Sesame Ring allows its wearer to intuitively fist-bump NFC gantries. As an undergrad, I was frustrated at having to frequently dig for my smart cards in my bag, and created this 3D-printed wearable with a more natural interaction. It drew positive attention and I ran a successful Kickstarter campaign in collaboration with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Sesame Rings are now used in schools and companies around the world.
It all began the frustration when I needed to catch a train, or quickly pay for something;
When I would be rifling through the endless pit of my bag, seeking the golden key...
I thought -- what if I could wear all my NFC cards in a small and convenient piece of finger jewelry? What if I could simply fist bump a gantry to get through?
And so, the idea for Sesame Rings was born! Countless hours were spent tinkering with early prototypes, before Edward and I finally managed to unlock the power needed to transmit passively at such a small surface area.
Soon after, students, staff and faculty of my university approached us to make rings for them. This got us excited, we might have something incredible in our hands!
School rings to access campus facilities were one thing, but I wanted to make an official MBTA-enabled ring for the Boston metro system. I put together a video demonstrating this use case, and shipped it off to the CTO, not expecting much...
"Sounds like a great idea. Let's chat!"
Mind-boggled and extremely grateful, I had a successful first meeting and soon after, MBTA-enabled Sesame Rings were technically ready for the world.
But how would we get this into the hands of others? With support from my awesome friends at MIT, a trusty tripod, and a whole lot of gusto, I filmed a crowdfunding trailer and launched a Kickstarter campaign. Another venture into the unknown!
After launching our campaign, we shut down our computers and went for roti prata to take our mind off the suspense. Would people like our product? Would they care enough to back us?
When we returned, we were pleasantly surprised to find that people did want the Sesame Rings, and not long after, our campaign crossed the 100% mark...
...which meant, we had to deliver!
After an accidental crash course in manufacturing, customer service, supply chain, operations, and partner management, that was exactly what we did ;)
This valiant venture officiated Ring Theory, heralding a slew of wearable tech and consumer devices projects, in Boston and beyond. Grateful for all the support we received along our entrepreneurship journey, Edward and I set up Ring Committee, a platform to help a group of undergraduates design and launch a tech product each year 💪
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