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Palpable vs Flux.ai

Flux.ai is an AI-assisted tool for designing printed circuit boards. Palpable is for people who want a working device without designing a board at all — different jobs, often confused.

Palpable
Flux.ai
What it makes
A running device on a Raspberry Pi + Qwiic modules
A custom PCB: schematic, layout, and BOM
Do you design a board?
No — plug certified modules into a Pi
Yes — that is the whole point
Skill needed
None — describe the behavior to PAL
Some PCB experience (Flux calls its copilot “a fast junior engineer”)
Code
PAL writes and runs it for you
You write the firmware separately
Best end state
A device that senses, decides, displays, and speaks
Manufacturing files for a custom board

When Flux.ai is the better choice

If your goal is a custom printed circuit board — you need a specific form factor, you are designing for manufacturing, or you want full control over components and traces — Flux.ai is the right category of tool and Palpable is not a substitute.

If you genuinely need a bespoke PCB, design it in Flux. But many “I need a board” projects really just need a working device: sense something, react, show or say a result. For that, Palpable skips board design entirely — plug in Qwiic modules and let PAL run the behavior.

Questions

Does Palpable design PCBs like Flux.ai?

No. Palpable does not design custom boards. It runs behavior on a Raspberry Pi with plug-and-play Qwiic modules, so most projects never need a PCB at all.

When should I use Flux instead?

When you specifically need a manufacturable custom PCB — a particular form factor, component choices, or production run. That is what Flux is built for.

Can Palpable get me to a real product?

For sensing, logic, displays, and voice on standard hardware, yes — a working, updatable device. For a custom board, you would still design that in an ECAD tool.

Make something you can hold.