Tiny1: The world's first astronomy camera made small, smart, and social.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Fri May 12 '17 Announcement
almost 9 years ago
– Fri, May 12, 2017 at 05:51:39 AM
Dear Backers,
Here’s the fortnightly update on the TINY1
Here’s a video we took over 2 days in Singapore. It’s taken with the actual TINY1 prototype. We are no longer using the development kit!
Using the TINY1 is so easy, it's allowing me to capture images that would've been next to impossible in the past. We can't wait to deliver it to you and see what you'll be creating!
Development
We’re doing the tuning of the GPS antenna with the laboratories in the National University of Singapore. We are expecting to resolve the issues before shipping commences.
Camera tuning will be done within the next 4 weeks. The current camera profile is the default profile that applies too much sharpening and a vignette. Those defects will be removed with tuning.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is on track with the same schedule as before. We’ll update if anything changes!
Solar Eclipse Announcement!
Many backers are very excited about the Great American Solar Eclipse. We’re glad to announce that we’ll introduce a new backer reward - Solar Imaging Filter!
Solar filter prototype with actual filter glass
The filter is made of glass that filters the Sun’s rays. It will allow you to point the TINY1 camera with the 100mm lens at the Sun, protecting it from damage from the intense rays.
Here's a quick snap we took with it
The sun has been quite free of sun spots recently.
We’ll be releasing the reward next week. Keep an eye out for it!
Best regards,
Grey
Fri Apr 28 '17 Announcement
almost 9 years ago
– Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 05:03:00 AM
Dear Backers,
Here’s the fortnightly update.
Before we start, we’d like to let everyone know that TinyMOS just turned 3 years old on 26th April! It’s been 3 years since a trio of young guys fresh out of university started a concept and now it is becoming a reality.
These 3 years mark several important individual milestones as well.
Ashprit became a Permanent Resident of Singapore. I’m getting married at the end of this year. Lih Wei has delayed his studies for so long that he still hasn’t graduated from university. Amidst the flurry of activities, it's time to take a step back and get some perspective of why we exist.
TinyMOS was started to bring astronomy imaging to everyone.
We strive to make astronomy imaging small, smart and simple. It is about building devices and systems to make astronomy fun again. In our urban landscape it’s hard to stay connected to the universe when the city light washes out the star light. Astronomy enthusiasts are a rare species these days, which is why making astronomy fun is so important to us. It is for us to rebuild a community that looks at the night sky and wonder where we’re from and who we are in the grand scheme of things.
As of today we have 998 TINY1 cameras pre-ordered. That’s 998 of you we wish to bring an enjoyable astronomy experience to. The work does not stop here. We want to build more community in the long run and let more people experience the night skies. We’re very proud and thankful for your support.
Delivery Plan
Here’s the latest delivery plan from our manufacturer, after consulting all our sub-contractors.
We believe that this plan is on the slow side, we’re expecting to push the plan as follows:
We’re getting a fair amount of emails from backers who have upcoming trips. We know that these trips are important to you and that makes it important to us.
If you have an important trip that is coming up, please email us and we will try our best to put a camera in your hand.
Sincerely, Grey
Sun Apr 16 '17 Announcement
almost 9 years ago
– Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 12:15:47 AM
Dear Backers,
Here’s the fortnightly update on the TINY1
Here’s what everyone has been waiting for - Electronics manufacturing has started!
Development
Schematic review is a go. Most of the major issues were resolved. Only GPS performance is unknown at the moment. We need the new boards to come in to determine the performance of the GPS system.
In the previous iteration, the aluminium case and proximity of the PCB to the antenna appears to cause de-tuning of the GPS antenna.
This is the previous PCB design with the intended antenna clearance indicated in red
Here is the board after the clearance have been added and parts have been shifted and rerouted. You can also see some other changes for GPS and power improvements between the two versions.
With a new matching circuit and PCB clearance, we hope to overcome the issue.
Manufacturing
We have started the electronics manufacturing last week. Due to the number of manufacturing sub-contractors involved, we will have a clearer timeline in the next update. We are manufacturing for the super-early backers in the first batch.
