Amazing, amazing, amazing feedback we’ve received over the last weeks. We’ve been scavenging over the interwebs and read nearly all the comments, in so many languages, people had posted about the Wooting one. There was one recurring theme, people wanted to know more about the analog magic that happens in games.

As you know, we can’t tell you yet what technology we’re using to read analog values. But what we can tell you, is how things work on a software side and just a little tiny bit on the hardware side. I’ll do my best to make things as easy as possible, so you don’t need to be an engineer to decipher what I’m talking about. coughimnotanengineercough

Hardware – The Wooting one is natively analog

To start with, let’s clear one thing straight away; it’s not force sensitive. Meaning that you don’t have to bottom out the key and start applying an increasing amount of force to accelerate your car for example. The keyboard works and feels exact like any beloved mechanical keyboard with those sweet mechanical switches and you don’t notice anything strange or different about it.

There are different methods to read analog values from a mechanical keyboard but, usually, this means you’ll need to add extra hardware or devices to read this input. The Wooting one doesn’t have this problem because it’s entirely analog.

Meaning that it inherently sends an analog signal but it depends on other factors if it outputs an analog or digital signal. So, you can still use the keyboard as any mechanical keyboard reading an on/off signal even though it has analog inside, you won’t notice it.

Note: Remember from this blog, analog can send different input values ranging, for example, from 0 to 100 and digital can only send either 0 or 1, or also known as an on/off signal.

The current prototype only has 16 analog keys because we haven’t found the most efficient method yet to read all 87/88 keys (ANSI/ISO layout) analog signal without making the keyboard monster size and/or too expensive. But, we have a very good lead that will make the entire keyboard read analog signals without the costly downsides. We’ll let you know as soon as we know!

Update 01-may-2016: We made it work without the extra costs… All keys analog!

Software – Where the magic happens

This is the truth, a PC doesn’t understand or support an analog keyboard. It has no idea what to do with it but, thankfully, we have a way to make it understand everything without you installing all different kinds of software.

To understand how things work, you first need to understand the basics of how the hell a PC knows what to do when you press a key on any input device. I’ll talk in “Jip en Janneke” Language. Education time!

All input devices talk with their own language or better known as a “protocol”. When you press a button, the device starts talking to the computer in its own language. Unfortunately, the computer doesn’t understand any of these device languages! Because it only understands bleep-bloops.

That’s where “drivers” on the computer jumps in. A driver translates this device language into bleep-bloops that the computer understands but for each different language you need a different driver.

That’s also why, especially in the past, you always had to download or install additional software (drivers) on your computer to support different devices. Thankfully, in this kind-of-modern age, we have standard drivers already installed on your computer.

These standard drivers can already translate keyboard, mouse, and gamepad language. When a game developer implements controls in a game, it will use these drivers to help connect the dots between input from a device and output in a game.

Not so crazy long ago, Microsoft made the gamepad language even easier on the PC and invented “Xinput”. Basically, Xinput is like an API, it takes the gamepad language and simplifies it into a language with far less vocabulary and grammar so that it’s easier to implement in games!

Another way looking at it is that Xinput is exactly like a Xbox controller in the amount of buttons or “input”. But, if a game support Xinput, it doesn’t mean it supports the regular gamepad language. It’s up to the game developer to support a certain gamepad, the gamepad to support Xinput or a software emulator in between to include Xinput support.

OK, take a breather, make some notes and draw some doodles.

To put it in another way, let’s say you have this weird 4 buttons gamepad with the unique names U, I, O and P printed on them but when you plug in the gamepad and want to start playing, let’s say Burnout: Paradise, then you won’t even be able to start your engine because it’s not compatible with such a weird 4 button device and you can’t even map the keys in the menu!

That’s because the game developer didn’t support gamepad language in the game. This is where Xinput jumps in. Basically, Xinput can read the U, I, O and P buttons and simplify it into Xbox controller buttons, like A, X, Y, B. Buttons that a car understands and knows what to do with, or well that the developer basically used as mappable buttons.

So, why don’t all game developer just support gamepad language? Because it cost more work and time to implement, while Xinput has a limited amount of buttons, is much easier to implement and is used by the majority of people.

Woeh! great! Hoerah-Hoerah for gaming but wait, what about the analog input?

Basically, the only analog input that Xinput (Xbox controller) can send comes from the left- and right analog stick, and the left- and right trigger keys. It’s up to the game developer if and how they make use of it. In nearly all games you’ll see that it will use the left joystick for analog movement. Great.

How the Wooting one magic works

The Wooting one keyboard is recognized by the computer as a keyboard and gamepad at the same time. So it can not only send keyboard language but also gamepad language with Xinput support! We’ve made two modes, Gaming and Typing, that you can switch in between for its specific use.

Basically, in typing mode, the keyboard will work exactly like any mechanical keyboard and in gaming mode, it will work as a (Xinput) gamepad.

The reality, in gaming mode, the left analog stick is mapped on the WASD but this also means that you can’t use WASD for typing anymore. So in Typing mode, the layout is like a regular keyboard without any gamepad buttons mapped.

For now, you need to switch in between the two but with more development time it will be possible to type and use it as a gamepad in games, so even when you’ve mapped left analog stick on WASD, you can still type like a regular keyboard.

So, to recap how gaming mode works. 

For gaming mode, you can map the “keyboard” and the “Xinput” keys (remember, Xinput is basically the same as a Xbox controller) anywhere you like. Meaning that you can, for instance, map the left analog stick on the WASD and keep the rest as regular keyboard keys. But you can also choose to map the other Xinput (Xbox controller) buttons (ABYX, triggers etc.) on any key you like. You could also choose to map the left analog stick on both the WASD and the arrow keys at the same time for whatever reason you see fit.

Before going to the next chapter, let’s talk a little about how you exactly control an analog stick with 4 keys. An example, you mapped the left analog stick to WASD. W analog stick forward, A analog stick left, S analog stick backward, D analog stick right. The further down you press a key, the further you press the analog stick towards that direction. So when you press W all the way down and the D half way, you’ve effectively moved the analog stick forward at a ~22-degree angle.

In a game applies the same idea. The further down you press a key, the faster your character starts moving towards that direction. We’ll show this in detail in another video when we’re not hacking, slashing and testing the prototype.

Let’s not forget, even though you use Xinput for analog movement etc. on the keyboard, you’re still using a mouse for superior aiming!

Some limitations

Unfortunately, life is not easy. To use analog movement in a PC game, the game needs to have gamepad or Xinput support. Thankfully, nearly all games have Xinput support, so you can basically plug in a (Xbox) controller and start playing the game with it.

The real problem arises when a game developer decides to turn off the mouse and keyboard when you activate gamepad in the menu or when you plug in or use a gamepad in the game. In the latter case, the game keeps swapping between devices, possible turning your mouse on and off, causing laggy mouse movements.

That’s why you won’t be able to use analog movement in all games yet.

A real party pooping situation, because it’s not too difficult for a game developer to add support. We’ve learned that we’re not the only one struggling with this problem. The recently released Steam controller from Valve, in essence, uses the same technique as we do. They use the keyboards, mouse and Xinput language at the same time to support their analog triggers and touch sensitive (mouse) movements.

We’re still in the process of finding alternatives and hackarounds as a temporary solution but as we progress we’re building a permanent solution. More about this in the next chapter. Furthermore, with the introduction of the Wooting one and the further development of the steam controllers, game developers will increasingly recognize this issue and start providing more support.

There’s already a great amount of games in which it works smoothly, like Battlefield and GTA5. Note: GTA5 is a special topic, we will cover and talk about specifically another time.

Now, for the not-gaming side of all this, you can use the keyboard for so many other things too. In the end, it’s an analog device that can run on existing platforms, just like how we used Xinput for games, other device languages can be used for other things!

The Wooting goal

Of course, we’re not planning to give you a one-time solution. We’ve made an analog mechanical keyboard and we don’t want it to end up as a gimmick, hell what a waste that would be! This is the part for which we need sincerely need your support to help us get further. In some cases, it means providing us feedback/input, in other cases it’s making something awesome for it, anything that increases the chance for people to start using analog input is a win for everybody.

Our goals are as followed:

1. We’re focused on releasing the Wooting one – All analog keys – and building as much as possible support for the current solution, working on existing platforms. Including, custom mapping of controller and keyboard buttons etc., tweaking analog experience for different games, fund mods for triple A and cool games that don’t support the use of simultaneous devices.
2. Meanwhile, start developing an open-source analog keyboard driver, which will allow you to gain full access to the keyboard’s potential. Enabling native support and custom applications.
3. Create an easy platform, API in mind, for people with less or no coding knowledge to make their own custom applications.
4. Let creative freedom flow, pushing for an industry standard.

Why you want this too

The keyboard is an extremely old input device that ages from before the computer (typewriter, you can spell it on the first row of a QWERTY keyboard). It’s layout, functionality and application have barely changed over the multitude of years, even more ironic, we’ve gone from membrane keyboards back to the older technology of mechanical keyboards. In the meanwhile, your smartphone is using a mind bottling amount of input methods and its applications are ever so increasing.

So why are we not increasing the input methods of the keyboard? Even if it’s not a leap into the future, you’d, at least, want to see some kind of increments.

Or you can just drop the above and realize that Finally you have analog movement in games and the capability to play around with analog input on a keyboard. Especially with the entrance of VR, you can still use your keyboard and mouse and experience complete immersion. Awesome.

We’ve been hiding it because we didn’t feel comfortable sharing a prototype product, in fear of negative comments, just like anybody would be when they show their creation for the first time. You’ve seen the 3D renders but the prototype is the real deal and, yes, it does exist but doesn’t properly represent the final design yet.

The Wooting one product design went through several iteration before landing on our final design but in retrospect, we were quite swift in deciding its final appearance. At most we tweaked it and now we still have the chance to further tweak it. That’s all in contrast to our PCB design, that is, the internal hardware that has gone through quite the changes.

During this design process, some time ago, we shared it on /r/mechanicalkeyboards and asked for feedback. They gave some great input and pointed out some things that we hadn’t thought of. Now I can’t say we overhauled the design because of it but we rather took all the input; used it as a measuring stick and looked how we could improve the entire keyboard without derailing from our goals and vision.

Just check out how some polishing work already improved our old design.

See those weird shaped keycaps, unrealistic switches, and thick board? Oh god. We improved all of those aspects.

Woop-Woop! A lot better.

