The tech seems neat and all but please stop multitasking while driving, encouraging others to multitask while driving, and building products specifically designed to encourage multitasking while driving.
If you want to work while you're in transit: take public transit.
it's boring as shit and people are gonna do whatever anyway. including being drunk while driving. Comma.ai works using only cameras and radar so the technology is there. Why are we waiting? People are dying!
People do not multitask well. The median driver can barely keep a car on the road in perfect weather on a good day. Please stop helping distract them!
Luckily, most states lave laws about this, and drivers will get fined. Sadly, manufacturers rarely get fined. The people who made the original "hands on wheel" defeat device for Teslas got away with it, IIRC
Multitasking is mostly for those who have muscle memory in driving home to work and back. I have a hard time remembering going to the grocery store on the way because of muscle memory
I agree that we should find ways to limit instead of instigate multitasking while driving.
Building tech is usually clearer than finding a clear use case for it. As we find ways to mature the tech to be aligned with the ultimate vision we have, we will test various problems the immature tech can solve.
With that being said, if you have any ideas where this could really help people (for instance people with motor disabilities), please share them. We would like to serve people and build with humility.
People with motor disabilities seems like a great use case! Cooking and watching TV are two activities that benefit from voice control (due to dirty hands and remotes going missing). Nursing mothers often literally have their hands full.
Lots of folks in safety critical situations rely on multitasking and voice commands: law enforcement, firefighters, pilots, heavy equipment operators, armed forces, etc. Many of them are in situations in which not multitasking isn't an option and receive special training to minimize risks. That being said now you're entering heavily regulated industries where the stakes couldn't be higher... not exactly an easy place for LLMs and startups to play.
On the other end of the spectrum there is a tried and true industry for tech innovations where the stakes couldn't be lower: adult entertainment. There's millions of adults wishing they could operate screens without needing a hand free. Might not be as glamorous as helping firefighters and people with motor disabilities, but we all need to make a living.
Try a demo where you're doing work that needs your hands! Laundry, gardening, child/pet care. A cool demo could be using Blue to look up tutorials and order parts for pick up at the hardware store while fixing something around the house. Or maybe a demo where someone schedules an appointment while holding a fussy baby.
Agree with everyone else. This will directly lead to, or at least enable, people getting killed. I don’t think that’s hyperbole.
That being said, my bike ride to work is a quiet 30 mins. This would be insanely useful for that. I always get to work with a stack of messages piled up, both ways.
For me voice control is not only about multitasking, but just being able to continue to work without being sitted down. For example I use voice control while standing or walking and I get more ideas that way that being sitted
Counterpoint: don't blame the founder for leading with driving use cases. It's audience selection bias, not the founder being reckless. He's showing what gets traction, not necessarily what he thinks people should actually do
I'm contributing to a similar open source coding tool [1] and I see the same skewed reaction: voice control of "whatever" while driving gets 5-10x the clicks of any other demo.
There's a logical reason so many people think of voice control while driving. It's not because they're reckless.
It reflects the hierarchy of needs. People with long commutes (often younger, lower-paid engineers living further out) spend 2+ hours driving daily.
This is their biggest time sink, so of course they think about making it productive. When you're living far out for cheap housing and hear "coding while driving", its easy to think: finally, a way to get ahead without choosing between career growth and seeing my family.
Again, I think its just an off-the-cuff reaction, not actually what people will do. Just like people try your app and tell you its amazing but then never pay. Doing stuff while driving just sounds nice until you know... you think about it for 3 seconds and yeah, its bad idea.
"Don't anthropomorphize the founder, they're just responding to market pressures" is not the defense that you think it is. For the same reason you don't want to do business with Oracle (see the great rant from which I borrowed this phrasing [1]) you don't want to do business with someone who will advertise their product for unethical use cases - they'll cross other ethical boundaries too involving screwing you over.
