Skarp Technologies: Difference between revisions
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== Crowdsource campaigns == |
== Crowdsource campaigns == |
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In September 2015, Skarp started a [[Kickstarter]] campaign for their product, the Skarp Laser Razor, asking for $160,000 US.<ref name="mashable" /> The campaign rapidly passed the target amount, hitting over $ |
In September 2015, Skarp started a [[Kickstarter]] campaign for their product, the Skarp Laser Razor, asking for $160,000 US.<ref name="mashable" /> The campaign rapidly passed the target amount, hitting over $700,000 in eight days,<ref name="mashable" /> and reaching over $4,000,000.<ref name="vincent2015" /> However, before the funds were due to be collected, Kickstarter cancelled the campaign, stating that Skarp were in violation of their rules for failing to provide a working prototype of their product.<ref name="vincent2015" /> Skarp countered by saying that they did have a working prototype, and this was investigated by CNET, who stated that Skarp did have a laser filament that was capable of cutting single hairs, although they noted that the filament was fragile and prone to breaking, and that it could not cut more than one hair at a time.<ref>Hollister, Sean. (23 November 2015). "[https://www.cnet.com/reviews/skarp-laser-razor-preview/ We tried the laser razor so you don't have to]", ''CNET''. Retrieved 11 September 2018.</ref> |
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After being cancelled on Kickstarter, Skarp moved to Indiegogo where they launched a new campaign for their product.<ref name="vincent2015" /> This was successful, and Skarp were able to raise over $500,000 using Inidiegogo's "flexible funding" model.<ref name="vincent2015" /><ref name="indiegogo">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-skarp-laser-razor-21st-century-shaving/|title=The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving|website=Indiegogo|accessdate=11 September 2018}}</ref> |
After being cancelled on Kickstarter, Skarp moved to Indiegogo where they launched a new campaign for their product.<ref name="vincent2015" /> This was successful, and Skarp were able to raise over $500,000 using Inidiegogo's "flexible funding" model.<ref name="vincent2015" /><ref name="indiegogo">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-skarp-laser-razor-21st-century-shaving/|title=The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving|website=Indiegogo|accessdate=11 September 2018}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 17:32, 11 September 2018
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Skarp Technologies LLC is a US company (registered on 12 August 2015, no. 201522510335) based in Irvine, CA. Co-founded by Morgan Gustavsson and Paul Binun,[1] the company gained public attention in October 2015 when it launched a Kickstarter campaign to promote the Skarp Laser Razor.[2][3][4][5] It gained more than 4 million dollars worth of pledges in less than three weeks. However, on October 12, the campaign was cancelled by Kickstarter, who alleged that Skarp acted in violation of their rules.[6] A new Indiegogo campaign was launched within hours of the Kickstarter suspension, and it subsequently raised over $500,000 US with a claim that the device would be released to backers in March 2016.[6][7] According to an update from Skarp in May 2018, the razor was still under development and had not entered production.[8]
Crowdsource campaigns
In September 2015, Skarp started a Kickstarter campaign for their product, the Skarp Laser Razor, asking for $160,000 US.[3] The campaign rapidly passed the target amount, hitting over $700,000 in eight days,[3] and reaching over $4,000,000.[6] However, before the funds were due to be collected, Kickstarter cancelled the campaign, stating that Skarp were in violation of their rules for failing to provide a working prototype of their product.[6] Skarp countered by saying that they did have a working prototype, and this was investigated by CNET, who stated that Skarp did have a laser filament that was capable of cutting single hairs, although they noted that the filament was fragile and prone to breaking, and that it could not cut more than one hair at a time.[9]
After being cancelled on Kickstarter, Skarp moved to Indiegogo where they launched a new campaign for their product.[6] This was successful, and Skarp were able to raise over $500,000 using Inidiegogo's "flexible funding" model.[6][10]
Technology
According to the Kickstarter campaign description, Morgan Gustavsson had the idea for a Laser razor in 2001.[citation needed] He discovered in 2009 a wavelength that could cut any color hair.[citation needed] He was joined by Paul Binun in 2013, when a working solution was developed.[citation needed]
The team also consists of Jon Loughboro (Lead Enelctrical Engineer), Loyal Wiens (Lead Firmware Engineer) and Leo Berganza (Lead Manufacturing/Mechanical Engineer).[citation needed]
Mr Oliver Pearce-Owen is the creator of the Kickstarter campaign and the CIO of Skarp Technologies.[citation needed]
From the same page, the description of the technology is[citation needed] :
"Wavelengths of light had already been discovered that could cut through dark hair, but finding a way to cut light hair was proving incredibly difficult.