Now there’s another (final) opportunity to tweak the Wooting one because we’re building the final prototype. That’s why I want to ask you to be a critical product designer, that has never experienced perfection. First, we’re going to explain some things and ideas we have, then you can judge us on it and share your opinion. So, let’s get started and join the discussion.

The Wooting one Prototype

It was a very sunny day in Taiwan and while I still had the prototype (that is now in the Netherlands) in hand, took the opportunity to snap a picture with my phone.

Prototype blemish

This prototype was entirely made by CNC machining, both the plastic bottom cover and aluminum top plate. This means that there are some blemishes that won’t be seen in the final version. For example, the Wooting logo is very rounded (can’t drill 90-degree corners) and the top plate isn’t perfectly aligned with the bottom casing yet. When mass production starts, we will use plastic injection for the bottom case and the top plate is pressed with the logo stamped in.

So, we’ve said our peace, let’s be critical now!

4 things we’re considering

1. Aluminum top plate

As you might know by now, the aluminum top plate is swappable. This means you can take it off and swap it for another design or color. We’ve already made a couple of different color samples top plates, to test out different colors and finishes.

The prototype at the moment has a black sandblasted anodized top plate (that we’re definitely not considering for the final product) because the manufacturer made a mistake, it should have been brushed anodized.

Hold a sec! What the hell are you talking about? anodized, brushed, sandblasted what?

Let me explain some basics. After making the aluminum top plate, there are different ways to color it. The most popular method for aluminum is “anodizing”. It’s a process in which the plates are placed in an electrolyzed color bath that causes a chemical reaction to happen on the surface of the aluminum that causes it to “suck” up the color.

As a result, a (thin) layer of the aluminum itself is colorized. So, there is no paint involved and the color won’t “chip”, rub or scratch off (easily). Cool right?

Furthermore, you can add a “finish” to the surface for different effects before anodizing it. In general terms you have:

• Sandblasting makes the surface more dull and grainy.
• Polishing makes it shiny and smooth,
• Brushed gives it that slight brush on the surface making it a bit less shiny and smooth.

Following is a clear difference between brushed (the sample) and sandblasted anodized aluminum (the keyboard).

We’re opting for a slight brushed anodized surface and produced several samples to try it out.

Because you can remove the top plate, also means you can start customizing it yourself. For our first model we want to limit the color choice, so we can focus on the production and delivery of everything without any delay.The question however is, what basic color and finish should we use for the main model?

2. Negative space

There is quite a lot of negative space (space with nothing on it) on the keyboard when you see it from a top-down perspective. We’re still considering if we should shave a bit off the sides and/or top. We like it because it gives more creative freedom for people who’d like to customize the top plate and it has something unique to it. Tough, tough decision.

3. Keycap legends

We’re going to re-do the keycap font (or a.k.a. legends). We made something basic for the first model but were not satisfied with it just yet. It’s not clean and designer precise enough yet. If you’ve got some suggestions or have an awesome idea, you’re welcome to let us know.

If you’re a mechanical keyboard veteran, you’re probably going to ask what type of keycap we’re using. Well for the basic model we’ll be using ABS translucent keycaps with black UV coating and lasered legends. It’s not the sexiest type of keycap you can have but the stems are CherryMX keycap compatible, so basically all after-market keycaps can fit on it. We’re looking into getting bonus PBT keycaps but that’s a development in progress.

Plastic bottom case

This is a sure thing. In theory, we’re able to change the colors of the bottom case, based on the plastic we use, but we’re not playing around with it just yet because more variation = more complication = asking for trouble. So, let’s take a look at some things we’re still considering.

4. Side profile

Alright, so if you’ve noticed we’ve made some indents in the side profile of the bottom case.

Our original idea was you’d have some extra grip to grab it but in the end, you never really use it, since you can already scoop it up from underneath. Our thinking is to keep it because it looks quite sweet and change the shape a bit or remove it. What do you think?

You’re the designer ~ feed us back!

When we just started this project, we told ourselves that we should always seek out for feedback, stay true to ourselves and everybody around us. That’s why our communication channels are always open for everybody and when we get the chance, we answer as many people as we can.

So, today be the critical designer and let us know what you think:

• In the comments below
• On Facebook /wootingkb
• On twitter @wootingkb (can also dm)
• By email social@wooting.nl

This blog is updated time-by-time with the increasing amount of input we receive until the next (and final) prototype is definitive.

In the previous prototype v0.3 blog, we’ve covered 4 points of attention.

1. The aluminum top plate
2. Negative space on the keyboard
3. Keycap legends
4. The side profile of the bottom case

You’ve shared your opinion on each of these points and we’re going to address them in this blog.

If you’ve missed out, it’s never too late to give your input. We consider that one person’s feedback is not equal to the majority but one person’s opinion is equal to any of us. In other words, we take your opinion into serious consideration.

At a certain point, all these opinions start to contradict each other but usually there’s a pattern and it helps us find things we’ve missed. So don’t hesitate, just throw it out there and let us know.

Live Feedback summary:

Let’s start with a summary of the feedback we’ve received from you until so far.

1. Sandblasted aluminum top plate is preferred over brushed because it’s less fingerprint sensitive and has more style.
2. Steel top plate has a better feeling than aluminum
3. It’s possible to overhaul the bottom case to exactly fit the keys then use the top plate to play around with the shape of the keyboard.
4. The slanted bottom (front of keyboard) might not be aesthetically pleasing with wrist rests
5. The side profile, specifically the indents, adds more character to the keyboard but you can try to lengthen the profile over its entire side.
6. Keycaps, just avoid any Gamer fonts because they look ridiculous.
7. Use PBT keycaps
8. You can also place all the function keys together.

Final keycap legends

24 April ’16

If you’re asking yourself, hey wait shouldn’t you already be making the prototype by now? Then rest assured, it exists out of different components that aren’t made simultaneously. The the new inside (PCB) will finish in the next days, the casing is already in the pipeline to be made and the top-plate is awaiting the anodize finish.

Today it’s about the stock keycaps that come with the keyboard. To clarify, these are standard ABS keycaps with transparent legends for backlighting.

We’ve finished the legends. We tried all kind of things with the legends but in the end we decided that the stock keycaps should stay as neutral as possible. S we refined the legends we already had and, thanks to a feedback email, improved the smart function layer.

As you can see, the font we used for the legends is very neutral and we opted for symbol modifier keys instead of textual modifiers because it looks cleaner with the overall design. We’ve aligned the legends in a top position to accommodate the backlit.

Furthermore, we’ve made the smart function layer even smarter. We decided to remove the mute mic key because it wasn’t reliable enough and moved all the media keys into one cluster, while moving the backlit controls and special FN toggle key to the top right row of keys.

Offering PBT keycaps

12 April ’16

Mini-update in between

Yesterday we just finished a meeting about the new prototype, and it’s coming guys. We still have a chance to adjust some minor details on the design but the internals is set, we’ll probably receive it in 2 1/2 weeks. This prototype has delayed our initial launch date, something we’re always wary of and therefore don’t like to set dates too early.

Keycaps!

Anyway! We’ve been receiving requests for a PBT keycaps option since the beginning of our keyboard.

NOTE: I strongly recommend you to educate yourself on keycaps for this part, I’ve written a blog about the different type of keycaps.).

In our opinion, PBT keycaps are definitely a step up from ABS but once you start talking double-shot keycaps then ABS can be a real winner. It all depends on personal preference and sound that the keycaps produce.

We had already decided that we can’t offer the stock keyboard with PBT keycaps because that would complicate so many things at the moment including different languages and cost. Instead, we decided to make PBT keycaps (highly recommended) optional feature with the Wooting one keyboard.

So, I went to pay Tai-Hao (an establish keycap manufacturer in Taiwan) a visit last Friday; to see if they wanted to cooperate with us and I can say the meeting was promising but not conclusive enough yet.

There are some details that still need to be figured out such as they only offer double-shot keycaps without backlit and they don’t use laser or dye sublimations. The latter is really useful for different languages because you can just “(laser) print” the desired language on the blank keycaps opposed from performing a second (costly) mold injection.

In either case, let’s take a look in the candy store and you can share your opinion.

Different type of keycaps

So at the moment there are two keycaps options:

• PBT Double shot keys
• ABS Double shot keys

All the keycaps use a very pleasing font/legends but are only limited to the international English language layout in either ANSI or ISO. Furthermore, none of the keycaps are “backlit”, meaning that the LED light doesn’t shine through the legends making it harder to see in the dark.

I have to apologize in advance that the pictures aren’t quite great because the lighting was terrible and I was in a hurry. You can also find a bunch of Tai-Hao keycaps on their (new) website if you want to take a closer look.

We’re considering the following keycaps sets as options.

Option A:

If you’re slightly into the mechanical keyboard world, then you’ll recognize this first keycap set. Double-shot PBT keycaps.

Option B:

A more recent addition of keycaps but nevertheless, very cool and unique double-shot PBT theme set.

Option C:

The picture doesn’t do it justice, but in reality the blacks are much darker.  The legends are true black but the keycaps, a grade lighter black. As a result, the legends are nearly invisible to the naked eye. Available in either double-shot ABS or PBT keycaps.

There were literally many more options to choose from but none of them as striking as the above. What option keycap set do you prefer, A, B, or C? Or is there an other keycap set you really love?

We’re continueing the search for PBT keycaps, you’re welcome to pitch in your picks.

The fingerprint test

31 March ’16

Several of you claimed that the brushed aluminum finish for the top plate is more sensitive to fingerprints than the sandblasted finish. We hadn’t thought about that, so we put it to the test and learned the following:

1 – Fingerprints are unavoidable and will always be present.

It depends on the amount of light that the material reflects when you are able to see it. A brushed finish reflects more light than a sandblasted finish, so a fingerprint is much easier detected on a brushed finish.

You can test this with your smart phone, when it’s not under direct light exposure you don’t see your fingerprint but when placed underneath a light, it’s swarming with them.

2 – You can easily clean fingerprints and other fatty remains on the aluminum plate by peeing on it. Waaaait! We didn’t actually try that but apparently the ammonia in urine makes for a great cleaning product.

Let’s take a closer look with some real tests done  in our secret laboratory by Erik.

Anodized brushed

First a picture without a fingerprint, then a picture with.

FIY: Totally ignore the keycaps you see there, we’re just been playing around with different keycaps. The following pictures will contain white with translucent double-shot ABS with an ugly “gamer” font. 

You’re able to see the beautiful thumbprint Erik made on the brushed finish. He hadn’t eaten anything or dipped it in any grease, so its effect is minimal, to say the least. But it’s clearly present.

