# R&D & devices

Solutions for a specific need when nothing ready-made exists or fits: business IT systems, integrations and devices, from idea and prototype to deployment. From a sensor and a microcontroller to the cloud that collects their data.

## Who this is for

### Companies with a process that off-the-shelf software cannot handle

Unusual production, service or logistics. You tried three systems from the shelf and each one needs the company to change to fit it. You need a tool that does exactly what is needed and nothing more.

### Companies that want to measure something in the physical world

Warehouse temperature, energy use, presence, movement, machine state, air quality. The data is there, but nobody collects it, or a device collects it into the manufacturer's app, which talks to nothing else.

### Teams with an idea for a product or a device

You have a concept and want to test it before investing in an injection mould, certification or a team. You need a prototype that can be shown, tested and priced.

## What we usually find

The same patterns come up in most projects that reach us:

- A spreadsheet that became the company's system and that everyone but one person is afraid to touch.
- A device with the manufacturer's app, whose data cannot be exported or integrated.
- A prototype built by an enthusiast that works, but nobody knows how, and it cannot be reproduced.
- A "temporary" integration that links three systems and has been the only source of truth for two years.
- A device project started from the enclosure and the certificate before anyone checked whether the measurement works at all.
- No decision on what should be cheap and what should be reliable, so everything is expensive.

Most of these are resolved by one well-defined prototype. When data has to be collected from many places, the platform on the other side is [cloud & infrastructure](https://kol.ski/en/cloud-infrastructure).

## What we work on

### Systems and integrations for a need

Internal tools, panels, integrations between systems that share no common language. We define the scope around one process, not around a feature list. Repeatable steps become [automations](https://kol.ski/en/ai-automation).

### Devices and sensors

Prototypes on Raspberry Pi, microcontrollers and embedded Linux: sensors, control, audio and video streaming, wired and radio communication. From a breadboard to a version that can be reproduced in ten units.

### Distributed systems

Many devices or sites sending data to one place: remote updates, working offline and catching up when the network returns, health monitoring, one panel. The same architecture we use in [buildings & facilities](https://kol.ski/en/buildings-facilities).

## What we have done before

The [founders’](https://kol.ski/en/founders) experience: from assembling computers and networks in the 1990s, through a practice combining software with electronics since 2009, to cloud platforms. More under [achievements](https://kol.ski/#experience).

- More than 25 in-house tools and automations: static publishing, forms, monitoring, panels for managing machines, task synchronisation.
- More than 100 virtual machines started and stopped automatically, with our own panel and health checks.
- Device and distributed-system prototypes: Raspberry Pi, microcontrollers, embedded Linux, sensors, audio and video streaming.
- Arduino Day and hardware workshops in the community; edge computing and hardware talks at conferences at home and abroad.
- More than 250 cloud projects under one model of roles, which is where devices send their data.

## Example: from a spreadsheet to a tool

A typical starting point and what we build from it. Details are something we discuss in a meeting.

### Before

A service company runs its jobs in a spreadsheet with macros that one person understands. Field measurements written down by hand and typed up in the evening. The client report assembled from three files. Every typing error is a complaint.

### After

A sensor on the equipment sends the measurement itself, also without coverage, catching up when the network returns. A simple web tool with the job list, the measurements and a one-click report. The spreadsheet stays as an export, not as the system.

### Result

No retyping and no complaints from it. The client report in a minute instead of an evening. A tool that more than one person understands, with the code and documentation in the company.

## Three steps, each one you can stop after

### 1. Free consultation

30 minutes online. You tell us what you want to measure, automate or build. We tell you whether it makes technical sense, what is cheap and what is expensive, and where we would start.

### 2. Prototype

Fixed scope and a fixed price agreed before we start. One thing that has to work: a measurement, an integration, a tool. A working prototype and a short report: what works, what does not, what a final, reproducible version would cost.

### 3. Implementation

The final version in stages: reliability, enclosure or interface, installation, documentation, handover. Each stage has acceptance criteria and a price agreed before it starts. After every stage you decide whether we continue.

## What the prototype covers

- Definition: one thing to test, the criterion for "it works", and what we deliberately do not test.
- A working unit: a device, an integration or a tool, in your environment or on a test bench.
- Measurements and tests: how it behaves in typical conditions and at the edges, where it fails and why.
- Report: conclusions, risks, a cost estimate for the final version in a few variants, a list of decisions to make.
- Code, schematics and the parts list in your repository, so the prototype can be reproduced without us.

This is what a fragment of a prototype report looks like. The figures are illustrative, the layout is real:

| Question | Result | Conclusion | Decision |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Does the sensor measure reliably in the warehouse | Error ±0.4 °C after calibration, no drift after 2 weeks | Good enough for alerts, not for billing | Keep |
| Will data arrive without Wi‑Fi | 7-day buffer on the device, catch-up when the network returns | Works; no need for LTE | Keep |
| Cost of one measurement point | PLN 180 in parts for the prototype | About PLN 110 at 50 units | Version for 50 units |
| Battery life | 11 days at a reading every 5 minutes | Too short; mains power or a reading every 30 minutes | To decide |
| Panel | Simple list and chart, email alerts | Enough to start | Keep |

The prototype is also a basis for a quote from another contractor or a manufacturer: the documentation and test results stay with you.

## What stays on your side

Code, schematics, configuration and documentation are yours, in your repository. Devices and accounts belong to the company.

- A repository with code, schematics, parts list and setup instructions.
- Documentation of the final version: how to install, how to update, what to do after a failure.
- The panel and the data in your cloud accounts, with permissions on your side.
- Knowledge transfer to your team, as [workshops](https://kol.ski/en/training) where useful, or an agreed monthly scope of development.

## Technology follows the task

A microcontroller where battery and price matter. Raspberry Pi or embedded Linux where image, sound or complex logic is needed. A ready module instead of a custom board until the volume justifies one. The cloud as a place for data and the panel, not as a requirement. We do not rebuild what exists and works; we build what is missing.

## FAQ

### Do you also do enclosures and certification?

The prototype and a small series, yes, with a printed enclosure or ready-made parts. CE certification and series production we do with partners; we prepare the documentation and test results for them.

### How long does a prototype take?

Usually two to six weeks, depending on whether parts have to be ordered. We set the scope to answer one question, not all of them.

### Is the prototype production-ready?

No, and that is its purpose: to find out whether it is worth it. The prototype report says what has to change in the final version and what it will cost.

### We already have half a solution built in-house. Do you start from scratch?

No. We look at what exists, document it and decide together what stays. Often it is enough to tidy up and finish.

### How do you charge?

First consultation: free, 30 minutes online. Prototype: a fixed price plus parts at cost. Implementation: stages with acceptance criteria and a price for each stage. Development: a monthly scope.

### What about ownership of the idea and confidentiality?

We sign a non-disclosure agreement before the first conversation about details, and the transfer of rights to code and documentation is written into the contract. How we handle data from the contact form is described in the [privacy policy](https://kol.ski/en/legal).

## Tell us what has to work

Tell us what you want to measure, connect or build, and what stands in the way today. We will propose a time.

[Discuss your project](mailto:hi@kol.ski) · [Book 30 minutes](https://calendar.app.google/CJxZPq3FqabCDMS59) · [Additional areas](https://kol.ski/#areas)