Driving while drunk is a major crime if you get caught these days. People still do it anyway. People who are caught have to get a device installed into their car that they have to blow into to prove they're not intoxicated. They still drive intoxicated. They get sent to jail and they still get behind the wheel. Talking with your phone because driving is boring as shit is fairly harmless because people are going to do dumb ass shit regardless. The better answer is to promote comma.ai and similar ADAS like blue cruise, because I think that'll lead to fewer accidents. We have the technology to take a lot of the human out of the equation. People are dying. Why are we waiting?
The problem is that probably over 98% of the roads in the country are almost 0 chance of unexpected event. Nearly empty roads, small towns and cities with crosswalks that never see a single pedestrian.
In the bay though. Holy crap driving here was a wake up call for me. You cannot drive distracted here. I've driven in every major US city. The bay is by far the worst. Yes even then NYC, ATL and Miami. Chicago or Houston is a probably 2nd worst.
At the same time my partner often gets mad at me for refusing to do anything but focus when I drive. So I agree in general but I'm not everyone. This device seems like it will help people avoid incidents.
Your partner is trying to stop you from killing yourself. The majority of country roads have no pedestrian lanes, foliage obstructing oncoming traffic and wildlife like deer threatening to put Safelite back on your speed dial.
I concur with the other comments, this is a "yes dear" moment that you'll appreciate once you're older.
You can't be distracted from driving no matter where you are driving or when. When driving you have to be 100% focused in driving because every tiny risk you take can be fatal or worse.
I hate to be this guy but I've lost too many people for small stupid mistakes. The equivalent of this is getting killed when you accidentally bump into someone in the supermarket. This is just not fair.
Never take a chance, stay safe, life is precious and fragile.
I'm not sure if it'll help people avoid accidents.
On the one hand, you might get a few people who would be handling their phone to keep their eyes on the road more.
On the other hand, it might facilitate phone use in a way that people might use their phone now when they wouldn't have before (because handling it felt too distracting but this doesn't). I think this is a tangible risk.
There have been papers published that point out that hands free use isn't anywhere near safe.
Side note: not sure why the downvotes or what the other somewhat strident replies are about. I don't quite agree with you but it's not downvote worthy.
It’s baffling that on one hand we suspend in‑drive app interactions for safety, yet on the other, a product built to sidestep those safeguards and promote driver multitasking still attracts funding. I’m a little sorry to say it, but celebrating ‘move fast’ execution without deeper safety thinking is genuinely disturbing.
I guess I read it as the opposite. This would allow someone to use purely voice control to interact with maps, podcasts, etc since iphones have pretty limited voice controls built in. Plus obviously accessibility use cases.
The reason conversations can be held safely between the driver and with (some! people are different) other occupants in the same car, is that all occupants can asses what is happening and react to microcues from the driver in realtime. (Phone calls add many milliseconds in reaction time, plus the other person is not situationally aware.)
I do think an AI could help here though. This app isn't quite that. The AI would have to be very fast and responsive, notice with cameras and microphones when the driver needs a microbreak in the conversation, seamlessly continue when appropriate, perhaps be plugged in to the car radar and so on. Really be a polite and attentive passenger.
The fact that you need to install a hardware device to fake tap inputs is really sad. It should just be possible to install an app on your phone and check a box that says "let this app pretend to be me in a way that is indistinguishable for all other apps". Of course, users must be protected from malware, and app publishers must be protected from users who want to interact with their apps in an automated way. Somehow that all overrides the underlying truth that users should be in control of their own systems, and leads to hacks like this to bypass it.
Id prefer the world we have currently - apple is generally good at security for most people who never even want to think about. IMO it’s like seatbelts, maybe mildly annoying but bet a huge positive. If we sold cars without seatbelts, people would definitely buy them without realizing the costs.
Clearly you haven’t seen an older person’s Android phone. One time had someone come to me with an Android phone that played forced fullscreen unexitable ads every few seconds through some obscure permission that you can’t even prompt for (i.e. user has to go to settings and enable it in an unusual spot). I get why the overlay permission would exist but honestly it’s not worth it. I can’t imagine what would be done by even a single malicious app slipping through with a “literally see and control your entire phone” permission
I have, I just don't understand why we need to develop for the lowest common denominator, nor why users reliably fail in that particular way. These same people are perfectly capable of driving their cars and stopping when the low oil light comes on, without randomly resetting their radio settings trying to fix it. What is it about cell phones that breaks their brains?
