials from
voluntarily contracted muscles within a person's residual limb on the surface
of the skin to control the movements of the prosthesis..."

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosthesis#Myoelectric>

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pairing
Wow, looks like a great product. If it works as seamlessly as the concept
video suggests this could be a huge hit. I find this product more interesting
to me than Google glass. I'd consider preordering but there are too many
unknowns at this point and the website is kind of vague.

I wonder if the rumored apple "watch" is similar tech.

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pshin45
I've seen their [EDIT: concept] video (below) and it was wildly successful in
getting me excited about the product. The video combined with the tagline
"UNLEASH YOUR INNER JEDI" definitely gave me goosebumps.

<http://youtu.be/oWu9TFJjHaM>

 _The MYO, its name derived from the Greek myos, for muscle, instantly
measures electrical activity in muscles and connects wirelessly to computers,
smartphones and other electronics, enabling users to control these devices
with a simple wave of the hand._

Some of my engineer friends have serious doubts as to how well this technology
will actually work (haters gon' hate?) but nonetheless I will be rooting for
the guys at Thalmic. Good stuff.

~~~
Keyneston
Is this a demo video or is this a concept video? I can't find anything on the
site to say one way or the other.

~~~
toddrew
Appears to be a concept video to me.

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pkorzeniewski
I haven't heard about it before and oh boy I'm so excited now as I wasn't in a
long time about a piece of hardware. If it really will work as good as
advertised, and I think it's very possible it will, this will be huge.

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snowbrook
I don't see how it can distinguish between normal use of your hand/arm and a
control gesture. Perhaps in the midst of a video game, you are gesturing full-
time, but the other examples seem more dubious to me.

~~~
pm90
That's a good point. Maybe you would have to do a particular gesture to get it
"live"? But I'm just speculating here

~~~
vicbrooker
I remember reading that they've selected a gesture that isn't likely to happen
naturally to enable or disable the device.

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moultano
Have they given any indication of what stage in development they are in? Do we
know this thing works yet? I couldn't find any mention on their site.

~~~
andrewcross
I've tried it. It's really friggin cool. (My team's desks are right next to
their's)

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mrtron
You will be hiring 200 RIM engineers next year if there aren't delays and
problems.

~~~
srlake
With 200 RIM engineers we'll be sure to have delays and problems ;)

Joking, of course...

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goronbjorn
Are there any more specific release timelines outside of 'by the end of 2013'?

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jokermatt999
Their concept video was definitely interesting, but is there any video of an
actual demo? (Or, since the company seems to be answering questions here, is
one planned?)

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asafira
For the record, a friend of mine ordered one and was told he was roughly
number 9500. (Basically 10,000, but I thought I would put in my 2 cents)

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kriro
FAQ says MacOS and Windows are fully supported + iOS and Android API support.

What are the plans for Linux down the line?

~~~
DharHPK
They say "under consideration". Some of us are taking matters into our own
hands, as much as we can. #MyoForLinux on Twitter.

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uniclaude
That's great that they are a YC company. I hope they do something together
with boosted boards, that would be incredible.

~~~
klintcho
That would be amazing, even though the boosted boards remote seems kind of
awesome on it's own.

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dacilselig
Would anyone like to guess as to how long I would have to wait to receive one
if I were to pre-order it now?

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manhphamvan
[http://gascash.co/mercedes-benz-tells-the-history-of-
the-f1-...](http://gascash.co/mercedes-benz-tells-the-history-of-
the-f1-safety-car-video)