Anodized sandblasted

Same as before, first a picture without a fingerprint followed by one with a fingerprint.

MYTH BUSTED. Oke, it wasn’t a myth nor did we bust anything but I just really wanted to say it. You can see or well not see any fingerprint on the sandblasted surface. Neat.

Sandblasted vs. Brushed, 1-0

After testing this, we’re opting to go for sandblasted

If you’ve read the prototype blog, you also know that there are different levels of sandblasted. You can literally use different sizes of sand grains to “blast” the surface.

It’s an aesthetic thing, that we’ll follow-up on but If you’re familiar with the subject, you’re more than welcome to jump in.

To be continued with more tests in this Updated blog….

In the meanwhile don’t miss your chance to share your opinion on how we can improve our final prototype.

Gamers and MK fans rejoice, the Flaretech switch is a step closer to the next generation of mechanical keyboards and also the switch we use in the Wooting one mechanical keyboard.

The technical specifications of the switch open some amazing possibilities when you put the right minds on it. So, let me introduce the Flaretech Switch, an optical mechanical switch.

The Flaretech Switch

The Flaretech switch is an optical switch, meaning it uses a sensor and light to read the position of the keypress opposed from a regular switch that uses conductivity to activate a keypress. This is important to know because:

• It’s possible to read different values from a single keystroke, hence Analog input
• The switch doesn’t need to be soldered onto the PCB (the circuit board)

For now, there is a red and blue switch available. As the color indicates, it has similar specifications to those of CherryMX. Let me put that into a comparison.

Switch Comparison

(disclaimer: We can’t officially speak for Flaretech or CherryMX specifications. Data is subject to errors)

Analog compatible

It’s analog compatible. You can’t simply install a Flaretech switch on a mechanical keyboard and expect it to magically be analog. The switch itself is a dummy that’s entirely mechanical. It’s the sensors installed on the PCB that can read an analog value.

Modular Switch

It’s modular, in the sense that it’s hot-swappable without any technical knowledge. It’s literally as simple as removing a keycap for another. But it’s not compatible with other switch brands.

To make sure you install it correct, it also has a little dummy proof clip on the side (not visible on this prototype version).

Since the switch is swappable, we’ve taken the liberty to also make the Wooting one top plate swappable without any technical knowledge. You can just unscrew the top plate and screw another in its place.

MX mount compatible

You can install any standard set of keycaps because it has the same mount as CherryMX switches.

Fast response time

It’s literally light(n)ing fast because the signal is sent with the speed of light, the input lag is dependent on other factors than the switch opposed to regular mechanical switches that suffer from a significant debounce time.

LED light

The switch uses SMD LED, so it’s installed on the PCB and not on the switch. It doesn’t go through the center but through an opening on the top of the switch.

What does this mean for Wooting one

In our search for making a real Gaming mechanical keyboard, we were looking for the best solution to capture an analog signal from keypresses. There is a multitude of possibilities: pressure, capacitive, magnetic and piezo fabric to name a few but there’s another challenge beyond it, cost per switch.

So when we found the Flaretech switch and saw it was optical, we immediately knew that this was it. As a bonus the switch was swappable.

When we just started to work with the switch, we first had to go through a rough R&D process to find the most effective and efficient method to read the analog signal from each key and how to easily and immediately implement this in games.

For the best analog experience, we’ve opted for the Flaretech red switch because its smooth linear feel without any tactile or audible feedback. Since you can depict your own actuation point it would feel weird to receive a bump at 2mm but actuate at 3mm.

Now that we’ve figured out the hardware side of things, it’s all boiling down to our firmware implementation.

Switch limitation

Our work with the Flaretech switch has shown the manufacturer that a full-analog keyboard is a viable and an affordable option. Initially, they assumed that it would be too expensive to implement it keyboard wide (on each key), thus, their original design was aimed for digital input. (boo!)

The switch mechanically blocks all light until 2mm because it was initially designed to send a digital input as soon as it received a light signal. So, to set the actuation point, they had to block all the light until its actuation point. But since we figured out how to effectively make the entire keyboard analog, it’s possible to set your own actuation point and therefore doesn’t need this mechanical solution.

Thankfully, this is a temporary limitation because further development is taking place and with your support for the Wooting one more resources will be allocated to gain the entire 4mm range with a simple switch upgrade.

To clarify, the range is limited by the dummy switch, not the keyboard (PCB) itself and since they are hot-swappable, it’s an easy upgrade. This means we can read analog values over a 2mm range until the next (foreseeable) switch upgrade.

July Update: New analog switch in development. New spec update coming soon…

Temporary Limitation, Not a big deal

All that being the case, we’ve already played around with the 2mm range and it’s extremely accurate and noticeable. In our experience, you’ll already press the key half way down before you feel a comfortable resistance and start floating around.

You can take our word for it but we’ll make sure others we’ll get to share their opinion about it as well.

Super-official-totally-not-subjective gaming switch comparison™©®

Introducing the all-new Flaretech optical mechanical switch for Gamers . The ultimate analog compatible switch, handmade with microscopic details by the smartest engineers in the world exclusively for gaming. The unbeatable responsiveness and blazing speed of the Flaretech optical mechanical switch will never miss a beat and enhance your gaming and typing experience beyond imagination.

This is why the Flaretech switch will give you the winning edge.

THE ALL-NEW FLARETECH SWITCH

Is it a…	Flaretech Red switch	Standard “Gaming” Red Switch
Flaretech Switch	✓	✗
Analog compatible	✓	✗
Optical switch	✓	✗
in a Wooting one	✓	✗
Up to 100mil Keystrokes	✓	✗
Swappable switch	✓	✗
Smooth 55g	✓	✗
Make instant headshots	✓	✗
Be called hacker	✓	✗
100% chance on epic loot	✓	✗
Verdict:

Feed us Back ~ Thank you!

When we just started this project, we told ourselves that we should always seek out for feedback, stay true to ourselves and everybody around us. That’s why our communication channels are always open for everybody and when we get the chance, we answer as many people as we can.

So, don’t feel like you missed out and share your opinion, concerns, thoughts, ideas, questions, critical thinking or anything that pops into your mind with us:

• In the comments below
• On Facebook /wootingkb
• On twitter @wootingkb (can also dm)
• By email social@wooting.nl

I remember when I started working for a Taiwanese manufacturer and visited all different types of factories and was awe-shocked/fascinated at how things were really made.

It’s like you’ve always believed everything magically appeared or was made in these fancy, clean and high-end factories you see on TV but then realize that it was all propaganda by your parents or evil marketing people.

We feel it’s good for you to also understand and see more about what happens behind the scenes and how the Wooting one is made. The real deal.

I just came back from my factory trip in preparation for mass-production. This will give you a preview of the production process. I hope to show you more when the actual Wooting one is made for you.

The Flaretech Switch Factory

The Flaretech switch is an essential part of the Wooting one, it is a bit different from your regular switch, being optical and all, but other than that it’s assembled like a regular switch.

The smaller components are produced and then assembled in an automated machine. It’s literally hypnotizing to see the machine at work.

Tooling & Injection Factory

To make the bottom case and keycaps in mass production, it needs specific tooling (molds). The bottom case particularly will be plastic injected into a big mold in the shape of the case.

After the main body is CNC machined (a big cutting machine that can sculpture things out of metals) it goes in, what they call, the spark machine. It makes the finer/minor adjustments in the mold.

Keycaps-wise (for backlit keyboards) you’ll often find a single ABS injected blank version that is first coated black, then lasered for the legends, and UV coated. This makes it easy and affordable to make customized legends on backlit keycaps.

Extra info:

If you ever wondered why double injection ABS or PBT keycaps are so expensive, it’s because a double injection means you’ll need to make two molds for every single keycap (twice the cost) and the legends are permanent for the molds.

Then for PBT, this plastic material is very tedious because it tends to shrink a lot in different variables after injection. It means the environment needs to be extremely well controlled.

Assemble, QA and main factory

Everything comes together in the main factory for assembly and quality control. So here the Wooting one will be assembled, tested, packaged and boxed for shipment.

This factory strictly follows a Japanese methodology from cleanliness to extremely organized and separated processes.

I wasn’t allowed to record anything inside, where all the magic happens, but it was literally mind-blowing impressive how professional they go to work. I say this with quite some experience with different factories over Asia.

Non-surprising they are pending the 7th year of role model factory for Panasonic car accessories (i.e., a major feat in manufacturing terminology).

All the quality testing also happens in this factory for keyboards and mice. On its way to 100 million clicks for on the Flaretech switch.

Preparations for Kickstarter

Along the way, I was also able to collect different missing parts of the final Prototype. We’re doing our best to give the most accurate representation of the Wooting one at the Kickstarter launch but we don’t want it to delay everything anymore.

It’s more important that you get the Wooting one in your hands as soon as possible at a non-compromising matter.

Join the conversation

Hopefully, this gave you a better picture of how things work and I can’t wait to share about the actual production. If you have questions or would also like to share your experience, you’re welcome to:

• In the comments below
• On Facebook /wootingkb
• On twitter @wootingkb (can also dm)
• By email social@wooting.nl

Kickstarter is nearing!

EDIT: The Kickstarter is LIVE

Mark the date! We aim to launch the Kickstarter on the 22nd of May, 24th of May, we’ll make sure to keep you up-to-date if anything changes and notify you at what time we will exactly go live.

If you’re as excited as we are, then help us out and join our Thunderclap or spread the message to your fellow gamers.

Now let me show you a bit of what we’ve been working on and check out the upcoming Kickstarter rewards we’re planning.

The Kickstarter video

We like to keep everything authentic, honest and transparent. That’s why we also like to do many things ourselves instead of spending it all out just to make it look extremely professional. We’d rather spend that kind of Ka-ching on the actual product and gaming community.

So, when it came to the Kickstarter video we only spent money on renting a studio, camera equipment, and a camera-guy. The rest is all DIY, no actors, no stock footage, no friend-benefits, no marketing company etc. Just us, with an idea and a lot of willpower.

Oh, and right now we’re busy with the video editing, ourselves. So, it doesn’t get any more real than that if you ask me. We’re excited!!

Kickstarter rewards (Preview)

When we started, we wanted to offer two optional items: a wrist pad and PBT or Double ABS keycaps. In the end, we decided that we’d include neither. The reason? It just didn’t feel right and it would add too much workload if we did it how we want it.

I’ve received several wrist-pad samples ranging from foam to wood but it all felt too generic. We would rather make one ourselves with your feedback, instead of rushing one out just for the sake of it.