Hi HN! We built Blue, a voice assistant that can use any app on your phone via a tiny USB-C hardware “hand” we call Bud. Here’s how we went from concept to 100 working units in 55 days for YC Demo Day.
About me:
I’m a robotics and product design engineer focused on building thoughtful tools for the world. I hold dozens of patents in hardware and manufacturing, and I care deeply about how things are made and who they’re made for.
For over a decade, I’ve worked across robotics, wearables, and consumer electronics. As one of the first engineers on the Apple Vision Pro, I took it from concept to mass production.
I'm also in the wearables space, though neurotech/sleeptech.
I'm assuming you did 3d printed enclosures, so really board design and was the longest process.
What I think is really clever about your design is passthrough USB-C and then not needing your own battery. So essentially you've got a micro, probably with it's own memory?
So elegant.
Others are saying you must have had your Taiwan contacts beforehand, but even without that, two weeks for board manufacturing isn't unrealistic I'd think, even for a noob, and lucky for you the board design should have been pretty simple.
Can I ask what your experience going through YC as a consumer hardware founder was like?
If you're curious about what we're building, we're enhancing the restorative function of sleep, without altering sleep time. Check out https://affectablesleep.com
I have been a consumer HW founder for years, and I applied to YC eleven times, and just got in this time with Blue.
I think for consumer, if you can really simplify the product and solve the absolute basic version, the costs should be low enough to validate the idea. YC will value your skills to create this simple version, and that you are able to actually execute and create something that could be real.
The missing link was really showing I could take a prototype and mass produce it (even at a small scale). That was what this whole exercise was about.
One additional note that comes to mind, building really great partnerships is essential for hardware to work.
But it seems like a terrible hack - using the phone through the limited interface designed for humans instead of actually using the proper APIs. Not to say that any effort from Apple to improve Siri will just render this product obsolete instantly.
Incredible work! To reach an initial production run in 8 weeks is phenomenal. It sometimes takes me half as long just to make a prototype.
Could you identify any specific decisions/guidelines early in your career that led to your success today? I'm currently studying engineering (will likely specialize electronic/embedded) and am always looking for ways to improve.
You mention that this is a USB HID device a few times but how are you capturing the display? Does ReplayKit broadcasting give you access? Or is the hardware also acting as an HDMI capture card or something?
Poking around at this product, it looks from the rendering like (a) USB-C based power pass through (unclear if its 2.0 BC etc... or true PD with CC pins - doesn't matter that much however if the phone range is small enough) (b) USB 2.0 device IC (STM32 or similar?) that connects to the phone over D+/D- pins. (c) power is being taken from the USB internal or external depending on what is plugged in.
I was confused by how CarPlay was working, as this requires the vehicle to be a host and the phone a device, but I'll assume it means wireless CarPlay (vs USB 2.0 CarPlay).
For the display, I wonder if the device is mimicking the assistive touch inputs via external USB PID (per the note) and using a mouse/trackpad HID can take a screenshot via assistive framework - I guess the app could see this arriving, process it and then delete? Also figure out what is being shown? would explain why the video is sped up a little, but YIKES. Also good luck stopping the app being killed in the background.
All direct USB streams require MFI auth, which might work for exactly 100 devices and could be an alternative, but requires Apple cert for bulk quantities.
I think ReplayKit can only work within an app and can't see the general output stream.
Cool use of tech and curious to see how it actually works :)
Will you offer this without a subscription fee?
I like it but for this it should just be a small voice model running on device, not cloud - especially given you don't use APIs.
I think you'll get a lot of adoption if it doesn't have a subscription or cloud requirement.
Listen, man, this seems like absolute magic to me. Obviously you already knew your Taiwan team and I'm sure a hard part is getting a good hardware partner, but the execution on this seems nigh godlike to get such a high quality device in the hands of people that fast.
