Aquarists have been excited about Fishbit since its first Kickstarter was announced over a year ago. In fact, Fishbit reached its crowdfunding goal in 24 hours, an impressive feat for any tech start-up, but uniquely impressive for an aquatics based one. Fishbit was picked up by Highway 1, a group of investors in San Francisco who provide capital and resources to hardware companies. It’s not only been fun learning more about the device, but it’s also been exciting to watch as it comes full circle. I’ve followed Fishbit closely since I first learned of it, and several months ago Nathan Levine (founder of Fishbit creator Current Labs) sent me a beta version of the device (The one they shipped to the kickstarter participants). I wrote several articles about my experiences with Fishbit from a long-time aquarist’s standpoint, and highlighted some concerns I had with the beta version. Now Fishbit has moved out of beta, and the company has launched a second Kickstarter campaign, this time allowing aquarists a chance to pre-order the finalized version of the device at a reduced cost. After talking with Nathan and receiving an update on Fishbit’s status, it seems like some of my concerns have been taken care of, the largest of which was a software glitch that caused live transmission of aquarium water conditions to freeze up. Some recent reports about Fishbit have elevated the device outside of what existed in beta form. While it’s great to see Fishbit evolve from the beta version, which was in many ways a disposable controller due to electronics being encased in silicone on the aquarium’s wet-side, along with a non-replaceable probe, it’s important for aquarists to understand that this new version of Fishbit hasn’t been tested by aquarists or hobby media. With Fishbit’s first round of beta testing, a host of issues were uncovered, which the development team has used to refine the device’s production version. In an effort to bring discussion and expectation surrounding Fishbit to ground level, let’s take a closer look at the device, especially in how it relates to other controllers, currently established in the market. The beta version, the new version and ease of use:
Both the beta version of Fishbit, and the improved production version, house all the devices’ sensors and probes in a sleek black plastic case. This is done for two reasons: one is entirely cosmetic, as the sleek black case looks better than multiple free standing probes, while the other is to prevent build-up of algae and debris around the probes and sensors.… More:
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