Ask HN: Any hardware startups here? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#521

Post by missedthecue » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:36 AM UTC

nickpeterson wrote: post #499

missedthecue wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plastic packaging is more eco-friendly than any alternative. Lightweight, carbon sink, and as long as it's not dumped in the ocean, has a very small and environmentally friendly waste footprint. The dumping in the ocean part is an issue in countries with under-developed waste management infrastructure, not something inherent to plastics.

The issue is plastic doesn’t reasonably biodegrade when left alone and doesn’t recycle well. We can make transport use cleaner energy, but we seemingly can’t make plastic meaningfully more disposable/reusable.

Plastic does take a long time to decompose, but to the extent this is actually a major issue isn't clear to me. A plastic bag takes 20-40 years to decompose per the BBC. That landfill you use will be there long after we're dead, certainly more than 20-40 years.

The main issue is whether it makes it to the landfill in the first place, but this isn't particular to plastic. .

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#522

Post by moneywoes » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:39 AM UTC

FrankPetrilli wrote: post #519

flybrand wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s the name?

As an FPV Enthusiast, I suspect strongly that this is Orqa/ImmersionRC (which merged recently). > video headset for drone pilots ("FPV goggles", for those in the know) Orqa FPV.one > Based in Europe, where we do all our R&D and MFG. This is a pretty clear indicator that it's Orqa - few other folks in the FPV space are Europe-centric > We do FCs, ESCs Commercial gear > control links ImmersionRC Ghost > analog video li…

Are they as good as he mentioned?

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#523

Post by mojomark » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:39 AM UTC

wiskinator wrote: post #47

konschubert wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10x BOM? Why is the bar so high for profitably? There are manufacturing costs, marketing and inventory risk. But still… what am I missing?

NRE into the production line, especially hard tooling for plastic is huge. Plus all those things you mentioned, especially inventory risk are often underestimated. Don't forget that any manufacturing run itself is a huge risk. Tiny changes that need to be made to address anything from RF performance to fit and finish can invalidate a run and just burn up hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars (depending on scal…

Even for something like HDPE? I did a project a while ago that was effectively a pontoon workboat. We used HDPE pontoons in lieu of stainless steel and the cost savings was about 25%. I assume that the raw materials (basically large diameter HDPE pipe) and plastic welding tools were just that much cheaper/easier.

I was interested in doing a new HDPE product development on my own, but I'm a bit nervous this is a deep tooling rabbit hole.

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#524

Post by moneywoes » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:42 AM UTC

StephenSmith wrote: post #8

We make a camera system for construction sites. Using computer vision, we can identify when and for how long subcontractors show up as well as notify our customers of unwanted behavior on site. https://bedrockwireless.com/ Fun fact, we probably have the best port-o-potty detector in the world.

how big of a pain point is this?

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#525

Post by SkyPuncher » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:42 AM UTC

aquaphile wrote: post #23

We make the world's best baby car seats. https://www.kioma.us Fatherly Magazine calls it "The Car Seat of the Future". It's been crash tested, flight inversion tested, flammability tested and mom tested. It is full of patented innovations to make kids safer and parenting more enjoyable. It required lots of material science, production techniques, supply chain adjustments, and a surprising amount of software (to model…

I know it’s easy to be critical, but I want to provide feedback. That placement into the base looks difficult and frustrating.

I see two main issues.

1. That clearly requires the installer to apply non-trivial force to lock it into place. Beyond it being awkward, a Graco Keyfit is a drop in, no force install. Amazing.

2. In most vehicles, fire-aft distance is a huge, limiting factor. It seems difficult, if not impossible to tell if the seat has latched into the correct position, without additional tilt. The Keyfit base makes this obvious since it will not latch into place at incorrect angles.

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#526

Post by DoingSomeThings » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:43 AM UTC

konschubert wrote: post #20

I am making and selling an eink smart screen. It can display a google calendar. You can also point it to any url that serves an image. Is it okay to post a link? https://shop.invisible-computers.com/products/invisible-cale... I am planning to release more applications for it and I am opening the platform for 3rd party applications.

Way cool. Just added this to my Christmas wishlist.

As a non-techy nerd it’s a perfect niche with built in usage and no need to hack. Thank you for posting.

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#527

Post by ycombinatornews » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:58 AM UTC

nabilt wrote: post #328

I'm building an open source water meter to detect costly water leaks and track your water usage. The hardware design is flexible enough to easily repurpose it for measuring residential gas and electricity meters, as well as any signal that requires continuous reading while maintaining a long battery life. https://y-drip.com Follow the development process here: https://hackaday.io/project/191398-ydrip

Wow! Would love to compare this to Flume! Been using it for some time but can’t quite catch one tiny leak I have

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#528

Post by ycombinatornews » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 2:59 AM UTC

cmicali wrote: post #44

At Sense we make a home energy monitor that provides real-time appliance-level monitoring using machine learning. Hardware is indeed hard as everyone said it would be! https://sense.com

Glad to see Sense here! Been using it for 3+ years and am surprised how good it detects electrical appliances and other typical stuff.

Do you have any plans regarding always on load? So hard to track it down…

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#529

Post by fsckboy » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 3:02 AM UTC

benburleson wrote: post #237

fsckboy wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$1000 is too much for Target and Walmart, but for Beverly Hills, the Hamptons, etc. that's nothing. If your living room has space for a Peleton bike, this will fit right in.

You don't put your Peloton in your living room like some peasant if you're buying a $1000 car seat.

"room" for the bike was metonymic for "room" in your budget

Re: Ask HN: Any hardware startups here?

#530

Post by c_o_n_v_e_x » Thu, Jul 06, 2023, 3:05 AM UTC

lijok wrote: post #203

immibis wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand what they're making and what differentiates their product. Is it a private cloud but designed so you can just drop it in place and turn it on instead of having to set up the cloud?

It's server racks with basically iLO on steroids. To be fair, simply being server a company that's easy to deal with is enough of a differentiator in this space. Would absolutely blindly buy from them just to avoid having to deal with HPE/Dell

>To be fair, simply being server a company that's easy to deal with is enough of a differentiator in this space. Would absolutely blindly buy from them just to avoid having to deal with HPE/Dell

I'm in the server business (within a very specific niche). I wish I could find more people like you.