Thank you for such kind words! We needed to prove to ourselves, customers and to investors that Hardware is possible, and not to fear it. I've built it for years, and never understood why people fear it.
We live in a physical world, and some of us should build things for it.
Really appreciate the kind words, and I mean it sincerely, it's only possible because of my incredible Taiwan partners, my Industrial Designer Tomas(who I am lucky to call my friend), the other founders, and being razor focused on our goal.
Joyce flew from Taiwan to make sure I had them in my hands, folded boxes with me in the office, and just as she got over her jet lag and went back to Taiwan.
I've invested in a couple of hardware start-ups, some of their products were not even close to what you guys are doing complexity wise. I will forward your post to them as a nice example of how it is done. My career has moved in-and-out of the crossroads between hardware, software, mechanics and other applications of technology and I suspect that you've aged a year in those 8 weeks on account of all of the setbacks and restarts. And yet, you pulled it off. I hope your demo day demo went well and that your round ended up oversubscribed, you've certainly deserved it.
Readit News
The tech seems neat and all but please stop multitasking while driving, encouraging others to multitask while driving, and building products specifically designed to encourage multitasking while driving.
If you want to work while you're in transit: take public transit.
HANG UP AND DRIVE!
Don't talk, don't try to do anything other maybe listening to some music while you're driving.
People do not multitask well. The median driver can barely keep a car on the road in perfect weather on a good day. Please stop helping distract them!
Luckily, most states lave laws about this, and drivers will get fined. Sadly, manufacturers rarely get fined. The people who made the original "hands on wheel" defeat device for Teslas got away with it, IIRC
In 2025 we can’t spend 10 minutes without doing something else while traveling at speeds that would make a sailor blush.
Building tech is usually clearer than finding a clear use case for it. As we find ways to mature the tech to be aligned with the ultimate vision we have, we will test various problems the immature tech can solve.
With that being said, if you have any ideas where this could really help people (for instance people with motor disabilities), please share them. We would like to serve people and build with humility.
Lots of folks in safety critical situations rely on multitasking and voice commands: law enforcement, firefighters, pilots, heavy equipment operators, armed forces, etc. Many of them are in situations in which not multitasking isn't an option and receive special training to minimize risks. That being said now you're entering heavily regulated industries where the stakes couldn't be higher... not exactly an easy place for LLMs and startups to play.
On the other end of the spectrum there is a tried and true industry for tech innovations where the stakes couldn't be lower: adult entertainment. There's millions of adults wishing they could operate screens without needing a hand free. Might not be as glamorous as helping firefighters and people with motor disabilities, but we all need to make a living.
Best wishes!
That being said, my bike ride to work is a quiet 30 mins. This would be insanely useful for that. I always get to work with a stack of messages piled up, both ways.
I'm contributing to a similar open source coding tool [1] and I see the same skewed reaction: voice control of "whatever" while driving gets 5-10x the clicks of any other demo.
There's a logical reason so many people think of voice control while driving. It's not because they're reckless.
It reflects the hierarchy of needs. People with long commutes (often younger, lower-paid engineers living further out) spend 2+ hours driving daily.
This is their biggest time sink, so of course they think about making it productive. When you're living far out for cheap housing and hear "coding while driving", its easy to think: finally, a way to get ahead without choosing between career growth and seeing my family.
Again, I think its just an off-the-cuff reaction, not actually what people will do. Just like people try your app and tell you its amazing but then never pay. Doing stuff while driving just sounds nice until you know... you think about it for 3 seconds and yeah, its bad idea.
[1] https://github.com/slopus/happy
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRN7XLCRhc&t=1981s
In the bay though. Holy crap driving here was a wake up call for me. You cannot drive distracted here. I've driven in every major US city. The bay is by far the worst. Yes even then NYC, ATL and Miami. Chicago or Houston is a probably 2nd worst.
At the same time my partner often gets mad at me for refusing to do anything but focus when I drive. So I agree in general but I'm not everyone. This device seems like it will help people avoid incidents.
