The security multi-tool Flipper Zero became a cult gadget, not least because of its innovative design at the time. Now inventor Pavel Zhovner is launching a new helper: The Busy Bar is intended to help digital workers curb external disturbances through clear signals. Similar to the Flipper Zero, the device is expandable and can be paired with many Smart Home ecosystems.
The Busy Bar is a plastic box measuring 17×6×4 cm, dominated on the front by a 6.35-inch (approx. 16 cm) LED display with a resolution of 72×16 pixels. Its core function is simple: at the press of a button, the name-giving inscription “Busy” appears in pixelated letters on the display. To indicate the duration of the occupation to colleagues or family members, this can be set using a rotary knob.
This function is mainly intended for open-plan offices and is designed to support workers in “deep focus,” i.e., deep concentration. They clip the Busy Bar onto their monitor – with the large display facing colleagues. A smaller monochrome display shows the concentrating worker the remaining time and the current status. Inventor Pavel Zhovner: “We built the Busy Bar to make concentration physically tangible.”
Inside the gadget works an STM32U5M SoC (system-on-chip) – the Flipper Zero also relies on the STM32 platform. In addition to WLAN, the Busy Bar also has USB Ethernet on board. A 3250 mAh battery provides up to two weeks of standby time and eight hours of active display time.
Open Ecosystem
The Busy Bar can be operated not only at the touch of a button: it has an integrated web interface, is Matter-certified, and compatible with the three largest Smart Home ecosystems right from the start. It is therefore also suitable for the home office, provided that Apple Home, Google Home, or Home Assistant are in use there. Those who want to realize their ideas can do so using the HTTP API, MQTT, and connections via Python and Typescript. Of course, custom messages or small pictures can be conjured onto the front display – the Busy Bar can thus also serve as a fitness or break timer, notification center, or busy indicator for the conference room.
The Busy Bar thus follows a similar recipe to its successful cousin, the Flipper Zero. The network multi-tool also benefited enormously from its openness to custom programs or circuit boards that could be easily plugged onto the device via GPIO. Inventor Zhovner elevates the principle to the raison d’être of his company: “Like everything we build at Flipper, [the Busy Bar] is completely open-source and customizable.”
Busy App blocks time-wasters
The Busy Bar is intended to help reduce distractions from colleagues or family members appearing at the workplace – the accompanying app helps the user avoid disruptive messages and doomscrolling. To achieve this, it mutes all devices from the smartwatch to the laptop, provided they are running on macOS, iOS, Android, watchOS, or Wear OS – Windows will follow later. The timer can also be set in the app, and the pixel display of the Busy Bar can be changed.
From smartwatch to laptop: The app ecosystem of the Busy Bar.
(Image: Flipper Devices)
Pre-orders now possible
The waiting list on the product website busy.app is open, and orders will be possible from July 14th. However, the productivity gadget has its price. Those who hurry and are among the first 3,000 orders will receive the Busy Bar for 179 Euros – after that, the price will increase to 219 Euros.
The Busy Bar is not the only newly announced device from Pavel Zhovner’s company; the tinkerer is currently working on the Flipper One, which is intended to become a universal Linux cyberdeck.
(cku)
