====Long version:

The goods news

1. The Batmobile's molds for injection molding are at 50% completion. The supplier is having some difficulties due to peak season, but we will start receiving the first batches of injection-molded plastic casings in the next week or so.

2. We have received most of the critical semiconductors, such as the microcontrollers

3. All of the critical components have been ordered

4. We received the entire quantity of li-po batteries for the Batmobile and the controller last week - this one was critical due to the Lithium shortage

5. All of the LCD displays for the controllers have arrived at our HQ

6. The controller’s casings are at 80% completion - we’re manufacturing this in-house on our laser cutter

7. We’ve designed the test jigs for the circuit boards.
The test jigs are used for loading firmware and testing the boards once they’re finished with production.

This is what they usually look like:

We’re going to have two jigs - one for the car’s board, the other one for the controller’s board:

8. We’ve started manufacturing and assembling the boards for the car’s taillights - these circuit boards have five red LEDs on the back that create the “fire” effect on the exhausts.

9. We’ll soon receive all of the circuit boards needed to start with the assembly. We can assemble the boards fairly quickly - in 7 - 10 days after we receive them.

The bad news

1. We see the logistics and shipping chains worldwide worsening every week.
This is partially caused by the peak season (Black Friday, Christmas) and partially because of the ongoing logistic crisis building up (covid, political tensions, the war).

This is going to get better, especially after Christmas.

But promising a pre-Christmas delivery date to all of our backers right now is impossible.

2. There is one crucial component that we’re still waiting for - the electromotors.

Four motors go into your Batmobile, and we’ve been having a hard time sourcing them.
The suppliers have been citing supply chain issues and the lack of raw materials (steel) for their inability to supply them.
The problem was that no supplier in the world had the whole amount of motors we needed (we’re ordering 14000 motors), and they were giving us lead times of around 40 - 60 days.

We’ve found a reliable supplier and negotiated a 35-day lead time.
This interfered with our plans and is preventing us from shipping the product.

3. We’ve been having trouble with Warner approving the Batmobile’s packaging.

What puzzles me is that getting the approval for the product itself was a straightforward process, but the packaging was a process that took us two months to get approved.

Warner is just doing their best to protect its intellectual property, we understand that, and they’re one of our most valued partners.

But I wish we could’ve gotten the packaging approved earlier.

Apparently, they’re seeing an increased demand for product approvals, and they had internal delays.

The good news is that we have gotten the approval for the packaging today, and we’ve already sent it to the print shop.

We’re almost there, thank you for sticking with us

I understand your disappointment with the news, and I am not happy with the situation.

But simply being unhappy is not going to deliver your Batmobiles.
Therefore, we’ll continue giving our maximum to deliver a truly fantastic product as soon as possible.

Providing hard delivery dates for a product that is being manufactured is a very tough job right now.

The plan remains the same - we’ll start shipping the Batmobile as soon as possible, most likely in December.

We’ll choose the best shipping option to deliver this to your location as quickly as possible.

But, unfortunately, we cannot guarantee Christmas delivery to every one of you.

Thank you for understanding our position, and I’m looking forward to seeing Batmobiles finally delivered to all of you loyal supporters.

This product would not be possible without your support and patience.

I’ll keep writing weekly updates on our progress.

Thanks

We made significant progress in the last week.

First of all, we received final approval for the molds and designs of the Batmobile and Batcontroller, which are currently being manufactured.

Here are a few photos of what the final geometry is going to look like (the paint job is not final).

                                                        Batcontroller silicone controller case

The other thing we are working on is laser-cutting Batmobile’s and Batcontroller’s casings.

And, last but not least - Batmobile’s booklet!

Each kit will include a booklet that will tell you more about Batmobile, its development, features, and CircuitMess.

We completed it and received final approval from Warner, and it’s currently being printed.

Here is a sneak-peak of what it will look like:

We are getting back to laser-cutting and Batmobile production.

Stay tuned for more updates,
 Albert and the CM team

For the past two months, the entire team has been very busy working on the Batmobile,

The ongoing worldwide logistics and semiconductor crisis remains our main fun-generators.

We had to perform some product changes and tweaks; thus, here’s a detailed update on what’s happening.

Batmobile’s controller changes (stronger CPU for the same price)

The initial BatController design ran on an ESP8266 module (single-core CPU with WiFi).

