What We Do

Success Stories

• A global metrology vendor needed an upgraded flash file system for their latest generation meter with revolutionary new features and hardware. After their staff conducted a trade study and interviewed potential vendors, but finding that nothing off-the-shelf came close to meeting their needs, they contacted us to solve the problem. We provided them a custom solution tailored to their performance and data safety requirements, fully integrated into their evolving firmware. After our solution allowed them to keep an aggressive development schedule, we then helped them complete the rest of their firmware in time for their delivery.

• A voice response vendor was at risk of penalties from its client when, within days of a critical launch of a new, nationwide promotional campaign, the source code was lost in a catastrophic backup failure. We were called in to help their team salvage the project. Within hours of the call, our team was onsite, camping in the facility until the application was stable. We then worked with their team for months afterward improving performance for what turned out to be a highly successful product promotion that exceeded the client's expectations.

• A medical device vendor needed a handheld user interface controller to drive a prototype for an implantable medical device. Facing a looming demonstration deadline, we were called to apply our embedded expertise to get the graphical LCD and Bluetooth communications working on their existing user interface controller hardware. After a successful demonstration to the vendor's prospects, we helped them bring up firmware on several related medical devices.

• A major financial institution was facing communication issues with an aging hardware protocol for which replacements were no longer available, but a new client needed to be supported over this protocol. We quickly developed custom hardware and sent personnel onsite to integrate this custom solution in their datacenters and critical client access nodes. This rapid deployment allowed the obsolete hardware to emulate more modern protocols until the entire suite could be replaced. We then assisted their new client in improving their use of the incoming data.

• A major semiconductor vendor introduced a revolutionary microcontroller family for which no programming support was available. We created the first hardware programmers for this new device, allowing them to overcome infrastructure objections for early adopters. We then assisted many of these early adopters in developing hardware and firmware for this new device family.

• A financial services vendor's sales growth was limited by customer service due to aging support applications that could no longer handle the growing volume. Working with their database consultant and customer service management, we overhauled their customer service application suite, identifying and prioritizing work so that the customer service staff experienced intuitive improvements in features without backwards and confusing steps.

• A venture capitalist had a holding that was experimenting with a novel battery recharging system. Initially consulted to resolve some power system issues, we continued our assistance by designing a better firmware interface and data collection system.

• A global consumer electronics vendor was introducing a new generation of digital televisions, and needed to prototype their user interface. We worked with their graphics designers to implement an animated graphics system on new hardware in a platform-independent way. This approach allowed the core platform team to stay focused on development while the graphics design team experimented with revolutionary television interface concepts.

• A regulatory-sensitive vendor was transitioning its core product from an microcontroller family that could not meet its stringent EMI requirements. Having experience in both the existing microcontroller and all anticipated replacement devices, we quickly ported their firmware to the new hardware platforms, allowing the vendor to make an early decision about the performance metrics and preventing them from later qualification surprises. We then assisted them with fine-tuning their firmware to the selected platform.

• A telephone device vendor needed special features for third-world applications. Originally consulted to upgrade their firmware to support these new features, we suggested and implemented changes to their hardware to increase the range of line-powered features available. In addition, our changes to their decade-old incrementally-evolved firmware architecture significantly reduced the volume of customer service incidents and made integration of new features easier.

• A semiconductor vendor needed to highlight a niche device which was facing objections due to difficulty in programming. We created a flexible programming system that allowed a low-cost single-unit capability, as well as a gang-programming capability, all with a consistent user interface as well as the ability to easily upgrade to future products. We designed, produced and fulfilled sales of these units to OEM customers as our branded product.

• A handheld electronic tools vendor needed a custom factory programming solution. We adapted one of our existing programming product designs to create a custom programming solution for their manufacturing needs, allowing them to save production time by integrating some test steps into the programming process.

• A utilities vendor needed a custom decoder for an aging communication protocol for which large, legacy customers demanded support due to an existing widespread installed infrastructure base. We designed a custom decoder interface module to piggyback on their new hardware to support these legacy customers, and developed the firmware in assembly language to perform the translation, allowing the least-cost microcontroller to be applied to the solution.

• A semiconductor vendor was introducing a low-power device with unique LCD drive capabilities and needed to demonstrate the device to early adopters. Working with the vendor's marketing team to define requirements, we designed a custom LCD to support this device family. We also introduced a prototyping board to demonstrate use of the device family's LCD drive capabilities, releasing both the LCDs and the prototyping boards as our own branded products to add adopter momentum to acceptance of the device.

• An entrepreneur had a concept for a credit card with unique communication features. Our design added endurance features that were previously on his nice-to-have list, as well as additional user interface features that greatly assisted in his demonstrations.

• A prepaid calling card vendor needed help creating web applications for use by sales reps, and which needed to be customized for each rep company, both in appearance and in calling card features. We worked with their web designers to create a robust data model and server-side application to allow each rep company to present a unique mix of products tailored for their specific markets and point-of-sale activation needs. We then worked with their database administrators to optimize the stored procedures which supported the server side application based on user feedback.

• A major semiconductor vendor needed a demonstration unit for a nationwide conference launching a new device. We quickly implemented, produced, tested and delivered a prototyping board design, in quantity, that became the giveaway centerpiece of the event. This unit was so successful that we implemented other flagship boards for four more similar annual conferences, and several other regional specialty conferences.

• A European utilities vendor needed a new residential unit meter and reader interfaces with two separate RF communication protocols, but were still uncertain about the exact hardware and firmware features needed. We applied our development tools expertise to create a bench-top version of each system component to allow more convenient experimentation and customization. After writing the firmware and validating that the components met the client's needs, we then converted those bench-top prototypes into form-and-fit pre-production units. These units passed stringent EU emission standards on the first try.

• A semiconductor vendor had acquired a new line of sensor products, and needed to demonstrate use across product lines to help cross-market the separate business units. We worked with their product marketing staff to create an engineer-friendly cross-marketing tool, and then produced and fulfilled orders for those tools in quantity, both to the vendor's field sales staff as well as to OEM designers.

• A vendor needed a robust upgrade to a sensor device that was failing in a harsh ESD and EMI environment. Our prototype also upgraded their design to a more modern and capable processor. One of the vendor's clients remained skeptical until we demonstrated the device by hitting it with a 50 kV stun gun during operation, greatly exceeding the design specifications.

• A set-top-box vendor needed to evaluate RF designs before committing them to expensive and time-consuming layouts. We created a flexible test interface to allow the client's engineers to evaluate components from a variety of vendors without requiring them to write code. We then assisted in follow-on characterization after the design components had been selected.

• A special operations contractor needed assistance defining software requirements for a revolutionary aviation mission planning system. We worked closely with special operations personnel onsite to translate their operational needs, and with the software team to recommend different approaches to the software architecture when conflicts arose. This prevented the client from needing to adapt their processes to the software, as had been their previous experience.

• An entrepreneur had a concept for an advanced non-lethal area denial device family which could integrate easily into existing security systems. We worked closely with the entrepreneur to flesh-in this design and assisted in getting this device into production.

• An OEM for coin-operated vending machines needed to upgrade their aging controllers to communicate with a handheld scanner to detect and prevent theft losses. We created a family of secure controller designs that allowed deployment across a range of vending devices, while maintaining a common, programmable interface and data model.

• An entrepreneur approached us with a concept for a unique wired communication system that used off-the-shelf handsets, suitable for both remote farm and mine safety use. Our design passed FCC verification the first time, despite spanning many regulatory interest areas.