The Pitch

The rBand is a wearable media remote control for your smartphone. The rBand was designed with skiing and snowboarding in mind, it features large, tactile buttons that are easy to locate without diverting your attention from the task at hand. It’s rugged and weatherproof so you can use it in the rain or snow.

We created the rBand because repeatedly taking off your gloves to use tiny headphone controls or pulling your phone out, quickly becomes a hassle on the slopes. The rBand makes pausing or turning down your music so you can talk with your friends seamless. It allows you to skip to the perfect track and crank up the volume without missing a beat.

Outside of skiing and snowboarding, there are many other uses for the rBand: attach it to the swim platform of your boat to control your music while anchored out, take it snowshoeing, or on a winter hike.

The Details



The rBand contains an industry-leading Bluetooth® Low Energy System on Chip to wirelessly communicate with your smartphone. Any Android or iOS phone which supports Bluetooth® 4.0, or newer, will be able to pair with the rBand.

Once paired, the rBand can control the Play/Pause, Volume Up/Down, and Next/Previous functions of your media stream.

We also plan to add features for answering / rejecting / ending phone calls, and activating voice assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant. These functions require your headphones to have an integrated microphone for relaying your voice back to your phone. This can all be accomplished without requiring you to install a native App on your phone. Note: Unlike the media control features discussed above, the features in this paragraph are not currently implemented. Their feasibility has been evaluated and they should be simple to implement: we plan to ship the rBand with these features built in!

We have a host of other features planned for the rBand which we will implement according to demand. The rBand will ship with support for over-the-air firmware updates so you will be able to upgrade your rBand as new features are rolled out. See The Roadmap section below for more details. Note: Firmware updates and more advanced features may require the installation of a free App on your smartphone.

The Design

The rBand is built with a tough PC-ABS body to help withstand impacts in cold temperatures. The keypad is made from silicon rubber and features extruded and screen printed symbols. Each large key is positioned over a discrete tactile switch.

The device is powered by a CR2032 coin-cell battery. The battery cover can be be removed with a coin, no tools are required. Due to the extremely low energy usage of BLE, the battery should power the rBand for many years before it needs replaced.

The rBand is designed to be worn on the forearm, typically just above the wrist. The body has integrated loops for attaching the included armband. The armband will be backed in rubber to prevent the rBand from moving or sliding around. Generally, the rBand is worn on the outside of your clothing, but because of the large size of the buttons, it is also possible to wear it under thin winter shells.

For environmental protection, the minimum requirement is IPX6, with a goal of meeting the IPX7 rating. We know the design will be able to meet IPX6, but cannot promise IPX7 until we've tested production tooled assemblies.

The Timeline

The Roadmap

There are many possibilities for additional features and enhancements. As noted above the rBand will ship with support for OTA firmware updates, and smartphone media remote control capabilities. Below you will find a (roughly) prioritized list of additional features we plan to add. We are happy to take input from the community and re-prioritize the backlog based on your feedback!

Ability to answer, reject, and end phone calls*

Activation of voice assistants (Siri, Google Assistant, etc.)*



Native iOS and Android Apps to extend functionality and provide firmware updates

Customization of button presses, configured via App, e.g. double volume down tap turns down volume 50%, etc.

Interface with music players, e.g. switch Spotify playlists, enable/disable shuffle, etc.

Action camera control, feasibility TBD

* Indicates that we plan to ship the rBand with these features integrated. Other features may require a free over-the-air firmware update.

The Company



The rBand was created by me: Josh Meyer. I am an Electrical Engineer by education and have over 10 years of experience as an Electrical, Firmware, and Systems Engineer. I've worked on many successful product designs, including several electronic components for use in harsh environments. The rBand will be the first and flagship product of my Colorado-based company: Awesome Adventure Devices, LLC.