We had to replace it with a stronger CPU - the ESP32.

Unfortunately, during the development of the final firmware version, we concluded that we couldn’t cram all of the software caboodles while still maintaining satisfactory performance.

The initial prototype on Kickstarter didn’t have all of the controller’s software features we had planned, and it was running fine.

Initially, the plan was to include extra software features by doing software optimizations.

It turns out things are not working out the way we planned, and, unfortunately, the device was operating with too much lag after all of the added changes and optimizations.

Therefore, we’ve concluded that the only proper way forward is to swap the ESP8266 for a stronger CPU - a dual-core ESP32.

We’ve already gotten the controller's new version, and the performance is superb.

What’s not superb is that this will raise the overall cost of goods for the device by 7%, but we’ll cover that since making a good product is our #1 priority.

Just a short comparison - ESP8266 vs. ESP32:

• ESP32: a dual-core processor that runs at 160MHz to 240MHz, whereas the ESP8266 is a single-core processor that runs at 80MHz.
• The ESP32 includes an extra CPU core, faster Wi-Fi, more GPIOs, and supports Bluetooth 4.2 and Bluetooth low energy

Inventor’s Pack modules

Another change we had to make was to replace the magnetic connectors on the Inventor’s pack modules with nonmagnetic ones.

Unfortunately, due to the component shortage, our supplier gave us a three months+ lead time for the magnetic connectors, which would result in an unacceptable production delay.

We had to make the difficult decision of replacing the connectors with a different non-magnetic model.

However, this change will not affect the module's functionality and will provide you with a fun and exciting learning experience.

This is what the new modules look like:

Overall progress so far

I’m happy to announce that we’ve gotten the final approval for Batmobile’s packaging from Warner.

The boxes are currently being manufactured and we’ll receive them on October 17th.

We’ve settled for a slightly more futuristic box design compared to the initial one shown in the Kickstarter campaign:

Other notable milestones include:

• We’ve ordered 60% of the electronic and mechanical components needed to build the Batmobile, and we’ll receive them by mid-October. The rest of of the components will be ordered by October 12th, and we’re planning to have everything in our warehouse by the end of October
• We’ve managed to source all of the Li-Po batteries for the Batmobile and the controller, which proved to be a tricky task due to the shortages
  
• We’ve received all of the Bat-merch, such as t-shirts, keychains, etc.:

What happens next

We have to finalize the following tasks before shipping the product to your addresses:

• Order the final PCBs (planned for October 15th)
• Finalize and polish the firmware (planned for late November)
• Print out all of the boxes and purchase the rest of the electronic components (by October 15th)
• Assemble and test the circuit boards and have them delivered to you before Christmas.

The Batmobile’s final casing had to be slightly changed due to a few final requests from Warner:

Covid lockdowns in China and supply chain issues

These are the two main issues we’re facing now that have been messing with our plans for the past year.

The current economic and logistical situation has not made things easy for us. Constant shipping delays and lockdowns in China have made our development process longer and more challenging than anticipated.

New estimated shipping date - end of November / beginning of December

Unfortunately, the shipping date was pushed to the end of November and the beginning of December for all orders.

I understand the situation isn’t ideal with constant delivery pushbacks.

Rest assured that we’re doing everything we can to deliver a truly fantastic product.

I am also aware a lot of you are counting on this as a Christmas gift, and I will do everything in my power to get your Batmobiles delivered to you before Christmas.

======

We expect to have all the components needed to begin production of the Batmobile by the end of the month, giving us enough time to start shipping the first boxes at the end of November.

We take delays seriously and will continue to work hard to deliver the product to all of you as soon as possible.

Please note that we have paused all of our other projects to deliver the best possible version of Batmobile as soon as possible and that delivering this to your chimneys before Christmas is our #1 priority.

To keep all of you informed, we will make sure to post updates more frequently.

Thank you all for sticking with us and helping us make this amazing project happen.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message - I read and reply to all of the messages I get.

- Albert and the rest of the CM team

CircuitPets are currently being shipped, and you should receive them in the next two weeks.

If you haven’t received a confirmation mail with the tracking link yet, don’t worry; your CircuitPet is on its way, and everyone will receive the mail by the end of the next week.

We changed the shipping order

Another important piece of information is that instead of Clockstar, the next STEM Box you’ll get will be Armstrong.

