Communicating can get hard when you are in the midst of adventure sports and there have been a few attempts to get a really good walkie talkie alternative going for couples or groups out skiing, biking or kayaking. Out Door Technology (ODT) Chips had a software solution for phones that was supposed to work with their bluetooth helmet headphones, however that product was a rather clunky push to talk client (PTT) and apparently it has been discontinued (just the application, not the headphones which are excellent by the way).
Where push to talk clients on mobile phones are hard to configure and group chat is often tricky, Milo has arrived with a very simple configuration and highly reliable to use.
Milo™ – The Action Communicator™ is described as “the walkie-talkie reimagined”. It is a small device that clips to an armband or your clothing and enables hands-free, multi-way, group voice conversation. It creates its own mesh network so it is mobile independent, which allows adventurers to speak while on the trails, slopes or water. It costs $399 AUD ($250 USD) and there are a range of extras you can buy to help you connect the Milo to your arm, bike, jacket etc.
The Backstory
It all began in 2014 when founder Peter Celinski (who grew up in Australia and now lives and works in Silicon Valley), went on a ski trip with his family. His children were advanced skiers and went on runs that Peter could not. Wanting to be in communication with his children, Peter tried shouting and traditional walkie-talkies, but nothing worked well enough to stay connected on the mountain.
This experience, combined with Peter’s expertise in audio engineering sparked an idea. There must be a better way to communicate, hands-free, phone free on the mountain. And Milo was born. A Kickstarter campaign raised $2.6m USD in 2020 but there were lots of supply chain issues that made the last couple of years tricky to deliver, now they are building momentum everywhere.
THE TECHNOLOGY
Network: No phones, Wi-Fi or special networks needed, the devices connect to each other in a mesh so everybody in the group can connect and chat. The range between devices is about 600 meters (depending on line of sight and other conditions), it utilises the sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz bands which is unlicensed and used for WIFI and other applications so it does not require any license to operate.
Connecting to a group: Connecting two or more Milo’s to a mesh group is very simple, you bring the devices close together, press a button on the side, wait of the audio chime to tell you they are paired and away you go.
Microphone & Noise suppression: The Milo™ has very good wind and background noise suppression thanks to the six integrated high performance digital microphones and sophisticated audio signal processing algorithms. The noise suppression is effective even in windy conditions as you race down a slope or crash through a wave. The Milo voice transmissions are encrypted end to end so they can only be heard by members in your group who have grouped their Milos™. multi-way group full-duplex voice, meaning two-way phone quality
Speakers & Headphones: There is a speaker on the front so there is no need for headphones if you don’t want them, but they can also be paired with whatever bluetooth headphones you like if you like your conversation to be more private (AirPods or ODT Chips in the helmet perhaps) You can also plug in a wired headset. Speaking of private there are times you don’t want everyone in your group listening in so there is a big mute button on the front as well.
Battery Life: Milo uses a premium lithium polymer rechargeable battery which I completely waterproof. Battery is expected to last a full day on a single charge and it will take about 90 minutes to fully recharge the battery from empty.
Water, Dust & Shock Resistance: The Milo is waterproof and has an IP67 rating, which means it can be submerged in up to 1 meter (3 ft) of water for 30 minutes, its rugged and impact resistant.
For those fascinated by these kind of data points, the Milo device has a quad-core Arm-based processor running at over a gigahertz and it runs Linux with modular software.
Impressively Milo was selected as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2022 it also received top honours in the world’s two most important design competitions, winning the IDEA Gold Award for 2022 and the
Red Dot: Best-of-the-Best Product Design Award for 2022.
Price | $399 AUD ($250 USD)