We are scaling faster than ever! From a sold-out launch to upcoming AI breakthroughs, here’s everything you need to know about where we're headed.
Satellite1 Launch Recap – A Massive Success!
December’s Satellite1 voice assistant hardware launch was a huge success! We sold out within hours of the YouTube video going live and sent so many emails to our massive waitlist that our mail servers were throttled (apologies to those who didn't receive a launch email!). By January 20th, all Batch #1 orders were shipped to customers across the U.S.
This launch was a huge milestone—both for me personally and for the entire FutureProofHomes team. To our early adopters, thank you! Your valuable feedback is already shaping the future of Satellite1 (more on that below). But first, let’s talk about the Batch #2 shipping timeline.
[Shipping Batch #1 from Brad's home in Florida—US-based 3PL distribution coming soon!]
Batch #2 Shipping Update: Now Arriving in April
Originally, we planned for all Batch #2 customers to receive their units by March 31st. However, our suppliers recently informed us that certain components may not arrive until mid-March. As a result, Batch #2 units will now ship in the latter half of April.
We sincerely apologize for the delay—we did everything we could to avoid it. If you're thinking of canceling your order, consider reaching out to us first to see what we can do to help. If you're willing to wait an extra 20–30 days, it would mean the world to us.
There’s a silver lining, though! This supply chain challenge has led us to hire an experienced COO, Mike Bai, who is working hard to scale our operations. Read more about our expansion strategy below.
At-Scale Manufacturing & Global Distribution
As many of you know, FutureProofHomes isn't just about the Satellite1 voice assistant. Our larger roadmap includes:
- Speaker Enclosures w/ Smart Multi-Sensors
- Ceiling Mounts w/ Smart Multi-Sensors
- Amplifier Expansion Modules
- The AI Base Station
With a roadmap this ambitious we cannot let supply chain challenges distract us. So to make our vision a reality, we’ve brought on Mike Bai as our new COO, initially focusing on supply chain operations.
Mike’s first mission? Migrate FutureProofHomes manufacturing and distribution to high-quality partners that will scale with us. If all goes according to plan, Batch #3 will be built with our new partners and shipped to the U.S., Europe, and potentially even more regions—fully certified with CE, RoHS & REACH compliance.
Long-term, we’re working to move away from "batch-based releases" and toward an always-open store with global availability. More updates on this soon!
[Mike Bai, the world traveller & supply chain guru]
What’s New in Batch #2 Satellite1 Units?
Thanks to feedback from Batch #1 customers, we’ve made several hardware upgrades that will be included in Batch #2:
-
Improved Expansion Port Connector:
- Prevents pin-misalignment manufacturing defects while ensuring easy connection of expansion modules and safe power connections.
- This connector will become the standard for all future Satellite1 modules
- The CORE board will still mate to the HAT via a traditional 40 pin header to maintain Raspberry Pi support.
-
Enhanced Power Management:
- Refinements to the CORE board’s power rails should resolve spontaneous power cycling issues experienced by some beta testers.
-
More Flexible USB-C/Amplifier Requirements:
- An improved USB-C implementation unlocks future firmware updates to power the speaker amplifier using either a standard 5V laptop connection or a higher-powered 9V adapter.
- This means a single Satellite1 HAT can power various speakers—from 3-5W to 10-15W and even 20-25W—depending on your USB-C adapter, paving the way towards Sat1 “Mini” and “Max” speaker enclosures.
[New FX23L expansion connector on the center/bottom of the HAT]
Our First Official Satellite1 Speaker Enclosure!
You can now 3D print the official Sat1 speaker enclosure at home, and soon, you’ll be able to purchase it directly from FutureProofHomes as part of the dev kit. In the future, our dev kits will include:
- PCBs
- Your preferred speaker & enclosure
- Your preferred sensors
- Power adapter and all cables necessary
Huge props to our own Ben Jackson for this enclosure design. Also thank you to discord users @J4ys0n for the original prototype designs, and @GJ FLA for the amazing enclosure modifications he's been experimenting with.
[25 Watt Satellite1 Speaker Enclosure you can Build at Home]
Introducing the Power-Over-Ethernet “SHOE” Board
If you’re familiar with the Satellite1 Dev Kit, you know it consists of a “CORE” and “HAT” PCB board. Now, we’re thrilled to share a glimpse of our first upcoming expansion module - the "SHOE" board.
Estimated to launch in Q2, the SHOE board is an optional module that:
-
Provides Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
- Supplies both power and networking to the Satellite1 via a single Ethernet cable.
-
Moves the mmWave sensor
- Allows to relocate the mmWave inside the speaker chamber and position it any angle towards the room.
- The existing mmWave connections remain on the HAT for optionality.
-
Includes a QWIIC connector
- Support for tons of external sensors from Sparkfun
- Helps relocate ambient temperature/humidity readings away from hot HAT board.
Big thanks to our hardware engineers (Ben Jackson & Ben Geiger) for making this happen. And, of course, our firmware wizard (Mischa Siekmann) is hard at work ensuring it all integrates seamlessly!
[SHOE board attached to HAT exposes PoE Connection]
[SHOE Board also has tons of other necessary connectors (final designs may change)]
AI Base Station: Progressing Faster Than Expected!
The ultimate vision of FutureProofHomes is an “AI-in-a-box”: Imagine your own "personal ChatGPT" running locally in your home that you can talk to in any room to control the smart home—fast, affordable, and completely private.
Our AI Base Station will:
- Power all your Satellite1 voice assistants
- Manage your smart home
- Control music & entertainment
- Provide private access to the vast expanse of human knowledge
- Do other magical things we won't disclose yet. ;) ;)
Thanks to the incredible work of our AI engineer (Mieszko Syty), development is moving faster than expected. Soon, we’ll showcase a live demo on camera—stay tuned!
While we don’t have an official launch timeline yet, our new manufacturing partnerships are bringing us closer. More updates coming soon!
[AI in the palm of ours hands.]
That's All Folks!
We can’t wait to show you what’s next— thank you again for all the support, and remember, keep building! 🚀
– The FPH Team