Why did we change the shipping order?

The main issue we faced during the last year and a half was the ongoing semiconductor shortage and general supply chain problems.

We'd develop a product just to figure out that a critical component such as a processor completely disappeared from the market.

As a solution to this issue, we decided to switch the shipping order while we continue to search for a solution to the chip sourcing issue.

So, Clockstar will be shipped right after Armstrong.

This is the new shipping schedule:

What is Armstrong?

Armstrong is a DIY robotic arm that looks like this:

Armstrong can be programmed to perform different tasks - a perfect help for the upcoming lazy winter days.

With Armstrong, you’ll learn about:

• Soldering and hardware assembly
• Robotic arms and industrial automation
• Reflective color sensors
•  Microcomputers and other electronic components
• Coding in C++
• Controlling servo motors using a microcomputer
• Embedded programming
• Coding IFTT tasks
   

One other cool thing about Armstrong is the ability to connect it to Wheelson and ByteBoi.
You’ll use Wheelson as a super-smart robotic car and ByteBoi as a controller for Wheelson.

The estimated shipping date for Armstrong is in December.

Thank you for your understanding, and keep making!
-Albert and the CM team

We started shipping your next STEM Box kits and are working during the weekends and around the clock to deliver the kits to your doorstep as soon as possible. We can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Here's a quick look at what the shipping process looks like :

The excitement is real; get ready to build and code your virtual pet.

Stay tuned for more updates!

- Albert & the CircuitMess team

We've spent the last two weeks producing CircuitPet's PCBs.

Both hardware and software are finished, and the final version looks fantastic!

We've also begun packing your orders, and here's a photo of our warehouse (yes, all of these boxes are CircuitPet kits!).

Also, we are currently working on a Coding guide to assist you in programming all sorts of cool things on your virtual pet.

The good news is that CircuitPet’s delivery will start next week, and you will receive a confirmation email with the tracking number once it is shipped.

Take a look at the fun times we had during CircuitPet’s photoshoot:

And last but not least, the CircuitPet usage guide is finished, and you can check what cool games and features it will have.

Here is a sneak peek:

Stay tuned for more info soon.

You'll soon start receiving your tracking numbers.

As always, thank you for your support, and keep making 👋

-Albert and the CM team

We were busy working on CircuitPet’s software this month, and it is finally done!

Here is a sneak peek of what you’ll see once you assemble and turn your CircuitPet on:

As always, we've created a very detailed build guide that will help make the assembly process as fun and easy as possible, and it's now online.

You can find the build guide at the following link:

https://learn.circuitmess.com/resources/guides/en/circuitpet-build-guide

Also, we prepared an anatomy guide that’ll introduce you to all the components and chips used for making CircuitPet.

Here is the link to the anatomy guide:

https://learn.circuitmess.com/resources/guides/en/circuitpet-anatomy-guide

Take a look at the assembly process:

• There’ll be soldering

• A lot of small components

• Tricky parts

• Cool add-ons

Now that you have seen everything, you must wonder, when will you ship my package?

Well, great news! We are in the final stages of producing CircuitPet,

and are starting to pack everything.

We’ll ship your next STEM Box in the following two weeks.

You’ll be informed when the shipping starts - we’ll post an update once again, and you’ll get an email with the tracking link.

Thank you for your support,

Albert and the CM team

This week we've been hard at work on CircuitPet's software. This has been one of the most fun projects we've worked on so far, and we're super excited for you all to get your hands on it.

With CircuitPet, you'll take care of a robot duck called Duckileo Quackilei and help it stay safe from rusting by playing games and levelling him up. We've pre-loaded 6 mini-games so that you can get straight to business.

Here's a first look at CircuitPet's UI & hardware design:

More updates coming soon, so stay tuned.

- Albert & the CircuitMess team

These past few days, we were busy assembling CircuitPet's box sleeve. 

Check it out below; pretty cool, huh?

Wondering what these blue things are? The blue part is actually a protective layer that you'll remove to reveal a clear, rocket-shaped stand for CircuitPet. 

The fun part is that you'll be able to customize the stand with stickers that will also come with your CircuitPet! 

We're so excited about CircuitPet and can't wait for you to receive yours. 

More updates coming soon!

- Albert & the CircuitMess team