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en:blog [2024/05/04 10:54] – mastertaileren:blog [2026/08/31 20:35] (current) – [New Product News] darkgrue
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-{{ :en:news_fox_for_docs.tailco_copy.jpg?600 |}}+====== Blog and News ======
  
  
-====== Blog and News ======+===== August 30, 2026: Launch Imminent! ===== 
 + 
 +==== New App Development Changes ==== 
 + 
 +Code-L, our application developer, has been busy updating The Tail Company app during this time. 
 + 
 +  * Over-The-Air (OTA) update support has been rewritten, and now supports linking OTA files to hardware versions, and having a minimum app version. 
 +  * Also, Android Wear support is currently being worked on. Unfortunately, while the app framework supports cross-platform development for Android and iPhone, no such cross-platform support exists yet for cross-platform watch development, so Apple Watch support will have to be a separate effort. And watch development is itself a completely different thing than doing development for the phones. 
 +  * Lastly, internal state management for the app has been completely overhauled, everything that holds state is now a singleton class with a state variable. 
 +  * New product support is already included. 
 +  * New look and feel! 
 + 
 + 
 +==== New Firmware Development Changes ==== 
 + 
 +Development of TailControl, our product firmware platform, has not stood still. The addition of a new product (more on that later) required some pretty significant code refactoring to support new hardware and a new movement subsystem. That resulted in better-organized code and significantly improved internals. 
 + 
 +But as the new product development progressed, it became clear that managing the problems created by being pinned to an older Arduino and ESP-IDF would not just create problems in the future, as support libraries moved forward with their own development, it was creating issues with timer management and other incompatibilities surfaced by the new product hardware being folded in. So this kicked off a search for a solution that allows us to keep the existing PlatformIO tooling, but also keeps pace with the Espressif ecosystem. (p)eople (i)nitiated (o)ptimized (arduino), pioarduino, fit the bill nicely. But jumping forward into a new major version meant a good amount of refactoring as well to accommodate API changes. In the end, the effort should pay off with better codebase maintainability and reliability. 
 + 
 +  * Migrated from the PlatformIO Espressif 32 development platform to pioarduino. This moves us from the Espressif IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF) v4.4.7 and Arduino v2.0.17 core to ESP-IDF v5.5.2.260206 and Arduino v3.3.7. This gives us access to latest Arduino Core and ESP-IDF, support for newer Espressif hardware, and active maintenance and updates for the development platform. 
 +  * Migrated EarGear 2 to the new channel-based I2S driver. The new driver has better resource management, enhanced power management, simplified duplex communication, and finer control over I2S channel states. 
 +  * Removed dependency on the JLed library and replaced it with a small custom class built directly on Arduino v3's native API that is initialized later in the system setup, rather than immediately. 
 +  * Experimental support for RGB lighting on most products. 
 +  * Many bugfixes. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== Ever wondered how firmware actually gets developed before a product ships? ==== 
 + 
 +Meet the DesqTail - my desktop development platform, and the secret weapon behind our firmware workflow. 
 + 
 +{{ :en:video5116316049750361112.mp4 |}} 
 + 
 +The concept is borrowed from aerospace engineering, where it's known as an "iron bird": a ground-based test rig used to prototype and integrate aircraft systems during the development of new designs. An iron bird is essentially a complete aircraft stripped down to its bones - no fuselage, no superstructure, no seating, none of the non-flight-critical hardware. What remains is every system that actually flies the aircraft, installed and wired up so engineers can test each one individually, and more importantly, in concert with every other system aboard. 
 + 
 +The philosophy is powerful: simulate reality as closely as possible, without the cost and risk of doing it in the air. 
 + 
 +I apply that same philosophy to firmware development through full Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing. Rather than writing code and hoping it behaves correctly when it finally lands on production hardware, the DesqTail puts real hardware on my desk - running real firmware, in real time. Every product platform we build can be exercised right here, in a controlled environment, before a single unit ships. 
