Hardware we have designed and shipped
Each entry below is a device we took past the prototype: what it had to do, what made it hard, and where it ended up. Some are client projects; some are our own products, sold under the Maxlab name.
Solar roof camera that switches ice-melt cables
Heat cables on a roof edge stop ice dams, but most of them run whether there is ice or not. We designed a camera module that watches the snow and ice at the roof edge and turns the cables on only when they are needed, plus the hub that connects the modules to the cloud.
Each module has two full-HD, infrared-sensitive cameras for a panoramic view through long winter nights. It is rated for −40 °C to +80 °C, sealed to IP68 in a UV-resistant Lexan housing, and built to survive someone stepping on it. There is no power cable: a battery and a solar panel run it, and one charge lasts a winter under snow.
It went from first sketch to the first manufacturing batch in under nine months, built from Tokay platform blocks. We supervised the manufacturing ramp-up for the first year, then handed it to the client. The system now sells in thousands of homes across the US, and the client estimates the cables can stay off more than 90% of the time.
Tokay Lite, an open-source edge AI camera
Our own camera board, built around the question most camera projects start with: can a microcontroller do the job? It pairs an ESP32-S3 with an OV2640 sensor, IR night vision, a passive-IR motion sensor and an external RTC, so it can sleep and wake on a timer or on motion. TensorFlow Lite Micro and esp-dl models run on the board.
Tokay Lite is sold on Mouser and launched on Crowd Supply. The schematic, layout and SDK are public on GitHub, so you can inspect our work before you call. For client projects it is a starting point: if the device fits its envelope, we change what differs.
Tokay Pro, a modular vision camera
For vision work a microcontroller can't carry. Tokay Pro runs Linux on an NXP processor, takes thermal and spectral sensors as well as visible light, and tracks more than 100 objects at once. It can run from solar. It is the base we use for robotics, inspection and other heavier camera projects.
ESP32 Tuya gateway
A gateway that runs Tuya devices on the local network, without Tuya's cloud. It handles Zigbee as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE, exposes MQTT and HTTP APIs, and works with Home Assistant, so devices keep working when the internet is down. Its page is the top US result for “tuya gateway”.
12-channel energy monitor
A monitor that measures 12 circuits at once and streams live readings to a phone app over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Each circuit has its own threshold, and the app sends an alert when one draws more than it should. One team did the measurement front end, both radios and the firmware.
Other work
We have also worked on methane detection with spectral cameras and on camera-based parking occupancy. The background to both is on the blog: hyperspectral cameras in methane detection and cameras for smart parking lots.
Next step
Have a device in mind? See how we run a hardware project, then book a 30-minute call or send us your project. We reply within 24 hours.