A team with well-spent time at Apple, Motorola, Google, iRobot, and Amazon have been secretly working on a new hardware device designed for groups of people to talk to one another with the ease of just one button. No smartphone needed. Now, after first hearing about the product back in January, San Francisco startup OnBeep is ready to bring to device to production. Co-founder Jesse Robbins still hasn't physically shown the wearable device, but says part of its inspiration is by the Star Trek communicator badge. Don't remember that? Similarly, the device is worn on the chest, and when any instant communication is needed with a person in a different location, simply press a button to talk to them.

What is the purpose of this? Think about how convenient this could be for event planners, kitchen workers, and any other person who needs instant access to colleagues! Even everyday consumers, who are constantly organizing shindigs for family and friends, or trying to stay in constant contact when while at an amusement park or a music festival. Robbins says, “It's for any mobile team that needs to be connected in real-time”. The logic of a device like this is going beyond what a smartphone can already do for you.

Not much is known about the physicality of OnBeep, but we do know it is worn on the body, and different styles should be available for both men and women. It will appear like a badge or a brooch, and connect with Bluetooth to your smartphone. It has a clip, a mic, a mic jack, a speaker, and a volume button. The company claims that it will hook onto whatever communication networks are available to provide high-quality sound.

OnBeep comes at a time when hands free wearable voice communication is growing in popularity. This explains why the startup has already reached $6.25 million worth of funding. It's now in the process of testing “near-final manufactured versions” of the device with a selected group by giving out a few prototypes to the kind of people it's targeting (mobile professionals and everyday people). The company isn't ready to release details on exact pricing, shipment, or even what we can expect it will look like, but OnBeep says we are looking at 2014 for availability.