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The InstruMMent 01 is quite frankly, a labor of love. It blew through its IndieGoGo initial goal many times over for a reason.
The size of a large fountain pen, carved out of aluminum and contained within a stylus. The InstruMMent 01 rolling head contains a laser aligned, six axis magnetic sensor. You simply roll the 01 along to capture the dimensions of any object, then it automatically logs, converts and shares the dimensions through an app on your mobile phone! Take a look at this introduction video below-
It’s billed as “The worlds first dimensioning tool.” debatable, since both the ruler and the tape measure have been around quite some time. However, one thing is clear, after using the InstruMMent 01 for a few weeks, no tape measure, ruler or digital measuring device I’ve ever used can do all this innovative little tool can to accurately, quickly and efficiently record and share the measurements of any object in three dimensions!
InstruMMents CEO Mladen Barbaric told me the 01 was created from scratch from the Magnetic Roller to the pressurized, precision ink refill (if you choose, both pencil and stylus ends are options) and every line of code by the design team behind the creators of the Misfit Shine Activity Tracker.
Mladen said the concept was born out of real world need for designers & engineers. “We travel nearly 200,000 miles a year visiting sites. We needed a portable tool to draw, measure and render objects in 3D using CAD.” Typically, the kind of devices and computer power required for engineering and design specialists to do their jobs are cumbersome and extremely expensive.
Tackling both these concerns were at the nexus of the 01 design. They initially hired a physics professor, who when he learned what they were planing to do said it couldn’t be done. So, this veteran team of designers and engineers did what they do best when faced with a problem. They went to work on solving it. They developed the 3D tools & sensors and tinkered with the code for months until they found a solution to the problem.
The MesureMMent 01.
“The 01 is an essential tool for everyone who makes – designers, engineers, architects, tailors, carpenters and more. But it’s also for the hobbyists, and even kids studying geometry, design or physics.” -Mladen Barbaric, Founder & CEO of InstruMMents
Designers draw and measure. The feel of the 01 is solid, it felt good in my hand. The 01 was made for creatives, architects, carpenters and, as it turns out, Cosplayers! I had a stylus model and in conjunction with a capacitive touchscreen I was in business.
When I first opened the box, I knew this was a device and a company that cared about their product and the customers experience. I removed the tool from its packaging and opened the accompanying stylish moleskin journal. The journal has an instruction manual in the back pages but you won’t need it. Setup was a breeze. I downloaded the companion app which hosts a short tutorial on how to position your hand while measuring different objects various ways. (free on Android or iOS) I popped in the battery and paired the device with my phone. The six-month battery isn’t rechargeable and you must order replacements from InstruMMents.
The first thing I did was measure something curved. I tried my daughter’s Softball helmet. Typically, when you measure something curved a tape measure won’t be accurate. It took a little doing, mostly because of human error on my part, not the 01, but I ened up with a precise measurement. The dimensions were instantly displayed, on the InstruMMents iOS mobile application. The application also allows the 01 user to log and convert to metric or imperial and share dimensions with others. One advantage of the 01 design is that if you overshoot you can always roll back to get it right. With practice, I learned how to accurately measure smaller objects, checking and rechecking with an old fashioned ruler & tape measure. Once I got the hang of it, I was like a mad tinkerer, running around measuring anything I could -door frames, table tops, lamposts you name it! In my local Home Depot, I was, well really the 01 was, a bit of a celebrity. HD staff, contractors, plumbers and just regular customers bombarded me with questions about “that sweet little gadget”. As a fledgling cosplayer, I found measuring bolts of cloth and reams of PVC foam took little effort, zero note taking and I could instantly share my measurements then compare material prices on line!
The 01 model I tested was only $149 dollars, well worth the investment. The $99 dollar 01Go has all of the dimensioning power of 01, but in a pure, strap-and-go package. The service you get from InstruMMent is as intuitive as their product. Monthly software updates are available. The lite & Pro apps from InstruMMent once paired updates the 01 and the constant connection to the servers do the heavy lifting modeling your measurements and number crunching in CAD for 3D Rendering.
With Pro App the 01 rolls to capture 3D curves of any object. You can share via smartphone and download to key CAD software. There are a slew of features upcoming as well. API for organizational use scanning. You can log H*W*D in mm, inches or just about anything else. Measure and log complex contours. Use a scale and read drawings. The 01 is the fastest, most portable and most affordable 3D curve scanner. Wether you model scenes or design cars, capturing key curves in real life is something designers need. With InstruMMents PRO app, you’ll be able to do this faster and easier than ever. Just capture, share and download to CAD.
The thing that surprised Mladen and his team were some of the unexpected applications the 01 was used for once it was made available, everything from Naval shipbuilding measuring around rivets to expectant mothers measuring the curve of their bellies as they track their pregnancies. The interface and note taking are seamless, downloadable and shareable.
“If you think about it, dimensions are incredibly important to us and part of our everyday life. We put up pictures, buy furniture and appliances based on size, and shop for clothes that fit best. 01 is meant to equip most of us with the most convenient, most intuitive way to capture and use dimensions every day.” -Mladen Barbaric
You can measure dimension space for furniture, put up pictures, set up grid for posters, or get length of material needed. You can even track the height of your child and with the picture app measure, make notations and documentation are a snap. This is the new “Notches on the Wall” using social media.
When I asked Mladen what he wanted the “take away” to be after trying the 01 he said this-
“We really care about giving our users the best experience possible. We hope the love and passion that went into [the 01] shows through.”
I’d say it does in spades! I’ve never used a device that can do what the 01 does for this price. It’s accessible anytime, anywhere you want to measure and note any object. The bottom line is this tool at a base price of $99 does nearly everything a machine costing many thousands of dollars can in a package no bigger than a fountain pen!
A design firm in your pocket!
When contractors, makers, and general users get a hold of the 01 tool and discover the host of proprietary pro designer algorithms assessable through servers via the elegant phone app, paired with infrared sensors in the tool, they will realize they have access to powerful three dimensional scanning that until now only pro designers had access to, yet user friendly enough my ten-year-old can use the 01 doing his geometry homework!
It’s the only measuring tool you’ll ever need.
01 is available now for MSRP of $149, with 01Go, a sans pen version for MSRP of $99. To learn more about InstruMMents Inc., visit www.instrumments.com.