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https://loodio.com https://loodio.com - A smart device for bathroom privacy I built it for myself because I just hate not having privacy living with my girlfri

https://loodio.com https://loodio.com - A smart device for bathroom privacy I built it for myself because I just hate not having privacy living with my girlfriend. Then some other people enjoyed it and I made it into a product that is launching on Kickstarter soon.

testmasterflex 6y ago
And honestly I don’t care if it takes off or not. I urgently need it. However it would be nice to get back those 50k I’ve spent on the development process but in either case I learned a lot.
- badactor 6y ago
  Curious if there’s some way I can contact you regarding questions about getting a hw startup off the ground. I have an idea for a small household electronic which would be similar in size and (probably) complexity to yours.
  - testmasterflex 6y ago
    Of course! Shoot me an email on carl@loodio.com
leipert 6y ago
Do you know of the Japanese version? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_Japan#The_Sound_Princess https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_Japan#The_Sound_Pri... Edit: In a Shared Apartment we once connected a Radio and a Disco Ball to the light Switch. It was a windowless guest bathroom, we completely painted it black. Fun times.
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  Yes I bought it and tried it but it kinda sucks because you need to hold your hand against it and it’s pretty obvious what you are doing. Loodio always plays music when you enter the bathroom unless you mute it.
  - fomine3 6y ago
    IIRC just sitting (joking not intended) is enough to play Sound Princess. Maybe you put the machine on wrong place?
    - testmasterflex 6y ago
      The one I have (latest model I think) you need to wave your hand in front of (closely).
- xxyzz 6y ago
  It would be really funny to play some audio clips from south park.
  - testmasterflex 6y ago
    Back the Kickstarter and if we reach enough funding we are adding support for your own music on a memory card ;)
bastih 6y ago
My parents just had the radio hooked up to the same circuit that was driving the bathroom lights. You enter the room, turn on the lights and there was instant audio. Makes sense to put this into a product.
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  Yeah I wanted to do that but I was scared of playing with electricity so I built the first prototype with a raspberry Pi and soldered on a PIR-sensor to it.
- necovek 6y ago
  It's amazing how we are repeatedly going full circle: we managed to stigmatize a completely natural farting sound (you are in a bathroom so the smell is contained), and then come up with "solutions" to feel free to produce the same sounds. It took me a while, but I've convinced my wife that farting is ok, and that you should only worry about subjecting others to lousy odours, and even that only when you are visiting someone or some place (indoors). Closing the door usually resolves this. The stigma is especially bothersome with a naturally shy toddler who wouldn't take a dump anywhere but home. FWIW, music does not stop people walking into smelly toilets, but to each their own. :) The product likely even makes sense, I just find the phenomena curious and sometimes infuriating (like with my toddler).
  - bastih 6y ago
    My room was next to said bathroom with rather thin walls, so I always appreciated the sound at least be a bit played down by the music. Another side effect was that you always knew when the bathroom was in use (aside from someone forgetting to turn the light off, which you now had radio playing to remind you off).
    - necovek 6y ago
      Oh, I am not disputing the fact it was likely helpful (and I only replied to your comment since it was one of the examples of "solutions" yet to get a reply; if anything, that one is pretty neat). But why and how did we become bothered by the _sounds_ of it? Are you bothered by the coo-coos of birds, or morning rooster calls. Cats purring, screeching cat calls or dogs barking? All of these can be similarly annoying, but we are not "solving" them. It's weird how our association of sounds with smells and dirtiness of taking a dump has made sounds which are rarely that bad in objective sense (loudness, pitch...) so unpleasant. It's also how it's considered impolite to slurp a soup, and some people are outright disgusted by hearing it being done.
mstipetic 6y ago
I solve that problem by turning on the hairdryer. My wife thought I'm weird but she's starting to realize the benefits
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  Haha everyone has their own strat! My buddy runs down to the washing room in his apartment building whenever he has a date visiting... You should save some electricity with a Loodio instead ;)
- tasuki 6y ago
  Do you want your wife to think you are washing your hair instead of taking a dump?
gnicholas 6y ago
Good luck with your launch! Have you settled on a price yet? I didn't see one one the website.
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  Thanks! First 100 backers get it for $99.
FriedrichN 6y ago
Is 'privacy' code for 'being able to fart' in this context?
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  Farting is the least annoying of bodily sounds that happen in the bathroom.
  - FriedrichN 6y ago
    Such as? I honestly want to know, because I've never experienced any sounds from others that were particularly annoying.
    - TeMPOraL 6y ago
      Someone trying to force out the contents of their bowels out? The sound of said contents making contact with the water in the bowl? Etc.
      - FriedrichN 6y ago
        Fair enough, I can't really get upset about that. Everybody poops, man.
        TeMPOraL 6y ago
        Everybody farts, too.
      - tasuki 6y ago
        Is it more of a problem for you to hear others taking a dump or others hearing you?
        testmasterflex 6y ago
        For me: both
TeMPOraL 6y ago
I want something like this, but for dining rooms. If I were the king of the world, this would, by mandate, be built into every table. I have a quirk that I can't stand eating in silence - hearing the biting and chewing sounds of other people, and of the utensils in operation, is causing me extreme discomfort (this also applies to my own sounds, but I usually have computer fan noise to accompany me when I eat alone). I need a source of noise - intense table conversations, or background music - anything that stops my mind from focusing on the sounds of food being eaten. My wife knows about this, and whenever we visit our families, she secretly arranges for some sort of music to be playing by the time we sit to dinner.
- dbalatero 6y ago
  There are audiologists starting to work with misophonia patients now; you should see if there are any in your area and if they can help you with this at all. I've had some promising success so far.
93po 6y ago
I got a motion sensor that plays audio files on Amazon and put a waterfall type noise on loop. Only had to charge it every couple months. I think it was like $50. I hate random music in my life but maybe more people would prefer a variety of music
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  I’m the opposite because I’m tired of all the choices today. Just pick for me! Anyways Loodio will have a memory card reader so you can upload your own music. :)
huhtenberg 6y ago
This is a very niche product. It also solves a quirky issue, so finding people who'd be willing to actually pay for it is going to be a very big challenge. Also, and to be blunt, it is not terribly slick looking, so the $99 sticker doesn't seem to be well-justified. Basically, your target audience are people (1) with this particular issue, (2) motivated enough to do something about it, (3) willing to pay the price and (4) liking the design/aesthetics. I realize that this is a "don't care if this succeeds" thread, but I'd still encourage you to not get your hopes high for the KS campaign.