 + 
 +The advantages compound quickly: 
 + 
 +  * Speed - No waiting for test hardware to be assembled or shipped. Iteration cycles shrink from days to minutes. 
 +  * Cost - Catching a firmware bug on the desktop is orders of magnitude cheaper than catching it in the field. 
 +  * Confidence - Full HIL means the firmware isn't being tested in isolation or simulation. It's talking to the actual peripherals, sensors, and interfaces it will live with in production. 
 + 
 +What makes the workflow particularly effective is the immediate feedback loop. While the physical model sits right in front of me - behaving exactly as it would in a deployed unit - I can simultaneously observe live diagnostic output inside the IDE. If something misbehaves, I see it in hardware and in code at the same moment. There's no guesswork about whether a bug is in the firmware logic, the hardware interface, or somewhere in between. 
 + 
 +It's the iron bird principle, scaled down to a workbench - and it changes everything about how reliable firmware gets made. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== New Product News ==== 
 + 
 +There's a new Tail Company product - [[https://thetailcompany.com/paws-with-claws/|Paws with Claws]]! Those of you on the Dev Telegram channel have probably heard me refer to it as "Sekret Project": 
 + 
 +{{ :en:whitepaw.mp4 |}} 
 + 
 +I've had the pleasure of working closely with Master Tailer on this, and I'm directly involved in the entire product design and development - something I hadn't had the opportunity to do until now. 
 + 
 +We've iterated rapidly through a number of different designs quickly. Each new iteration really jumped the design forward and added new features, which was really exciting. We're going into the start of the Kickstarter strong: firmware is feature-complete, and app support is ready. Many prototypes have been built to test out ideas, and we're working on fine-tuning the look and feel This simplifies things down to bulk part orders and The Tail Company can concentrate totally on fulfillment, the design being complete. 
 + 
 +We're really excited about this, and hopefully you will be too! 
 + 
 +Tail Co has also added [[https://thetailcompany.com/product/hypermotion-tails/|Hypermotion Tails]], an affordable, non-electronic moving tail option designed for cosplay, furry events, and alternative fashion. Hypermotion tails are made from a flexible silicone core. So they keep wagging forever! 
 + 
 +And don't forget [[https://thetailcompany.com/product/floor-dragger-tails/|Floor Dragger Tails]], for the largest of non-electronic tails that make a statement that can't be ignored. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== Keep up With The Tail Co ==== 
 + 
 +Make sure to avail yourself of the many Tail Company resources, from the Telegram [[https://t.me/joinchat/VCdXxqKgRv2yrDNC|Tail Co Friends]], [[https://t.me/+5XsaunrTpIc4OWI8|Tail Co Dev Chat]], and [[https://t.me/+E8fERfvkcEI1MTAy|App Translators]]; the [[https://docs.thetailcompany.com/|Technical Wiki]]; or join the cosplay community with [[https://coshub.com/|CosHub]] and the [[https://discord.gg/R2qutAmSXg|CosHub Discord Community]]! 
 + 
 +RAWR! 
 + 
 +Your Friendly Lurking Horror,\\ 
 +**Dark Grue** 
 + 
 + 
 +===== March 1, 2025: TailControl Love Is in The Air! ===== 
 + 
 +{{ :en:tailcontrol20250208.jpg?400 |}} 
 + 
 + 
 +==== Welcome Tailer Community ==== 
 + 
 +Welcome back to another blog edition! First up, is some new branding: 
 +"TailCoNTROL" is now "TailControl", and the [[https://docs.thetailcompany.com/doku.php?id=en:dev:tailcontrol-command-protocol|documentation]] 
 +and references have been updated to reflect it. My typographical artistry was 
 +just too far ahead of it's time, clearly... 
 + 
 +Also, EarGear, is now a Registered Trademark! This joins the Crumpet the Fox 
 +logo, and MiTail and is a big step forward for the business to establish its 
 +name and branding, especially as a business trading internationally. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== Even-more Unified Firmware ==== 
 + 
 +The first blog posting was the announcement of the unified firmware system, 
 +that brought all the tail hardware-based products (MiTail, FlutterWings, and 
 +MiTail Mini) under the same banner. But one product had yet to be brought into 
 +the fold, and that's the EarGear. 
