Plus One design brief
The source most claims in this OPD cite (src:design-brief). Status: a prototype in design. Nothing has been built and no unit exists. Sizes are targets and estimates, not measurements. Costs are not quoted. Generation one follows decision 20 in the N+1 Labs research repo (2026-11-01).
What it is
An open agent puck. You hold the plus to talk to your agent, and the light ring shows when an agent needs you.
Give your agent presence. Unlocked by design.
A physical button, voice and light for the agents you already use. It works with magnetic phone mounts and chargers.
Generation one, phone-ring size
About 55 to 58 mm across and about 8 to 9.5 mm thick. The magnet ring sets the diameter, so it goes wherever a phone goes: the back of a phone, car mounts, stands, tripods and chargers. The magnet ring's exact size and polarity still have to be checked against the Wireless Power Consortium spec. Until the product is certified, nothing claims a Qi2 or MagSafe name.
A wearable generation two, about 40 to 44 mm, comes later. It keeps the same firmware and the same pad pinout, and it is designed from measured generation one units. It is not part of this OPD.
One base, any back
The puck ships with nothing attached. Its base is the interface:
- a magnet ring, so it sticks wherever a phone goes;
- three twist-lock lugs inside the rim (an 18 degree twist), adding no thickness, for backs that move (clips, lanyards, bags, bikes). The magnets align and the lugs carry the load;
- an alignment key;
- five pogo pads outside the charging coil: power, ground, I2C (two lines) and a module ID line.
Backs are not part of the puck. They are bought, printed from an open parametric template of the mating half, or any magnetic phone mount. Printed backs take a steel ring or washer; the magnets stay sealed in the puck. Electronic modules (battery, screen, Thread, IR) repeat the same magnets and lugs on their outer face, so every back still fits. The puck is sealed and safe with nothing attached.
Charging
A rechargeable Li-ion cell on every unit, never a coin cell: the ESP32-S3's Wi-Fi draws far more than a coin cell can supply. It charges three ways: USB-C, a dock on the pads, or a magnetic wireless charger, through a receiver coil inside the magnet ring. A phone can't charge it.
Core parts
- ESP32-S3 module, 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM
- Two MEMS mics, and a speaker behind a capped amp
- The plus button, an RGB light ring and a touch ring
- Haptic motor and a 6-axis motion sensor
- Fuel gauge, a Li-ion cell with hardware protection, and a wireless charging receiver
- USB-C, a BOOT button and a hardware power-off switch
- Qwiic port, and the base described above
The mic power is tied to the ring, so the mics can't listen with the ring dark.
What sets the thickness
| Layer | Height (target) |
|---|---|
| Base floor with the magnet ring | 1.6 mm |
| Charging coil and ferrite, inside the ring | about 0.9 mm, under the cell |
| Cell, module, speaker and haptic, side by side under the board | 3.6 mm; the 3.5 mm cell and the 3.1 mm module set it |
| Main board | 0.8 mm |
| LEDs, mics and the dome switch | 0.8 mm |
| Top skin, and the plus button proud of it | about 1.6 mm |
| Total | about 9.5 mm |
Reaching 8 mm needs a thinner cell (less charge) or the ESP32-S3 placed straight on the board instead of a module. That's an open question.
Editions
- Plus One. Core, as above.
- Plus One+. The same board with more parts fitted: light sensor, NFC tag, a debug jumper, and a clear shell option. Coming next.
- Plus One++. Plus One+ boxed with a set of backs. Coming next.
Baseline line, Plus One only
The main board is bought in assembled. The line is final assembly, test and pack, on 8 stations.
| # | Station | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | Top shell sub-assembly | Light-ring diffuser heat-staked, plus button fitted, mic gaskets placed |
| S2 | Place main board | Board into the top shell, face down |
| S3 | Drive board screws | Three thread-forming screws |
| S4 | Speaker and haptic | Adhesive dispensed, both placed |
| S5 | Battery | Connector mated with a tug check, cell placed on foam tape |
| S6 | Close the base | Magnet ring bonded, charging coil and pads placed, base closed, then polarity, pad height and key checked |
| S7 | Flash, provision, calibrate | Firmware, unit ID, mics and motion sensor |
| S8 | Functional test, mark, pack | Button, touch, ring, haptic, motion, wired and wireless charge, audio loopback, radio check, QR mark, pack. No back ships |
Plus One+ adds no station: a board-variant BOM at S2 and two more checks at S8. Plus One++ adds S9, kitting the backs into the box.
Guardrails
- Never claim a calibrated, validated or proven twin, or any accuracy figure. Nothing is built.
- The twin models how it builds and the firmware logic. It does not model how it sounds, its Wi-Fi range, its wireless charging or its battery life.
- Say "works with magnetic phone mounts and chargers". No Qi2 or MagSafe claims: the Qi2 name needs certification, and MagSafe is Apple's.
- Say "control your TV", never "hack your TV". Never link tools that break other products' locks.
- Sizes are targets. Costs are not quoted.