The same counts for the keycaps. We went by Tai-Hao, but they didn’t offer any backlit compatible PBT or double ABS keycaps and weren’t as eager as we were to do something cool.

Other keycap manufacturers we found only offered backlit double ABS keycaps with those horrifying “futuristic/gaming” legends. Not cool.

Coming to the point that we decided to keep it to the core product. The Wooting one.

Ze rewards

Introduction: I’ve noticed that we’ve been a bit too shallow on explaining exactly what these Rewards mean and entail. So I’ve made everything a bit more clear and added some information.

We’ve done our best to give the most competitive prices available, so that as many as possible people can start using an analog keyboard and we can work towards an industry standard. Your contribution isn’t only for an advanced keyboard, it’s also for our continued work in developing a better analog experience, upgrading your Wooting one keyboard with new analog features and build the pillars of which Wooting can continuously serve gamers with game changing ideas.

After the Kickstarter we will send out a Survey to ask, besides the standard, the following questions:

• Do you want an ISO or ANSI layout, already in
• If ISO: What language layout do you want? (Nordic, Latin, QWERTZ, AZERTY, let us know!)
• Do you want Flaretech red or blue switch?
  • If you choose Red switch, the additional switches will be blue and you’ll receive 2 extra red switches
  • If you choose Blue switch, the additional switches will be red and you’ll receive 2 extra blue switches.

This includes: 

• Free shipping to EU countries and North America.
• Local taxes & Import duties

Pledge 1: This must happen! €10

You want Analog keyboards to happen but can’t commit yet. Follow the project and receive some Wooting love on delivery day.

Pledge 2: Dips! €100 (0/1)

Fastest pledge around. You will probably be too late for this.

• Wooting one Basic package

Pledge 3: Early-Bird gets the worm €129 (0/100)

You’re a fast one! Grab your chance and get the Wooting one at a one-time limited price.

• Wooting one Basic package

Pledge 4: The Wooting one €139

This is your go-to reward for an exclusive Kickstarter price

• Wooting one Basic package

Pledge 5: The Wooting one with sprinkles €199 (0/500)

You’ll reap all the benefits from the Wooting one – Exclusively for Kickstarter –

• Wooting one Premium package, in addition to the basic package:
  • Additional top-plate
  • 88x Opposite of KB switches.
  • 2x keycap/switch puller
  • Exclusive Wooting T-shirt, specially made for sprinkle backers.
  • Part of the first production batch

Pledge 6: The one €999 (0/1)

You are dedicated to the cause and want this to happen ASAP.

• Receive the very first ever made Wooting one prototype (and yes, she is one of the main stars in the KS video), as a Trophy
• Wooting one Premium package, in addition to the basic package:
  • Additional top-plate
  • 88x Opposite of KB switches.
  • 2x keycap/switch puller
  • Exclusive Wooting T-shirt, specially made for sprinkle backers.
  • Part of the first production batch

Feed us Back ~ Thank you!

Share your opinion, concerns, thoughts, ideas, questions, critical thinking or anything that pops into your mind with us:

• In the comments below
• On Facebook /wootingkb
• On twitter @wootingkb (can also dm)
• By email social@wooting.nl

EDIT: Added additional information about what is included in the price.

We’ve done our best to give the most competitive prices available, so that as many as possible people can start using an analog keyboard and we can work towards an industry standard. Your contribution isn’t only for an advanced keyboard, it’s also for our continued work in developing a better analog experience, upgrading your Wooting one keyboard with new analog features and build the pillars of which Wooting can continuously serve gamers with game changing ideas.

Kickstarter link

23rd of June, 2016: We did it

Not only have we surpassed the goal but we reached 452% funding! Amazing. Now… the game is on.

What’s next?

Kickstarter was our chosen launch platform but in the end (thanks to you all) we didn’t spend too much time on the promotion instead we’ve continued working on Wooting as a business (you know those administrative and logistical things) and the Wooting one.

And that’s exactly what we should be doing, right? We want to get the Wooting one to you as soon as possible!

Progression mini-update:

Firmware & Configuration Software

If you’ve followed our social activities and read the KS page thoroughly, then you know we have an Alpha version of the firmware. We already kicked-off the project to create the beta-version and started the development of the configuration software.

The Alpha-version did all the things that we claimed but the code wasn’t quite “clean and ithad one limitation: When in Analog mode, the Wooting one is recognized as a Xbox controller (Xinput) and wouldn’t be recognized as another device at the same time. So you were forced to switch to Digital mode with the “mode” key to start typing.

I bolded ”had” because we made a new breakthrough and we don’t have this limitation anymore. It can now be recognized as multiple devices at the same time when using Xinput.

That means two things:

• You can now switch instantly and seamlessly between digital and analog mode.
• In analog mode, you can still use your keyboard bindings and we can easier solutions for instantly typing in games without having to switch to digital mode.

We’ll be talking more elaborately and frequently about these developments on our blog.

Hardware & Production

In a previous update and on our socials, we mentioned about our struggle with the RGB lighting.

To put it simply, there’s a lot of hardware tweaking necessary to get as many and equally accurate RGB lighting over the entire keyboard. Over the last week, Jeroen fixed all the issues we had and if everything pans out then we’re complete with all the hardware.

That doesn’t mean it’s ready for actual production yet. Before starting production, we basically need the following things:

• Procurement of all the raw material (this can take surprisingly long, think months.)
• Making the tooling/molds for the mass production.
• A consumer-ready firmware, so you don’t have to update the keyboard when you receive it.

We’re working on all three of them and if everything goes according to plan, we can start a trial production, hopefully, ending July.

We’ll get more into this when we get closer to the date.

Welcome to join our Discord

Yesterday night we had such a great time with some of you playing Overwatch and answering questions, that we decided to keep it running.

Then you can always hangout with us, ask questions, share ideas and play/chill with others of the Wooting community.

if you’re not already part of our Discord server, we invite you to join.

Discord invite: https://discord.gg/UVx5zy2

You can also stay in touch with us through:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Developers blog

<3 Wooting team,
Calder, Erik, and Jeroen.

22nd of June, 2016: Final 24 hours party

At time of posting:

We’ve entered the last 24-hours of the Kickstarter and that needs to be celebrated with you.

Wooting one, discord and 100% win rate is what we’re going for.

We want to invite you to hang-out/talk (on discord) and play Overwatch with us tonight. You can also ask questions and we’ll answer them the best we can “live” with pics, vids and memes.

Join the fun!

We will officially start at on 22 of June, 9:00pm/21:00, Amsterdam local time (GMT/UTC+2).

That is the following time in some other random places:

• London (United Kingdom – England) Wednesday, 22 June 2016, 20:00:00 BST UTC+1 hour
• Los Angeles (USA – California) Wednesday, 22 June 2016, 12:00:00 PDT UTC-7 hours
• New York (USA – New York) Wednesday, 22 June 2016, 15:00:00 EDT UTC-4 hours
• Vancouver (Canada – British Columbia) Wednesday, 22 June 2016, 12:00:00 PDT UTC-7 hours
• Stockholm (Sweden) Wednesday, 22 June 2016, 21:00:00 CEST UTC+2 hours
• Corresponding UTC (GMT) Wednesday, 22 June 2016, 19:00:00

You can also check your own time zone here.

Discord invite: https://discord.gg/AKcB7

Nicknames:

• Igwoot – Calder Limmen
• Ss23pwnd – Erik Stakenborg
• PastaJ36 – Jeroen Langelaan

18th of June, 2016: Dreamhack Summer

At time of posting:We’re on the last 4 days of the Kickstarter and I’m at Dreamhack Summer. These last 9 days went too fast. We’ve been arranging some last moment things, including a visit here at Dreamhack in Sweden.

I flew all the way from Taiwan to the Netherlands with my wife and a couple of days after drove all the way to Sweden, just to attend the show. Jeroen was still in Taiwan busy fixing the RGB issues and Erik had some other obligations, so they didn’t join… instead my wife came as Wooting support. That’s the woman in the video (and some other ones as well).

If you’re attending Dreamhack Summer as well. You can find us in Hall C, C30. Can’t promise we’ll always be there but if you hit us with a message (twitter or facebook), we can also come to you instead!

9th of June, 2016: RGB lights bugging us

At time of posting:

The days are now really flying and everything is calming down a bit. We were finally getting more coverage in the Netherlands (our home country), so a lot of family and friends were taking notice. Oh, and nobody of the Dutch press cared to contact us to ask if their information was accurate.

It’s something we’ve learned after being covered by multiple press over the world. It starts with one major/larger news website covering us (with often inaccurate information) and then the copy/paste fest happens over all different kinds of news/blog websites over the interwebs.

Either case, we’ve been playing around with the RGB modules on the keyboard because the colors and brightness weren’t exactly equal over the entire keyboard. This is when we found out that doing RGB on a keyboard is really a terrible time consuming job, specifically the cricuitery of it.

Each individual RGB module underneat a key has a Red, Green and Blue LED. By combining these colors you can get other colors like purple, pink, yellow and other rainbow happy colors. The problem however is that each one of these LEDs can behave differently depending on the amount of current it receives and if the current isn’t equally divided over the keyboard, then you’re going to see differences in the backlighting.

Above, is the short and simplified explanation, in other words it means that we’re constantly soldering different components on the PCBA to find the right balance.

You actually can see Jeroen testing if there is any and how much current there is. This coming Monday we’ll be further tinkering and hopefully have a near perfect prototype that I can bring to Dreamhack Summer.

5th of June, 2016: After Computex Taipei

At time of posting:

It’s crazy but it’s real. We reached the 100k! We’re mega excited, especially after finishing Computex Taipei. The show was really great and gave us an amazing opportunity to show the prototype keyboard, how it works in games and hot swapping. If you’ve missed it, you can check out the facebook live event on our FB page.

We got covered on several websites during Computex and some YouTubers that will soon enough feature us, like:

• The verge (Circuit breaker)
• Thelazygamer
• UFDeciple
• YouTubers incoming:
  • Hardware Canucks
  • Tek Syndicate

We also secretly received a lot of attention from other gaming companies We’ll follow up with an update on Kickstarter with some things coming up.

30th of May, 2016: Computex Taipei

At time of posting:

The days are passing by faster than and answering everybody slurps up a significant amount of time… but it’s worth it! We see every backer as a founder of analog keyboards and really want to emphasize here that we have to work together if we want it to become a reality. This stretches far beyond financial backing. It’s about mental determination, forward thinking and collaboration.