 + 
 +I can finally announce that EarGear is now under TailControl... control! 
 + 
 +This means the ears will benefit from TailControl's advanced move system, move 
 +easing, and other features and bugfixes. I've also worked behind the scenes in 
 +the code to continue to organize and improve the code organization and 
 +stability, which all the products will benefit from. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== New Moves ==== 
 + 
 +The ears now have new moves, and are much more energetic and lifelike now. Ear 
 +twitches are much more twitch-like. Previously, all ear moves took the same 
 +amount of time to execute: 1000 ms, or 500 ms, depending on whether "be 
 +excited" was selected. Obviously, this didn't allow much flexibility in move 
 +design. With the TailControl EarGear firmware, the fully-parameterized move 
 +system is now available, and the ear move set has been redesigned to take 
 +advantage of that new flexibility. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== Conference Mode ==== 
 + 
 +In the previous blog posting, I talked briefly about the Midwest FurFest 2023 
 +BLE spam attack and plans to address issues around those sorts of problems. 
 +[[https://docs.thetailcompany.com/doku.php?id=en:dev:tailcontrol-command-protocol#conference_mode|Conference Mode]] 
 +is now implemented in both TailControl and The Tail Company app. This mode 
 +establishes a BLE Bond and protects your Tail Co device from unauthorized 
 +connections, replay attacks, and encrypts over-the-air communications. 
 +Practically speaking, this means that only you will be able to connect and 
 +command your Tail Company devices, and it will prevent anyone else from 
 +interfering in your tailing experience. 
 + 
 +It comes coupled with a factory reset function 
 +([[https://docs.thetailcompany.com/doku.php?id=en:dev:tailcontrol-command-protocol#Unbinding / Factory Reset|described in the Unbinding section of the protocol reference]]), 
 +to reset the device back to factory settings, in case the bond gets lost and 
 +can't be reset - or any other persistent setting causes issues. Back to 
 +factory-fresh, with the press of a button! 
 + 
 +Conference Mode is not quite available to try out now, but we'll continue to adjust and 
 +develop this feature in response to customer feedback to make it more 
 +user-friendly and functional. 
 + 
 + 
 +==== App Updates ==== 
 + 
 +The Tail Company App continues to get new features and updates, and has seen 
 +several releases in this time. Be sure to check out the new version, if you 
 +haven't already! 
 + 
 + 
 +==== New Products ==== 
 + 
 +There's a new accessory for tails that's recently come out for those who want 
 +to hang their tails vertically: [[https://thetailcompany.com/product/the-verticalizer/|The Verticalizer]]. 
 +This is an optional adapter that fits between the tail and the D-clip on your belt 
 +and gives you a new option to wear your tail! 
 + 
 +In celebration of the new ear firmware, there's a new EarGear product! Complementing the 
 +[[https://thetailcompany.com/product/eargear-cosplay-ears-creators-edition/|EG Creators Edition]], 
 +The Tail Company is adding the [[https://thetailcompany.com/product/eargear-headphones-edition/|EarGear Headphones Edition]] 
 +to the EarGear lineup! Ears... on your headphones! 'nuff said! 
 + 
 +The Tail Company is always on the move - just like our products! New stuff is 
 +already in the pipeline in different stages: prototype all the way up to 
 +coming out soon, there's stuff to look forward to! 
 + 
 + 
 +==== What's Next? ==== 
 + 
 +Firmware development never stops. There are still new features being explored, 
 +and new products that are upcoming or being considered. Firmware development 
 +will continue to bring more value to existing and future customers of The Tail 
 +Company! 
 + 
 +Watch for the wag! 
 + 
 +Your Friendly Lurking Horror, 
 +Dark Grue 
  
 ===== May 3, 2024: Dawn of the TailCoNTROL! ===== ===== May 3, 2024: Dawn of the TailCoNTROL! =====