This is the original Kickstarter version of the Mark II, Mycroft's second product, running Mycroft's own Voice Assistant software. The design departed from the Mark I in many ways. While the friendly robot-like aesthetic of the Mark I was beloved by many, we knew it would have limited broad appeal. The original Mark II design was intended for a wider audience. The pill design was chosen for its uniqueness in the market. The silhouette would help it stand out from the other Smart Speakers from big tech. There was some intentional flexibility in the design as well to allow the user to configure the Mark II to have a similar friendly robot appearance to the original Mark I if they chose to do so.
The design utilized an innovative fabric cover that created an aesthetic that fit well in the home.
To accomplish this design technically Mycroft needed to develop a complicated custom PCBA that incorporated the System On Chip, Audio Front End, Amplifier, Video Drivers, Power management, and more in a compact arrangement.
The Mark II Kickstarter version was a difficult challenge, and went through many iterations in its development. Eventually, the fabric had to be limited to just the front side, but the new design allowed for easier customization.
Despite being showcased at CES, we eventually had to abandon this direction because the custom components were too unreliable. Eventually, we would land on the Mark II design that shipped to customers based on the Raspberry Pi 4. This design adopted a more traditional boxy aesthetic to fit the constraints and paid homage to computers of the 1980s and 1990s appealing again to Mycroft's base consumer.