Tomorrow Computex will start. We’re all preparing, full excitement and also fear of letting others try our prototype. We hope that we can start making more content to share with others including: Typing test, live gameplay footage and playing around with RGB.

Let’s see!

Computex Booth No.:  Hall 1,  B0733a.

26th of May, 2016: Stretch Goals

Stretch goals? More like stress goals. Before the Kickstarter, we’ve done a lot of research about Kickstarter best practice. One of them being Stretch goals.

We thought about it before, during and now after reaching the goal. Especially when people started asking about it, we felt we were obligated to do it.

We went over our previous ideas and thought of new ones but we always hit against the same problem.

We’ve given everything we could in the current rewards and haven’t held anything back. When we come with an awesome idea, we just implement it and don’t hold it back for marketing, sales or another purpose.

The higher fund we reach, the more we’re able to implement, the better experience for every gamer. It’s that simple.

if we start making stretch goals to deliver more value or additional items with your reward, we will most likely not reach our target date and risk failing the entire project for two reasons:

1. We’re a small and dedicated team that scaled the project within our capabilities. Adding more workload will result in making fatal errors.
2. The total quantity we have to produce until so far is still extremely small and we don’t gain any cost benefit until we reach a much higher quantity. Thus, adding more value is equal to cutting into budgets we’ve setup for R&D.

Therefore, instead of making stretch goals, social goals or anything of the sort, we’re going to give it our all and do everything we can think of that is cool, fun and useful to you.

So here are some things we’re planning:

• Another dedicated post explaining how we get analog control in games.
• Computex Taipei: Calder & Jeroen are showcasing the Wooting one prototype for anybody interested. (more info mail: social@wooting.nl)
• A Facebook live event during Computex – We’ll be showing the Wooting one prototype and do an AMA. (like the page)
• A short video showing how the RGB works until so far
• A (Pcmasterrace) Reddit AMA
• Gaming sessions with the Founders on Discord.

Some ideas and feedback you’ve given us:

• A numpad version (either separate or full-size)
• Add mappable mouse buttons
• More language layouts (E.g. Belgium AZERTY layout, Czech QWERTZ, Switzerland QWERTZ and more)
• Make a similar “brown” switches (We’ve inquired the manufacturer)
• Use it as a Music instrument.
• Add Cherry+Costar stabilizers compatibilty (We tried, but it wasn’t possible)

Keep them coming, we love ideas and feedback! Whenever we’re able to, we implement it and otherwise it becomes part of the decision making. Thanks!

Ways to help us

Easy mode: We’re charging a thunderclap, show your voice in socials together, also join in.

Medium mode: Share about Wooting with your friends, clan, guild, co-workers or a cat!

Hard mode: Make a Wooting Meme, put it on 9gag and enjoy glorious fame.

We reached 200% funding and are Kickstarter’s “project we love”

All thanks to you. Let’s keep this woo-woo train going.

25th of May, 2016: 100% Funded within 7 hours.

Together we’ve reached the Goal within 7 hours! We’re speechless, entirely amazed and couldn’t have reached it without you. But we are not going to stop here, there is still more to achieve. Gamers over the world are still in the unknown and we have to let them know what’s going on. We are working hard behind te scenes answering questions and lurking on other platforms.

Stretch goals

We worked so hard in making these rewards work that we figured we’d have some time before we had to introduce a stretch goal, oops. We’re inquiring on some details but we have some cool stretch goal ideas that we’ll be introducing tomorrow.

Computex, Taipei

In the meanwhile, there are some cool things coming up that we’re also preparing for such as Computex Taipei (31st of May till 4th of June) where we’ll demo our prototype keyboard. Jeroen (the technical dude) is coming all the way from the Netherlands to attend it with me (Calder). We’ll be walking around with Wooting T-shirts, if you happen to catch us during the show, be sure to say hi! Or send us an email, we’ll let you know where to find us.

24th of May, 2016: We launched the Wooting one on Kickstarter

This is our invitation to you, to join Wooting as a founder of analog keyboards and together we can change the industry.

We will update this blog during the Kickstarter, with the latest updates and stats!

Join the conversation

If you have questions or would also like to share your experience, you’re always welcome to:

• In the comments below
• On Facebook /wootingkb
• On twitter @wootingkb (can also dm)
• By email social@wooting.nl

Hi Wooting team,

Last Saturday we hosted a live Twitch stream. We showcased the Wooting one and answered questions. It was an amateurish stream using a shabby webcam and microphone but it was still awesome!

That’s why, we will host another live stream on our Twitch channel coming Sunday, the 10th of July at 20:00 (UTC/GMT +2). This time with some decent equipment.

We intend to repeat the live stream, at least, once every 2 weeks. Then we can show you our progression, answer questions and try out new things.

We don’t want to overpromise but if we get a flow going on. We will start to live stream more often and other things as well.

Showcase and Q&A – Twitch Live Stream on the Wooting Twitch channel:

• 10th of July, 20:00 (Amsterdam local time. UTC/GMT +2) or see this timetable.

Dutch Game Garden

Yesterday, we attended the Dutch game garden to talk with indie developers about input devices and their experience with implementing it in games. Because we are developing our own open-source driver and API for analog keyboards behind the scenes for our long-term strategy.

Of course, we didn’t miss our opportunity to showcase the Wooting one. We received loads of positive reactions, interest, and good impressions.

Get connected

We’re always available for questions, feedback, opinions, ideas, concerns and you name it. Pick your favorite channel.

• Like things on Facebook
• Retweet our things on Twitter
• Heart pictures on Instagram
• Mail us whatever to social@wooting.nl
• Talk with fellow gamers on the Wooting Discord

We’re getting closer to the date!

Our community has given us great feedback throughout the entire journey. We want to continue this spirit of feedback by taking it to the next level.

We’re at the final stages of product development and need your help now more than ever before. We are looking for Beta testers.

Now you’re asking, uh what, Beta testers? Isn’t it a keyboard, not a game?

There’s more beyond the keyboard alone. We’re also developing the keyboard firmware and configuration software. We want to make sure that these are more mature in user experience and functionality before mass delivery. That’s where you can play a role as a beta tester.

The beta testers will receive a keyboard from our trial production. This is a small test production that happens before mass-production. These are the same keyboards that we send out for hands-on reviews.

What we expect from a beta tester:

• An acknowledgment. You’re participating in making the Wooting one better and are willing to put the effort in it by…
• Honest and critical feedback for the Wooting one firmware and configuration software. No technical knowledge required.
• Take part on discord to share your thoughts, ideas and feedback with us. This requires a Mic.
• Willing to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Meaning you can’t share anything about the keyboard, beta, software and etc without our consent.

If you want to apply as a beta tester you simply have to convince us why you should be picked. Anybody can take part, even if you’re not a Kickstarter backer.

Reach out to us on any of the social channels (Facebook, Discord, Mail, etc.) with something that can convince us that you are the ideal person. You can do this in any form you feel is best.

If you’re talking yourself down for whatever reason. Whatever you lack in knowledge or experience you can compensate with creativity or wits.

To get you started with some creative ideas:

• Wooting drawings/designs for social banners, T-shirt or other swag
• A video of why you need a Wooting keyboard
• Meme’s about the impact of the Wooting one
• Or simply talk to us

Just make sure to be yourself and do your best to convince us.

You can already start sending things now. After the 14th of August, we’re going to pick a few beta testers. We will privately inform you and ask if you want to stay anonymous or not.

We’re looking forward to your ~~thing!

Wooting,

Calder, Erik, Jeroen.

We were already very far in the production process and would have a trial production within a month until… we stumbled upon something new that would make the Wooting one even better.

Now I can’t express how extremely risky and disliked (by the manufacturer) it is to make any changes to the keyboard at this stage. But we did… we’re making the Wooting one, not a quarter, half but one. That is the best possible keyboard we can make for you and will be up-to-par with anything out there for a long time.

You as a backer, enthusiast, supporter and early adopter earned that, no, 100% deserve that. 

The Wooting one now has Individual RGB.

Yes, that’s right, we just upgraded your Wooting one with Individual RGB. That means you can now program the RGB backlit key-by-key. No cheats, hacks, workarounds, It’s the real deal that people usually pay top-dollar for.

We had to redesign the entire PCB to fit this in. Now there’s a new prototype in the making but we already tested the individual RGB solution by making a sem-final prototype together and it works!

Even though we don’t consider it vital, we claimed it was going to be costly and that it wasn’t necessary.

We still did it because we know that there is a lot of you that do want it and when we saw the opportunity, we grabbed it with both hands and took a major leap to implement it. Let me repeat, Major leap.

This might sound all very dramatic but I can’t express how difficult and risky it was to arrange this behind the scenes. All the while we could have gotten away by delivering exactly as advertised and upgrading it with a version two.

It’s a major relief for all of us to have made this announcement and to get it off our chest.

The consequences

That being said, it did come with consequences that have already impacted us business/relationship-wise but with your support, we can overcome anything.

We still believe we can hit the November delivery with these changes but during the process, we discovered a potential problem with our current microchip controller (MCU) that also deserves some attention here.

The MCU didn’t support a very versatile and advanced type of bootloader we would like to use. This is important for updating your keyboard firmware seamlessly over different operating systems.

We had to choose between upgrading the MCU and cancel the old MCU we already bought (=cost) or use the old MCU and choose for a lesser type of bootloader (=save cost).

You can already guess where this is going, we want the best for you. We went for the upgrade and yes, the manufacturer wasn’t too happy about that either.

The problem, however, is the lead time for these upgraded MCU’s. It will take longer and impact the delivery schedule. We don’t know exactly what the impact will be but we will let you know as soon as we know.

Back to the exciting things

Now that we have individual RGB in the Wooting one, we’re secretly very psyched and excited about it. Even though it is purely cosmetic, our previous RGB solution, in the end, was a real pain in the ass to calibrate. This new solution makes that easier.

Besides, now we have another “thing” to play around with.

We have full control over the individual RGB capabilities and it’s a matter of time to see what we’ll be doing with it. It will already help indicate different profiles and functionalities more seamlessly and let anybody customize the lights to their preferences.

It won’t be a major focus for the first firmware version, in fact, it will be very basic in the first firmware version but we’ll be adding more functionality to it over time.

If you have any questions, concerns or ideas (for individual RGB) be sure to share them:

• In the comments
• On Discord
• Through Facebook
• With a Tweet
• Or just plain email

<3 Wooting,

Calder, Erik, Jeroen

It took a while to process but it has come to a conclusion. We’ve chosen 11 beta testers from over 320 applicants. That’s a lot more than we had anticipated.