After years of research & development, they discovered a chromophore in the hair that would be cut when hit with a particular light wavelength.
Chromophores are particles that absorb certain wavelengths (colors) of light.
This chromophore they identified is shared by every human, regardless of age, gender or race."
Also, from the Comments section of the Campaign :
"The laser isn't using power to burn the hair. It is targeting a certain chromophore in the hair that will break when hit with a certain frequency we discovered."
A patent application (number 20150223889) was published on 2015-08-23 (In the Comments section of the campaign, the company talks about the patent US 9,017,322 B2, which is the granted version of this patent application)
It states : "A device configured to cut hair using laser light includes a handle portion and a shaving portion. The handle portion includes a battery and a laser light source. The laser light source is coupled to and configured to receive power from the battery. The laser light source is also configured to generate laser light having a wavelength selected to target a predetermined chromophore to effectively cut a hair shaft. The shaving portion includes a support and a single fiber optic supported by the support. The fiber optic has a proximal end, a distal end, an outer wall, and a cutting region positioned towards the distal end and extending along a portion of the side wall. The fiber optic is positioned to receive the laser light from the laser light source at the proximal end, conduct the laser light from the proximal end toward the distal end, and emit the light out of the cutting region and toward hair when the cutting region is brought in contact with the hair." [11]
Skarp Technologies claim that his razor (all the following is extracted from Comments section of the campaign, September and October 2015, from the Skarp Technologies's answers to questions) [citation needed]:
- It can be used on any region of the body.
- It is not a laser hair removal
- (regarding the life expectancy of the product) : Tough to give an exact figure - much like any other electrical device. But it will be counted in years.
- It will be powered by a rechargeable battery. We are looking at induction charging as an option, it depends on cost.
- It will be recyclable after it stops functioning
- Estimated life span of the laser is 50,000 hours
- The razor doesn't require any special care.
- It will have a CE mark
- The battery will not user replaceable, but with normal usage it should last 10 years
- The light emission is well within eye safe levels. There's no directed light emitted from the razor.
- It is not actually burning the hair so there is no burning hair smell
- The laser light from the Skarp Razor only needs to cover about one 1/100,000 of that area at the time, hence the power needed is much much less. Not to mention that that light is not aimed down into, but horizontal to the dermis. Hence it does not heat up the dermis at all and hence there is no inflammation nor risk for PIH (post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation).
- It is water resistant. It can be used in the shower or with water if you want to, but it's not necessary.
- It uses a low power laser, & gets its hair cutting ability not from the strength of the laser, but from targeting the particular molecules in the hair that break when hit with a particular wavelength of light.
- It will be perfectly fine on tattooed skin
- It will cut incredibly close. It will cut closer with a single motion. One pass should be enough, two at the most. And because the Skarp Razor leaves a rounded edge rather than a traditional razor that leaves a sharp edge, it will feel smoother to the touch for longer.
- It will be a class 1 medical device and a class 1 laser
- It will work with uneven skin, and be a game changer for those with acne & skin conditions. The light from the laser will couple down into the hair & cut slightly below the ‘crater’ of the hair for a really close shave.
- It will cut any color hair & work on any color skin
- It can be rinsed under water, so dust isn’t a problem.
- There is no risk of burning skin, It is a low powered laser.
- The wavelength we're using doesn't emit UV. The power of the laser is too low to cause damage. But more importantly, the laser doesn't enter the skin, it only enters the hair. So there is absolutely no risk of developing any complications or damage
- The light only leaves the fiber when making contact with the hair. Water from the shower won’t have an effect on this.
- It is a class 1 medical device, like an electric toothbrush. We will however obtain any certifications required.
