With the dematerialization of culture, the consumption of content is increasing but the objects that symbolize it (CDs, DVDs, etc.) are disappearing from our living spaces.
Based on this observation, Pierre-Rudolf Gerlach (EPITA engineer, class of 2005), Ismail Salhi (scientific) and Johanna Hartzheim (industrial designer) have created a new concept: Qleek, giving back to digital media (video, music, image) their material density.
This start-up has been selected to participate in the 5th season of Camping, one of the most renowned incubators in Europe (14 million euros raised by start-ups incubated since the 1st season).
Qleek : design, connected, intelligent
Qleek gives physical and tangible form to digital data, in the form of small wooden hexagons that can be customised and exchanged between friends, called Tapps. These refined cultural objects, made of wood (recyclable material), allow you to select, sort, showcase and share your favourite media: music, films, photos, Youtube channel... on different devices chosen by the user.
Qleek consists of three elements :
-• The Tapps Wooden hexagons: Wooden hexagons inside which an RFID chip is inserted (which makes the link with the content). No content is stored on the Tapps, the data is only taken from online content (on Spotify, YouTube, Facebook photo albums...). A Tapp is as dynamic as the Internet, if the source changes or evolves, the hexagon is automatically and instantly updated.
- The reader : made of wood, it is equipped with an NFC reader that reads Tapps and controls the reading. It communicates with a third element via a Bluetooth Low Energy connection.
- The Qleek connector connected to the television or speakers, it broadcasts content in the manner of a media center connected to the Internet.
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The future of Qleek
Qleek is well on its way to successful fundraising, with over 50,000$ raised for a goal of 70,000$.
If this is confirmed on 14 June, the start-up will be able to finalise the design and production of the first series. The starting price of the Tapp will be set at around five euros each. The entry cost with the reader and the media center is more important but the team is working on the possibility of doing without it, thanks to the NFC reader of the smartphones .
The business model is also based on the development of partnerships with important cultural platforms. The community founded around fundraising is an asset and a guarantee of confidence for future partners. In the longer term, Qleek is thinking about a potential extension of its innovative home automation concept.
"What if, without abandoning all the advantages of the new media, we recreated the carnal pleasure of contact with the object. »
Pierre-Rudolf Gerlach, co-founder of Qleek.