Besides the actual application text itself, we evaluated them on communication skills, criticism, and creativity.

We also took a look at how they plan to use and evaluate the beta keyboard (e.g. the one is entirely about mechanical keyboards, the other about simulation games). We kept one spot for the most creative applicant.

Of course, we also choose a couple of testers from our private circle because we know exactly what to expect from them but they are in a minority.

EDIT: 9 Sept. 2016 – 

In light of recent responses, I want to express our seriousness about beta testing. If you’ve read the above text carefully, you hopefully understand that we’ve Not chosen the testers merely based on creativity. 

Of the 11 beta testers, we’ve only reserved 1 spot for his creative application.

The other chosen beta testers exist out of:

• Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts
• Simulator enthusiasts
• E-sport professionals
• Engineers
• Nitpikkers

If you’re not one of the 11 chosen testers; don’t be disappointed. Your application didn’t go in vain. You’ve given us courage and great amusement. Most of all, we got to know you. Hi!

For the sake of privacy, we’re leaving the identity of the Beta testers to the Beta testers for now. You might already know a couple and otherwise, they will come forward over time.

Don’t expect anything too explosive to happen just yet from the Beta. It’s all informational right now and they have yet to receive their beta keyboards.

Alright, now enjoy the most creative applicant and some honorable mentions (none of these are the Beta testers). I left it to 3 samples that show different angles but there are a lot of other good ones as well.

Most Creative:

honorable mentions:

A Long Meme:

A Techy:

A Poem:

I am 100% your beta tester.

Your keyboard, in my hands, will not fester.
I have a few different, clean mechs.
Of dirt or dust? I leave not a speck.
I can run your board through its paces.
I can use it to put tears on noob faces.
Tight-lipped, NDA-bound, I’ll stay.
Loose-fingered bug reports sent your way.
I will use your mech at home for games.
I will use your mech at work and on planes.
Please send along a Wooting One!

I’d love to beta test this run.

By <Has no nickname, so keeping anonymous>

Stay in touch

There are many ways you can get in touch with us. Questions, concerns, feedback, ideas and you name it, we’re here to listen.

• Discord
• Twitch
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email

<3 Wooting,

Calder, Erik and Jeroen

Upcoming Sunday, 11th of September at 16:00 (GMT+2) I will stream live from Taiwan. Jeroen and Erik will also be present over voice to back him up.

On the schedule:

• Showcase analog in a game
• Reveal the first Beta firmware version
• Reveal an early Alpha version of the GUI
• Our progression and what’s coming next
• Open Q&A – Ask anything.

During this live stream, I will use an old prototype without individual RGB. The latest prototype is not ready for use yet. We’ll cover this topic and more during the live stream.

See you then!

• Wooting Youtube Gaming
• Event in your timezone

Note: We won’t stream over Twitch anymore instead we’re streaming over YouTube. I tried streaming over Twitch in Taiwan but the buffering was horrible. We’ll try to notify Twitch followers when we go live.

Get in Touch:

• Talk on discord
• Like us
• Tweet us
• <3 us on Instagram
• Subscribe to our videos
• Or just plain email

Dear Supporters,

We were head deep in the individual RGB changes and had a lot of unsure things floating around. Today, we’re turning things around and want to pull you into our world.

We’ll talk about the delivery date, firmware, and individual RGB. Be sure to check out the video at the end.

Delivery date

When we announced the upgrade to individual RGB and new MCU, we also talked about the unknown lead time for the new components. Good news is, we know the lead times. Bad news, it’s in November.

This means that we can’t mass produce on time for a November delivery. That’s why we’re moving the expected delivery date to February. We’re hesitant to promise anything earlier. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from manufacturing, it’s that promises are fragile to break. There’re too many factors that can influence it and you never know what hits you until it happens.

Just know that we’re doing our best to get it produced and delivered as soon as possible.

Small Switch update

We’ve mentioned that the manufacturer would make a new switch version for Analog. It’s been a while but we’ve finally received more information. The short story is that the new switch is better than the old but getting more analog range is a lot more complicated than we/they had anticipated. We’ll dedicate our next update with all the details, we’re still awaiting some developments.

Packaging

This is the first thing you’ll see once you receive the Wooting one. Erik has had his hands full with measuring all the different aspects of the box. It was honestly pretty difficult for us. It’s the first time we’ve ever made any product packaging. There are many things you run into when creating a box which has to look nice but also be practical. An example of this is finding a smart way to add the extra top plate for all you sprinkle backers.

As makers, we really wanted to make this amazing mind blowing packaging full of innovative ideas. But then reality hits you. You have to work with what you got within the time you have. I think we’ve done a pretty good job for noobs.

We started with small paper models.

Then we had to scale it to a diecut (i.e. a mold of the box before it’s folded). Once that seemed alright, we went ahead to make a prototype box.

The prototype box was really telling. It showed flaws in some measurements and gave a clear idea of how things would fit in. We made the adjustments to the diecut and also added the graphics.

We like to keep our designs KISS (keep it simple stupid). We shall soon find out how it looks like on the first prototype box with graphics on them.

Keyboard Software & Firmware

If you’ve seen our last amateur stream, we showed raw snaps of the beta keyboard firmware and alpha GUI software. If you missed out, there’s another one this Sunday and everything is saved on our youtube channel.

We felt really psyched about the software/firmware because they’re the fundamentals. But quickly realized during the previous stream that it is really hard to show all the engineering background work we’ve done for the last few months.

Now that the boring engineer stuff is done, all the visual and interactive parts will start to move fast. For example, we’ve started the GUI design process. Finally, something that isn’t 100% code and we can easily show for feedback. This is where the Beta testers will jump in to help to get out dumb mistakes and find bugs/glitches.

We’re tackling the GUI design in a lean style. This means we’ll first design wireframes (a mega simplified visual) of the structure, then design the graphic assets and make the code behind it per page. Along the way, we decide if it needs overhauls or changes.

Here’s one of the first wireframes:

When we have something functional, you bet we’re going to ask for your feedback. If you have some nifty ideas already, feel free to share them!

Individual RGB

Our last video of individual RGB was very premature. We literally only installed the LED driver on the new PCB and placed the top plate on top of it. Now, we have a final prototype that has everything installed.

We’re extremely happy with the result. As you can see the brightness is quite high, the colors come through better than before. There are some limitations, though. It’s still near impossible to get a pure white backlight due to the nature of RGB LED. You’ll notice this with any RGB backlit keyboard. The only way to really fix that is by adding an extra white LED and we don’t think that’s worth it.

Jeroen is still working on a solution for everybody to make their own custom RGB effects. We haven’t forgotten about you Linux enthusiasts. In the meanwhile, we quickly added a couple of simple effects for the video.

We hope you liked this update and have the patients. If you have any questions, you’re always welcome to ask. Otherwise, you should join the live stream tomorrow at 15:00 (GMT+2, Amsterdam). We’ll have a live Q&A.

Wooting.
Calder, Erik, Jeroen

We’re going to Dreamhack Winter 2016 in Jönköping, Sweden and want to invite you to join/visit us. The three of us (Calder, Jeroen, Erik) will be in the middle of the crowd with our own LAN tables. We’ll each have a Wooting one keyboard and you can give it a shot!

There’s a small chance that we’ll also have a small booth spot in the exhibition area. It depends if other exhibitors like to host/share with us. Otherwise, it’s waaay over budget for us.

Last year we also attended the show before we announced anything analog. It was our first trip there and it was, to say the least, a blast. This year we want to invite you to come sit with us at Dreamhack Winter. There’s still a month to go but there’s loads of table space available.

If you join us, we’ll make sure to equip you with a proper Wooting T-shirt and add some flair with Wooting stickers. You’ll immediately be the coolest person in the hall and can skip all those swag give-a-ways. You already got it all.

We’re not expecting to a horde of people to join tables, but even if it’s one, that’s already awesome. If you’re interested in joining, then connect with us as soon as possible:

• Facebook
• Discord
• Twitter
• Email

The deadline is… if you read this, get in touch

If you’ve already booked a table then you should definitely come visit us. We’ll make sure to announce our seats repetitively over time.

soon – Wooting.
Calder, Erik, Jeroen

TL:DR

The Wooting one is almost ready for mass production but we’re facing some issues with the new switch. The stability and reliability over the keyboard are not up to our standards. Jeroen is now in Taiwan to solve these problems.

A Small Story.

Wooting is as exciting as it is scary. We’ve been through exciting ups and depressing downs. if you ask any entrepreneur, It’s one of the perks that come with running a business. I’m just thankful for my awesome partners, Jeroen and Erik. I couldn’t imagine running Wooting without them.

It all started when I saw the prototype of the first Flaretech switch. That time promoted as a hot-swappable switch. But once I understood how it worked, the only question to me was when the first analog keyboard would come. There was none. It didn’t take me long to come up with a plan to make one myself.

It was a crazy idea, considering that I’ve never embarked such a venture before. But I felt a calling. The chills went through my entire body when I shared the idea with Erik. A long-time friend, creative soul and now co-founder.

When we tried to start a project with Flaretech switches, we weren’t taken seriously. But I felt a burning fire inside of me that didn’t accept No as an answer. No matter how I had to bring analog keyboards to life.

At one point my persistence opened an opportunity for us. We could start a small-scale project and all the sudden we were in need of an engineer. Call it faith or total randomness but I remembered a video long time ago from Jeroen being “enginery”. That time an old gaming buddy, now co-founder and awesome engineer.

Fast forwarding today. We had our trial production and got a taste of the final keyboard that will arrive at your doorstep. The first ever analog mechanical keyboard on the market. But we’re not there yet, the trial production revealed new challenges.

Trial Production

The 13th of November. On our YouTube live stream, we shared about the trial production and the results.

A trial production happens before mass production to test out the production process. This helps to find manufacturing defaults and test the final product. So you don’t end up with a multitude of blemished keyboards. This trial production was with the latest switch, one with a larger analog range.

The day we hosted the live stream, I had an early sample ( before the keyboard) and the result was… bad.

The analog signal was cut off early and inconsistent over the board. When there are 88 analog keys exposed to manufacturing variables, they’ll all be different. But this was out of proportion.

Our first analysis suggested that the new switch was causing some serious issues. But we needed more information and wait for the trial keyboards.

