For your team
Rapid hardware prototyping for startups
Hardware startups burn their scarcest resource — time — proving that a device idea works at all. Hiring an embedded engineer to build a throwaway prototype is slow and expensive, and the founders who can describe the product often can’t build it themselves. Every week spent on bring-up is a week not spent talking to customers.
The problem for hardware startups
Early hardware startups need a working device to validate the idea, demo to investors, and put in front of users — but the fastest path to that usually still runs through firmware, wiring, and an embedded hire you can’t yet afford. The cost of a first prototype is high enough to slow down the very iteration speed a startup depends on.
How Palpable helps
A founder can plug in Qwiic modules, describe the device in plain English, and have PAL write and run the code on a Pi — no embedded engineer required. OTA updates with automatic rollback mean you iterate on real hardware between meetings, and REST/WebSocket APIs let the prototype talk to whatever app or dashboard you’re demoing alongside it.
What you’d build
A demoable device — say, a multi-sensor unit with a live display and an API feeding your companion app — that you can change by describing the change. That’s enough to validate the concept, test with users, and show investors something real instead of a render.
Honest caveat
Palpable gets you to a convincing prototype on off-the-shelf hardware; it does not design custom PCBs, source for manufacturing, or hand you a production-ready unit. When you’ve validated the idea, you’ll still take it through proper design-for-manufacture. Think of Palpable as the fastest route to the prototype that earns that investment.
Get from idea to a working, demoable device before your next investor meeting.
Questions
Can a non-engineer founder use this?
Yes. You describe the device in plain English or by voice and PAL writes and runs the code. No firmware, wiring, or embedded hire needed for the prototype.
How fast can I have something to demo?
Often within days. Plug in certified Qwiic modules, describe the behavior, and PAL deploys it to a Pi — then iterate over the air between meetings.
Will this give me a production-ready product?
No. It gets you to a working prototype on off-the-shelf hardware. Custom PCBs and design-for-manufacture remain a separate, later step.
Make something you can hold.
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