Delivery timeline
We are currently looking at the following timeline
Logistics and ship - 2 weeks (upcoming 10/5/2017 - 24/5/2017)
We are truly sorry for the 4 weeks delay. We got the latest update from the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) supplier. They are facing capacity ramp up for the June holidays which extended our timelines. As a small start-up we are unable to affect the schedule much in our favour.
I understand that many of you have been patiently waiting for the delivery and we are very thankful for that.
Some of you might be planning for exploration trips and the delay could have been a missed opportunity for you to capture the skies - we sincerely apologise for these missed opportunities and hope that there will be more opportunities for our camera to accompany you on your great explorations
Thank you for your support, we hope for your understanding as we share with you our start-up journey in a transparent manner.
Best regards,
Grey
Fri Mar 31 '17 Announcement
about 9 years ago
– Fri, Mar 31, 2017 at 07:02:52 PM
Dear Backers,
Here’s the fortnightly update on the Tiny1
We just arrived back in Singapore yesterday morning, following a 1.5 week trip to Qualcomm and our manufacturer’s office to tie down the manufacturing. The trip went well and we made a few strides in R&D and manufacturing.
A couple of weeks back we met up with Victoria from Mashable to share our progress. You can read about her hands on review over here! http://on.mash.to/2oFWcol
Here’s the update:
Development
We have fixed the line noise issue in design. You can see from the image the results after the fix.
Left camera is before. If you look at the dark areas under the keyboard, you will notice line patterns on the image. The line noise is gone on the right camera.
That is a great step forward in R&D to ensuring a quality product reaches your hands.
The board has to undergo a schematic review to ensure that the production boards can be assembled without issues. This will take sometime out of the buffer we have put into the R&D and rework schedule.
Manufacturing
22/50 units made for testing.
We sourced for a much better manufacturer in this trip. They have a 3 year track record of manufacturer the complex Qualcomm enabled devices and can answer our queries very well.
They have an electronic storage record system to prevent part swapping. We checked the part sourcing records to ensure parts come from legitimate sources.
There is 3 steps quality assurance checks to ensure the reliability of our boards. Including:
Optical machine assembly checks for correct component placement
2.5D X-ray soldering joint checks
Software functionality checks
Here's an image of TINY1 fresh off assembly, captured by another TINY1. 7 out of 7 sample boards worked on the first pass.
We expect a smooth transition with them to make up for lost time and much better quality products.
Delivery timeline
We are currently looking at the following timeline
Logistics and ship - 2 weeks (upcoming 21/4/2017 - 3/5/2017)
The schematic review will eat into the 1st week of manufacturing. We are pushing for faster manufacturing options to stay to the delivery timelines.
We hoped for better timelines but controlling the quality before manufacture will save time, cost and gives you a better experience down the line. We will update if there are any changes.
Best regards,
Grey
Fri Mar 17 '17 Announcement
about 9 years ago
– Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 10:08:44 AM
Dear Backers,
Here’s the fortnightly update on the TINY1
We are very excited with the developments this update, we’ve met another key deliverable in the timeline laid out.
There is no new video this week as we’ve been jam packed with meetings and coordinating the manufacturing partners. We are travelling to our manufacturing plant next week to initiate the electronics manufacturing.
We found this wonderful write-up by one of the backers who visited us in San Francisco in January, John Foster. Definitely worth the 1-2 minute read - https://johnpla.net/meet-the-tiny-1/
Development
The two weeks revision time on the board went extremely well. The ESD issue has been resolved. The sensor noise issue does not require a redesign, only a change of some capacitor parts. The board will be qualified for manufacture next week when we review our initial batch.
Lihwei will also be meeting the Qualcomm team to resolve all outstanding software development requirements. Such as audio input and output quality and image buffering for high speed capture. These are relatively minor issues that will be resolved in this trip, or via a software update down the line.
Manufacturing
We will be doing a site visit to the manufacturing and assembly house next week. Key goals is to approve the design for mass production. We will inspect the site and run through manufacturing questionnaires and checklist with the different parties. For example:
How does the manufacturer ensure good components in the manufacturing line?
How does the manufacturer ensure the printed circuit boards meet impedance standards?
Which are the gating steps where we are doing quality assurance checks?
What quality assurance checks are we doing?
The steps are extremely crucial to delivering a great product and will prevent severe delays that can result from systemic errors in the manufacturing process.
Delivery timeline
We are currently looking at the following timeline
