A huge number of updates have occurred just in the past 1.5 months: 

• Increased charging rate and reduced charging time from 2.5 hours to 1.5 hours through a hardware upgrade.
• Reduced power consumption by over 50% through an advanced power management algorithm with feedback control loops, by exploiting the fact that valves need far less current to stay open than to open in the first place. Existing users of FlowIO can get the advantage of this just by upgrading their device firmware to the latest version.
• The new firmware also fixes the issue where the device would become hot after continuous operation. 
• Contacted multiple new manufacturers and suppliers in an effort to reduce the cost of parts used in FlowIO, and increase the speed of production. Some cost reduction has been achieved.
• Designed 3 completely new expansion modules for FlowIO, which are now being made and will be revealed later this year! With these modules, FlowIO will become even more general-purpose!
• Designed another version of the PCBs that are slightly smaller and with higher current-carrying capacity, so that it is now possible to use even other kinds of valves that may be more power-hungry. (Hint: HydroIO).
• Found a higher-density battery with 20% higher capacity for the main module. This one had to be custom ordered directly from a manufacturer.
• An additional pump module was developed that is slightly larger than the Small and slightly smaller than the Medium pump module. 
• 1 Fully assembled FlowIO device and the parts for 3 additional FlowIO devices have been shipped out this month to 4 new users!
• Numerous updates have been made to the replication tutorials and documentation sections on the softrobotics.io website.
• A new function was added to the Arduino API for power optimization.
• A new page on the website that gives credit to the donors and sponsors is under development. 
• A custom-made FFC cable of exact dimensions was ordered to reduce the time and complexity of assembly. 
• Working towards reducing the cost of the FlowIO device by working directly with part manufacturers and ordering in bulk quantities from alternative suppliers.
• Greatly Improved the 3D printed enclosure designs with improvements to functionality, structure, and aesthetics.