testmasterflex 6y ago

And honestly I don’t care if it takes off or not. I urgently need it. However it would be nice to get back those 50k I’ve spent on the development process but in either case I learned a lot.

badactor 6y ago
Curious if there’s some way I can contact you regarding questions about getting a hw startup off the ground. I have an idea for a small household electronic which would be similar in size and (probably) complexity to yours.
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  Of course! Shoot me an email on carl@loodio.com

leipert 6y ago

Do you know of the Japanese version? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_Japan#The_Sound_Princess https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_Japan#The_Sound_Pri... Edit: In a Shared Apartment we once connected a Radio and a Disco Ball to the light Switch. It was a windowless guest bathroom, we completely painted it black. Fun times.

testmasterflex 6y ago
Yes I bought it and tried it but it kinda sucks because you need to hold your hand against it and it’s pretty obvious what you are doing. Loodio always plays music when you enter the bathroom unless you mute it.
- fomine3 6y ago
  IIRC just sitting (joking not intended) is enough to play Sound Princess. Maybe you put the machine on wrong place?
  - testmasterflex 6y ago
    The one I have (latest model I think) you need to wave your hand in front of (closely).
xxyzz 6y ago
It would be really funny to play some audio clips from south park.
- testmasterflex 6y ago
  Back the Kickstarter and if we reach enough funding we are adding support for your own music on a memory card ;)

bastih 6y ago

My parents just had the radio hooked up to the same circuit that was driving the bathroom lights. You enter the room, turn on the lights and there was instant audio. Makes sense to put this into a product.