The Variables

14th of November, a day after the live stream. I picked up the trial keyboards (in Taiwan). To our relief, these showed much more promising results without the same issues. It wasn’t perfect yet and some keyboards had problems.

You see, the keyboard basically consists out of a

• Plastic bottom case
•  Aluminum top plate
• A PCBA (the plate with electrical components)
• Switches & Keycaps

These components have a manufacturing tolerance. Meaning that it’s never exactly (for example) 25mm but 25.2mm or 24.8mm. When you accumulate those tolerances, it can give unpredictable results per keyboard.

We bridge this issue by calibrating all the switches during assembly in the firmware.

But, we learned that the inner-workings of the switch is a lot more complicated than we thought. Without going into too many details. To get more analog range, the manufacturer had to change the lenses. This allowed us to read a larger range of light but also made it more sensitive to external factors.

Decision-making

14th of November, in the night we decided that Jeroen had to go to Taiwan. To fix the problems and get things going faster. It’s one of those things that just take too long from a distance.

Working from a distance is one thing. Working from a distance with Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers is another. With Jeroen there. The pressure is on, problem solving goes faster and explaining things is easier.

Funny enough, the day Jeroen would arrive Taiwan, was a day before I would leave for the Netherlands.

The Switch situation

23rd of November, as I’m writing this. Erik, I and my wife are on our way to Dreamhack Winter in Sweden with trial keyboards. While Jeroen has had some time to assess the entire situation.

He isolated it to two issues that influence analog on the keyboard:

• Mechanical stability
• The switch lens

Mechanical stability

We found out that some mechanical parts were causing irregularities between keyboards. This was one of the things that ruined the first keyboard I received. Thankfully, this is something that is possible to fix.

The Switch lens

This is the most challenging. For the most part, it’s up to the manufacturer. The best we can do is give feedback and point out issues.

The challenge is the stability of the analog signal. The more sensitive switch is, the larger range we’re able to get but the worse the stability gets.

For example, we have a range from 1.7mm to 4mm analog. But when you press the switch all the way to the end and start wiggling it a lot, it will fluctuate in the values. Sometimes to an extent that the keyboard thinks it’s only pressed 3mm instead of 4mm.

When we make the sensitivity lower, it kills the total range to (for example) 1.7mm to 3.5mm.

Things are a bit more complicated, but that’s the grasp of it.

The second challenge is the differences in each manufacturing step. Put simple, there are three steps.

Prototype testing Trial production Mass production For every step, they need to make new tooling. Each time they change or make the tooling, the switch might have different results.

Yesterday, we received the switch version for mass production. Unfortunately, the results were different from the Trial production version.

In the meanwhile, they’re working on a new prototype switch based on our feedback.

Action Plan

We’re all working hard to start mass production in December. Then we can ship the keyboards over boat and make the February delivery. There’s a chance lingering that we have to push the production date and ship by air instead of boat. Everything, to get the Wooting one to you on time.

More coming in the next update.

Talk to you soon. Calder.
<3 Jeroen & Erik

Dreamhack Winter is one of the largest LAN parties in Europe. It’s extremely well organized but all the way in Jönköping, Sweden! We attended the event just like last year to game, share and have fun.

I and Erik drove all the way from the Netherlands. Originally Jeroen would join us, but he is in Taiwan doing more important stuff, so instead Yennie joined us. Last year we slept in the sleeping hall but this year we decided to rent a cabin… in the middle of the woods!

The cabin was a huge success, we were literally in the woods and close to this mega-lake in Jönköping. Wouldn’t recommend swimming there, unless you have a death wish. It was literally freezing cold outside. During our drives back and forth to the cabin, we were able to spot an owl, deer, and moose! Weren’t fast enough to take pictures but that’s what google is for.

At Dreamhack we had 3 tables and a couple of simple chairs. All good enough for the entire event. We sat in the same area as the Pack4dreamhack guys i.e. a lot of Dutch people! They came with the bus, a great alternative way to get here. Kuddos to them for arranging our tables.

The cool thing about Dreamhack is that you can do a lot more than just LAN gaming. There were a lot of E-sport tournaments going on, DJ’s playing at the stage and brand booths that demoed some cool games. Of course, the most fun was at our tables with the Wooting one

Everything really went too fast for us. The first couple of days we were just walking around, working, arranging things and met up with the Trigono guys, great people. It wasn’t until the final day on Saturday, we had the chance to do some cool things. We hosted a stream that lasted for 9 hours (!) playing on the Wooting one.

This really put the Wooting one to the test and boy, we loved it. Every time I came back to my PC, it was really awesome to see the backlight of Wooting one. It’s better than we had expected.

During the stream we had an old friend come by, Hampus. He sat next to us during the previous Dreamhack Winter. He played overwatch extremely well for the first time. If you’re reading this Hampus, stop playing Counter Strike, play Overwatch!

We noticed that we had really gotten used to analog range in the keyboard. When somebody new to it would use it, they really had to adjust to it. It’s funny how you have to adjust your habit of pressing the key randomly to something more controlled.

For the most part we played Overwatch and honestly, it’s not the type of game you’ll need it for. It’s cool to do it but on a competitive level (or game) it’s not going to add an advantage. On that note, in Counter Strike, analog worked a lot better than before. It was easier to setup. Still need to play some competitive games to find out how useful it is.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward for you to start using the Wooting one and what feedback you have. After all, this is just the beginning of analog keyboards.

It was sad that Dreamhack ended so fast.

Thankfully we had another day at the cabin…. to play Crash Team Racing, and relax a bit. Before we had our own 14 hours race driving back home the following day.

Join us

The stream really motivated us to do more random streams next to the bi-weekly update streams. Thanks to a suggestion in the Wooting discord we’re hosting another one this Sunday to play Titanfall 2. If you want to join, let us know on the Discord and join the stream.

The stream time:

• 04-December at 15:00 (UTC +1) on YouTube Live

And as always, we’re all open to your feedback and questions:

• Talk on discord
• Like us
• Tweet us
• <3 us on Instagram
• Subscribe to our videos/streams
• Or just plain email

While Erik and Calder were having a lot of fun at Dreamhack, they sent me (Jeroen) to the other side of the world to try and fix some issues with the keyboard. You can read all about our findings on the trial keyboards in this blog. In this blog I will talk about the whole trip, which took about a month and took me to Taiwan, Hongkong and China! Look out for another blog or stream about the results of this trip and what it means for the keyboard.

Part 1: Trying to figure out what’s wrong in Taipei

The first two weeks were spent at the office of our keyboard manufacturer in Taipei, Taiwan. When I arrived they surprised me with my very own desk. The desk was of course way too small for a Dutch guy, so I had to remove the drawer to even fit under the desk. A lot of measurements were done at this small desk in the first two weeks to try to get a better understanding of what’s going on with the keyboard.

During the first two weeks I stayed at a hostel with some wonderful hosts with a typical Taiwanese hospitality. They love to show you around and feed you all kinds of stuff.

If there’s one thing the Taiwanese love, it’s food. It’s even represented in their language, they don’t say “Hello” they say “Have you eaten?”. Tables full of delicious recipes which are shared by all. The fish on the picture was caught by a cousin of the hostels host, he also cooked all the food on the table!

Time to go back to work. After the first two weeks I felt like we were not making the progress we wanted. Being at the office itself already helped a lot, but to actually make the big difference we wanted I had to go to the factory in China itself. The Chinese are very strict with their immigration and require a visa for everyone that comes in. This visa was not possible to get in Taiwan (Chinese Unification), so we had to make a different plan. I had to go to Hong Kong, get an express visa there and cross the border to China from Hong Kong.

Part 2: Weekend in Hong Kong

I booked my flight for Saturday morning, so I had the weekend to explore the city a bit. From the moment I arrived I was blown away by the size and density in the city, along the beautiful hills and water. In Hong Kong there are people walking everywhere and they walk fast. Some sidewalks couldn’t even fit the amount of people walking on it.

A great thing about Hong Kong though is that you can just take one of the many ferries to the island to escape the crowd. Me and some guys from the hostel took a ferry to Lamma Island. This island is a small fisherman island with a nice beach and a huge power plant. I will definitely go back to Hong Kong soon, with three days I felt like I barely scratched the surface of everything in and around the city.

Part 3: The keyboard assembly factory in Zaoqing

The application for the visa went without any issues. After filling in about 5 pages of paperwork I got my visa and went off to china. The first of many surprises started at the train station. To be honest, my expectations of China were low, very low. This image got shattered immediately when I walked into a brand new train which was right on time and very fast. China has been working very hard on their infrastructure and it shows.

At the factory I put my lab coat, hat and slippers on and got a tour. The factory itself was very clean and felt well arranged. As an electrical engineer I was especially surprised by the whole SMT production line. All the circuit boards for our keyboard are soldered and tested in the factory itself. This is especially important for us, since the analog keyboards are very sensitive to variations on the PCB.

Part 4: The switch factory in Dongguan

The switches of the keyboard are produced in another factory in another city, called Dongguan. This city is really a factory city. The very polluted air and bland buildings result in a city that feels like it misses a soul, it’s just a city built to cope with the insane growth of the Chinese industry. I was honestly pretty shocked by the realization that almost every product we use in the western world is manufactured in places like this.

The day before the visit to the switch factory I was promised that there would be a new version of the switch which would have everything we wanted. I was really sceptical at first, since this isn’t the first time they didn’t deliver on their promises.

The switch factory itself was again very modern and clean. Now the moment I waited for so long was finally there, a demonstration of the new switch. The performance of the switch was indeed way better than before. It was very stable and the range was all the way from 1.5 mm to 3.8 mm. I was of course very happy to see this, but it’s still a trial switch. They’re working now on the tooling for this switch, which we can use for mass production. Hopefully we can share some actual results very soon.

I wasn’t allowed to share any pictures sadly. I would’ve loved to share the pictures of me smiling and shaking hands with the project manager in front of the company sign, a typical thing in Asia.

Part 5: Back to Taiwan and home!

As I’m writing this I’m back in the cold in Holland and feeling pretty jetlagged. While I didn’t go into too much detail in this blog about the technical stuff, we did make a lot of progress while I was there. It’s been a long journey, but we are very close now. The next big part is our configuration software, AKA the Wootility. Expect some blogs about our progress on that very soon.

Hi!

There’s a lot to share again. If you’ve followed us closely then you’re probably familiar with most of it but otherwise, grab a coffee.

I’ve divided the update into three parts.