Skarp Technologies also wrote in the Comments section of the campaign, on September 22, 2015 :
"We have close co-operation with UCI (University of California Irvine) Department of Dermatology and are well aware of and prepared for FDA, whom the team has great experience of working with (us) in the past."
Controversy
On the KickStarter campaign's comments section and on forums like Reddit, doubts quickly arose about the validity of the claims of the company.[12][13][14][15][16] More specifically, whether the razor presented in the demonstration video was actually a functioning prototype or not.
As of October 8, 2015, Skarp Technologies acknowledge[17] that the razor is a working product, but it's currently connected to an outside power and laser sources.
"Our prototype is using an external power supply and fiber, which we will demo in the video we producing as we speak."
Questions were also raised[18][19] in the Kickstarter comments about the validity of the company's registered address, a FedEx office in Newport Beach, California.
On October 8, 2015, Skarp Technologies wrote (in the Comments section of the campaign) : "Kickstarter has a vetting process that all campaigns must go through. We were accepted with no issues."
and "We have been in contact with Kickstarter & after initially approving us, they requested a more thorough Demo. We explained to them that this isn't your run of the mill campaign & that our prototype has been taken as far as it could before mass production. After we provided a demo in Update 5 they told us they were happy. They recently requested another demo of cutting light hair, which we provided yesterday. I think they understand this is new territory & they're happy to have such a technologically advanced campaign on Kickstarter."
The controversy got attention of the online press on October 12, 2015, on the Austrian DerStandard.at online site.[20]
Kickstarter suspended the campaign on October 12, 2015 (just after the campaign reached 4,000,000 US$), offering the following explanation in an email sent to backers: "After requesting and reviewing additional material from the creator of the project, we’ve concluded that it is in violation of our rule requiring working prototypes of physical products that are offered as rewards. Accordingly, all funding has been stopped and backers will not be charged for their pledges. No further action is required on your part. Suspensions cannot be undone."
A few hours later, Skarp Technologies created a campaign on the Indiegogo crowdfunding site, with the same goal (US$160,000), the same pitch and claims.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving (Suspended)". Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "The Skarp razor that cuts with a LASER". Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=(help) - ^ a b c Tan, Alicia Marie. "Shaving will never be the same with this laser razor". Mashable. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "The Skarp bladeless razor has raised over $2 million on Kickstarter". Fortune. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "This futuristic razor shaves your hair with an actual laser — and it's already raised over $650,000". Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Vincent, James. (13 October 2015). "$4 million laser razor campaign banned from Kickstarter is already on Indiegogo", The Verge. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ^ Hollister, Sean. (1 July 2016). "What happened to the Laser Razor?", CNET. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ^ Gustavsson, Morgan (19 May 2018). "The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving: Updates". Indiegogo. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ Hollister, Sean. (23 November 2015). "We tried the laser razor so you don't have to", CNET. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ^ a b "The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving". Indiegogo. Retrieved 11 September 2018. Cite error: The named reference "indiegogo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Gustavsson, Morgan Lars (2015-08-13). "Patent application title: Laser Shaving". Patent application title: Laser Shaving.
- ^ "The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving (Suspended)". Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Scam Alert. The wildly successful SKARP "Laser" Razor. Unrealistic technology, no working prototype, but 2.5 million raised. Beware. • r/kickstarter". reddit. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Skarp kickstarter scam update with more details • r/kickstarter". reddit. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ By. "Ask Hackaday: I Love The Smell Of Burnt Hair In The Morning". Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "The Skarp Laser Razor - International Skeptics Forum". www.internationalskeptics.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Update 7: Second weekly update! · The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving (Suspended)". Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving (Suspended)". Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "The Skarp Laser Razor: 21st Century Shaving (Suspended)". Kickstarter. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ http://derstandard.at/2000023582803/Laser-Rasierer-auf-Kickstarter-Hygiene-Revolution-oder-Millionenschwindel Laser-Rasierer auf Kickstarter: Hygiene-Revolution oder Millionenschwindel? (de)
External links
- Official website
- KickStarter campaign
- Skarp's AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit
- EEVblog Electronics Community Forum's thread on Skarp, with answers from the company
- Blog entry by Saar Drimer, on October 6th 2015.