Quickly, before you kill someone
I concur with the other comments, this is a "yes dear" moment that you'll appreciate once you're older.
I hate to be this guy but I've lost too many people for small stupid mistakes. The equivalent of this is getting killed when you accidentally bump into someone in the supermarket. This is just not fair.
Never take a chance, stay safe, life is precious and fragile.
On the one hand, you might get a few people who would be handling their phone to keep their eyes on the road more.
On the other hand, it might facilitate phone use in a way that people might use their phone now when they wouldn't have before (because handling it felt too distracting but this doesn't). I think this is a tangible risk.
There have been papers published that point out that hands free use isn't anywhere near safe.
Side note: not sure why the downvotes or what the other somewhat strident replies are about. I don't quite agree with you but it's not downvote worthy.
If all you are trying to do is finding the right podcast episode, it might be quite a bit better than fiddling with a screen.
But... cognitive load is a thing.
https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021...
The reason conversations can be held safely between the driver and with (some! people are different) other occupants in the same car, is that all occupants can asses what is happening and react to microcues from the driver in realtime. (Phone calls add many milliseconds in reaction time, plus the other person is not situationally aware.)
I do think an AI could help here though. This app isn't quite that. The AI would have to be very fast and responsive, notice with cameras and microphones when the driver needs a microbreak in the conversation, seamlessly continue when appropriate, perhaps be plugged in to the car radar and so on. Really be a polite and attentive passenger.
About me: I’m a robotics and product design engineer focused on building thoughtful tools for the world. I hold dozens of patents in hardware and manufacturing, and I care deeply about how things are made and who they’re made for.
For over a decade, I’ve worked across robotics, wearables, and consumer electronics. As one of the first engineers on the Apple Vision Pro, I took it from concept to mass production.
I'm also in the wearables space, though neurotech/sleeptech.
I'm assuming you did 3d printed enclosures, so really board design and was the longest process.
What I think is really clever about your design is passthrough USB-C and then not needing your own battery. So essentially you've got a micro, probably with it's own memory?
So elegant.
Others are saying you must have had your Taiwan contacts beforehand, but even without that, two weeks for board manufacturing isn't unrealistic I'd think, even for a noob, and lucky for you the board design should have been pretty simple.
Can I ask what your experience going through YC as a consumer hardware founder was like?
If you're curious about what we're building, we're enhancing the restorative function of sleep, without altering sleep time. Check out https://affectablesleep.com
I think for consumer, if you can really simplify the product and solve the absolute basic version, the costs should be low enough to validate the idea. YC will value your skills to create this simple version, and that you are able to actually execute and create something that could be real.
The missing link was really showing I could take a prototype and mass produce it (even at a small scale). That was what this whole exercise was about.
One additional note that comes to mind, building really great partnerships is essential for hardware to work.
But it seems like a terrible hack - using the phone through the limited interface designed for humans instead of actually using the proper APIs. Not to say that any effort from Apple to improve Siri will just render this product obsolete instantly.
Could you identify any specific decisions/guidelines early in your career that led to your success today? I'm currently studying engineering (will likely specialize electronic/embedded) and am always looking for ways to improve.
I was confused by how CarPlay was working, as this requires the vehicle to be a host and the phone a device, but I'll assume it means wireless CarPlay (vs USB 2.0 CarPlay).
For the display, I wonder if the device is mimicking the assistive touch inputs via external USB PID (per the note) and using a mouse/trackpad HID can take a screenshot via assistive framework - I guess the app could see this arriving, process it and then delete? Also figure out what is being shown? would explain why the video is sped up a little, but YIKES. Also good luck stopping the app being killed in the background.
All direct USB streams require MFI auth, which might work for exactly 100 devices and could be an alternative, but requires Apple cert for bulk quantities.
I think ReplayKit can only work within an app and can't see the general output stream.
Cool use of tech and curious to see how it actually works :)
We live in a physical world, and some of us should build things for it.
Joyce flew from Taiwan to make sure I had them in my hands, folded boxes with me in the office, and just as she got over her jet lag and went back to Taiwan.