1. A follow-up on the packaging from our Oct update
2. The decisions we had to make concerning mass production
3. The current status of things

To make life easy, here’s a short (less detailed) video:

Final packaging

Packaging is done. We don’t want to spoil the entire receiving/unpacking experience, but here are a couple of things.

Starting with the box that we’ve used a dozen of time. So it’s a bit ruffled.

You might have noticed in the last picture, it’s an ISO UK version. Take a closer look at the ISO Nordic version.

Also for the first time, a good picture of the cable.

And to make it more exciting, a 360-degree image of the püller.

There’s also a quick-start manual, among other things. Though not considered important to most, it’s quite a lot of work. Here’s a sneak-preview.

There are more new pictures that I’ve spread over the update.

The Decision Making Factor

In the previous update (24 Nov 2016) I elaborately talked about the problems we faced after the first trial production. In short, the keyboards were not functioning as expected, so Jeroen went to Taiwan to solve any remaining issues. All in the hope to start mass producing as soon as possible.

After a month of hard work and putting pressure on the manufacturer in Taiwan and China, Jeroen returned back in the Netherlands. In the end, his trip was successful but the two issues are still lingering. The switch and mechanical issue.

We had to make a tough decision. Start mass production before or after Chinese New Year.

The Switch Issue

The new switch, a term that’s been going around for a while. In the previous update, we received our first trial production keyboard including an improved new switch version. It was disappointing.

Thankfully, that changed. When Jeroen visited the manufacturer they had a shiny new trial switch and well, the results were pretty damn good! It showed a promising stable 1.5mm up to practically 4mm analog range, in comparison to an unstable 2-4mm. Jeroen immediately told them to get it ready for mass production.

But! That was a “trial” production switch, not the actual switch we use for mass production. We’ve learned from the last switch, that there can be a difference between the trial and mass production version of the switch. We told them that we want to see the exact same switch for mass production, otherwise, it’s unacceptable.

The Mechanical Issue

This got us by surprise. In short, the mechanical issue means that all the keyboards, over the total 87/88 keys, had some keys working faulty. They would be more sensitive or wouldn’t read the entire range due to “something” not related to the switch. On some keyboards, the effect was quite sincere and impossible to overcome by software.

When we produced the last trial production the number of keyboards we considered super NG (not good) were near 40%. Not something you want to have when you produce over 1000 keyboards.

We were not able to pinpoint what was causing the problem (at that time) and it would take some time to research.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year (CNY) is awesome. Fireworks, parades, food, food, food and vacation (in Asia). It’s less awesome business-wise because China shuts down for 2 weeks and Taiwan 1 week starting 28 Jan. They literally shut down, nothing happens during this period. Also no mass production for a cool analog keyboard.

This means everybody is rushing to get their things out before CNY and right after CNY everybody is catching up lost time. This also means that shipping anything before CNY is difficult and prone to human-errors.

If we would produce before CNY, we had to start buying all the components straight away for it to be ready for mass production. This also means that there’s no time to pinpoint and solve the mechanical issue beforehand and we had to trust the switch manufacturer to come with a good mass production switch on time.

If we would produce after CNY, we could wait with buying the mechanical components and spend time on finding and solving the mechanical issue. Without a guarantee that it would be solved. It would also relieve some of our reliance on the switch manufacturer to be on time.

The Decision

Coming to the point, we decided to produce after CNY. This also means, and I don’t say this with any pleasure, we can’t deliver in February. Instead, that’s when we will start mass production. This also means we will ship the keyboards by Airplane instead of boat. This saves, in comparison, nearly a month (but also cost us dearly).

We’ve planned a new trial production before CNY as a deadline and in preparation for a good mass production after CNY. If I’m optimistic, we will start delivery in March. If I’m pessimistic, you’ll receive it in April. One thing is for sure, we’re working as fast as possible.

I can only hope that you understand the decision we made and know that we’re doing everything we can to get things done.

The current status

We’re preparing for trial production(happening before CNY) but still waiting for the mass production switch and definitive solution for the mechanical issue. This update was delayed in hope for more clear answers but it’s taking too long. So, this is the latest.

Mass production switch

We’re still crossing our fingers. Hoping they’ll succeed in making the mass production version as good as the trial production version. They’ve already surpassed their deadline by a week. Not unusual but highly nerve-wracking. We check the progress on a daily base and made clear that we have a deadline to meet. They have their reasons, but our attitude towards the switch is, we don’t believe till we see it.

Mechanical solution

The mechanical issue seems to be in the circuit board (PCBA) alignment, the part with all the electronic components, not the bottom casing, top plate or another component. Good news, because we can start purchasing those parts. But, until we’ve received the new circuit board, we can’t cheer yet.

You are awesome

In the previous update, I shared how we have to face new challenges all the time. But actually, we’re not alone. You’re part of this team, even if it’s just by reading this update or keeping faith in us. Every time we face these challenges, you are the backline pushing us forward.

It’s why we always operate in your best interest, listen to your feedback and always have an open line of communication:

•  At your service through Email
• Join the others and us on Discord
• Rewatch and join our bi-weekly live streams
• Message us on Facebook
• Tweet things

Chinese New Year ended a week ago and we have exciting news. The manufacturing for the Wooting one happens on the 16th of March. It will take about a week to complete the entire production. Then we’re bringing it over by airplane for distribution. Once it’s sent out to you we will share a tracking number with you. Depending on your country, backer level and the local delivery guy (he might like one for himself), expect it at your doorstep anywhere in April.

We’re already in the middle of the storm. The storm of execution, last minute arrangements, doubts, keyboard kissing, checking, final touches and praying to the keyboard gods. Everything we’ve all worked towards will become a reality. But, yeah but, there’s still some work to do.

There’s still enough to do before the manufacturing date. Including:

• Components check
• The Wootility
• Logistics (next update)

Components check

Lack of other words, I call it for what it is. There are a couple of components that need final approval before they’re manufactured. Including, the most exciting, the mass production switches.

Calder is now in China and going by the different manufacturers to check…

Keycaps

We went through a couple of keycap versions and one thing noticed was the slight offset on some prints. At the time, I thought it was a mistake and a temporary issue. But, part of manufacturing/China 101, never makes assumptions or expectations. So I pointed it out and not too long ago I was measuring every keycap print.

That’s when I learned from our contact person how the manufacturer aligns it. A person goes over the keycaps and aligns it by the eye. Forget about fancy measuring devices. I was in total shock and disbelief.

Now I’m going there to check the precision and quality before giving it a go-ahead. I’ll see if it’s true or not but one thing is for sure… it’s going to perfect.

Top plate

The top plate still has to go through a final phase, anodization. This is the coloring process for the aluminum. The thing is, it’s near impossible to always get exactly the same color. Even with the same manufacturer, every batch can be different. It’s a small difference but it’s there.

The original color we signed for was made by a different factory. Now they’re having a hard time replicating our color. I have to see what the results are and sign off on what is good.

Switches Switches Switches

This is a continues theme. It’s one of the most important keyboard parts that determines the keyboard experience. We use the Flaretech switches because they have an optical mechanic. This allows us to read an analog signal. Shortly after the Kickstarter, we’ve pushed the manufacturer to improve the analog range.

As you might know, they improved the range but it came with new technical challenges (see older posts). The last couple of months they worked on overcoming these challenges. All we could do was give feedback on the results.

Now, we’ve reached a final version of the switch for mass production. Or well, they’re still fiddling around with it here and there, but that’s coming to an end during the trip.

The New Wootility

Have we ever shared the name Wootility outside the livestream? It’s the configuration software for changing settings on the keyboard. We made a major overhaul.

When we started, it was only for Windows because we used something called WPF. Don’t bother googling it, it was terrible. It wasn’t until beginning this year that we decided to throw it overboard and start from scratch again.

Now we’re building the Wootility on a framework called Electron. Google it, feel cool and hipster, come back here, let me explain. Basically, it means it’s built with website languages such as HTML, CSS, and JS. Though that’s cool and fun for Erik and Jeroen; the real cool part is that it’s cross-platform.

This means that the new Wootility will work on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Woop-woop! But that doesn’t mean you can start playing analog on Mac and Linux as well. You’ll the 360 controller (or Xinput) driver to make it compatible, a missing feature in both Linux and Mac. There are open source Xinput drivers out there but it doesn’t guarantee to work 100%.

Erik and Jeroen worked hard on building the core of Wootility. Now that the beta testers started using the Alpha version it will go through some rapid improvements. More coming…

TL: DR

Manufacturing date est. on 16th of March, delivery estimated in April. Calder is now in China approving components. The config software is called Wootility and it’s now cross-platform (works on Windows, Mac, and Linux).

And as always, we’re all open to your feedback and questions:

• Talk on discord
• Like us
• Tweet us
• <3 us on Instagram
• Subscribe to our videos/streams
• Or just plain email

We value our Kickstarter backers and our (early) customers. Not for nothing, we always welcome you to the team. That’s also why we’re ensuring that you come first before others. But we also have to start growing and move forwards. That’s why we’ve started talking with resellers for our future production. This is the situation and what you can expect.

You might know we offer the Wooting one in different European language layouts: German, Nordic, Estonian, French, Belgium, Spanish, Portuguese, Swiss, UK and phew, more. As beautiful as it is, it’s also a burden for us. Every language layout creates a new product number a.k.an SKU, and for production, there is a minimum order quantity (MOQ) per language.

With Kickstarter and the first batch on our webshop, it was manageable. We knew exactly how much to make for each language and bundled them together to meet the required MOQ. Yet, in the future, this isn’t that easy anymore. We can’t afford to produce (meeting MOQ), stocking and managing that many languages ourselves. As a small company, our cash flow is way too limited and our time way too precious. We want to focus more on the Wooting one than the logistics of it all.

That’s why we’ve explored our options and started talking with resellers/wholesalers. The B2B side of things. We plan to include them in our next production cycle (Batch 2). This will help us reach the MOQ, make it easier to get the Wooting one and give us time to focus on what’s important. Creating more value for the Wooting one, improving analog technology and make analog the industry standard.

There’s a chance you’ll start to see several resellers in Europe advertising the Wooting one. This doesn’t mean the Wooting one is in retail before you have one. That’d be terrible. But it will mean that the Wooting one will slowly be available through other channels as well. To clarify, if you’re a Kickstarter backer or pre-ordered batch 1 you’ll receive the keyboard first and way in advance (expect it in april).

I feel a little shy to ask, but perhaps you can help us by recommending awesome wholesalers or resellers in your country. With your local market knowledge, we can really get things going.

Team Wooting,
Calder, Erik & Jeroen