testmasterflex 6y ago
Yeah I wanted to do that but I was scared of playing with electricity so I built the first prototype with a raspberry Pi and soldered on a PIR-sensor to it.
necovek 6y ago
It's amazing how we are repeatedly going full circle: we managed to stigmatize a completely natural farting sound (you are in a bathroom so the smell is contained), and then come up with "solutions" to feel free to produce the same sounds. It took me a while, but I've convinced my wife that farting is ok, and that you should only worry about subjecting others to lousy odours, and even that only when you are visiting someone or some place (indoors). Closing the door usually resolves this. The stigma is especially bothersome with a naturally shy toddler who wouldn't take a dump anywhere but home. FWIW, music does not stop people walking into smelly toilets, but to each their own. :) The product likely even makes sense, I just find the phenomena curious and sometimes infuriating (like with my toddler).
- bastih 6y ago
  My room was next to said bathroom with rather thin walls, so I always appreciated the sound at least be a bit played down by the music. Another side effect was that you always knew when the bathroom was in use (aside from someone forgetting to turn the light off, which you now had radio playing to remind you off).
  - necovek 6y ago
    Oh, I am not disputing the fact it was likely helpful (and I only replied to your comment since it was one of the examples of "solutions" yet to get a reply; if anything, that one is pretty neat). But why and how did we become bothered by the _sounds_ of it? Are you bothered by the coo-coos of birds, or morning rooster calls. Cats purring, screeching cat calls or dogs barking? All of these can be similarly annoying, but we are not "solving" them. It's weird how our association of sounds with smells and dirtiness of taking a dump has made sounds which are rarely that bad in objective sense (loudness, pitch...) so unpleasant. It's also how it's considered impolite to slurp a soup, and some people are outright disgusted by hearing it being done.

mstipetic 6y ago

I solve that problem by turning on the hairdryer. My wife thought I'm weird but she's starting to realize the benefits

testmasterflex 6y ago
Haha everyone has their own strat! My buddy runs down to the washing room in his apartment building whenever he has a date visiting... You should save some electricity with a Loodio instead ;)
tasuki 6y ago
Do you want your wife to think you are washing your hair instead of taking a dump?

gnicholas 6y ago

Good luck with your launch! Have you settled on a price yet? I didn't see one one the website.

testmasterflex 6y ago
Thanks! First 100 backers get it for $99.

FriedrichN 6y ago

Is 'privacy' code for 'being able to fart' in this context?

TeMPOraL 6y ago
Farting is the least annoying of bodily sounds that happen in the bathroom.
- FriedrichN 6y ago
  Such as? I honestly want to know, because I've never experienced any sounds from others that were particularly annoying.
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    Someone trying to force out the contents of their bowels out? The sound of said contents making contact with the water in the bowl? Etc.
    - FriedrichN 6y ago
      Fair enough, I can't really get upset about that. Everybody poops, man.
      - TeMPOraL 6y ago
        Everybody farts, too.
    - tasuki 6y ago
      Is it more of a problem for you to hear others taking a dump or others hearing you?
      - testmasterflex 6y ago
        For me: both

TeMPOraL 6y ago

I want something like this, but for dining rooms. If I were the king of the world, this would, by mandate, be built into every table. I have a quirk that I can't stand eating in silence - hearing the biting and chewing sounds of other people, and of the utensils in operation, is causing me extreme discomfort (this also applies to my own sounds, but I usually have computer fan noise to accompany me when I eat alone). I need a source of noise - intense table conversations, or background music - anything that stops my mind from focusing on the sounds of food being eaten. My wife knows about this, and whenever we visit our families, she secretly arranges for some sort of music to be playing by the time we sit to dinner.

dbalatero 6y ago
There are audiologists starting to work with misophonia patients now; you should see if there are any in your area and if they can help you with this at all. I've had some promising success so far.

93po 6y ago

I got a motion sensor that plays audio files on Amazon and put a waterfall type noise on loop. Only had to charge it every couple months. I think it was like $50. I hate random music in my life but maybe more people would prefer a variety of music

testmasterflex 6y ago
I’m the opposite because I’m tired of all the choices today. Just pick for me! Anyways Loodio will have a memory card reader so you can upload your own music. :)

huhtenberg 6y ago

This is a very niche product. It also solves a quirky issue, so finding people who'd be willing to actually pay for it is going to be a very big challenge. Also, and to be blunt, it is not terribly slick looking, so the $99 sticker doesn't seem to be well-justified. Basically, your target audience are people (1) with this particular issue, (2) motivated enough to do something about it, (3) willing to pay the price and (4) liking the design/aesthetics. I realize that this is a "don't care if this succeeds" thread, but I'd still encourage you to not get your hopes high for the KS campaign.