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BYT Electronics Lab / Year 1 Sensor Network

Build real advanced electronics. One box at a time.

A year of connected RF and sensing builds. Six projects, three boxes, one sensor network. Each build ends in a portfolio piece.

Join the waitlist

Open the box

Pick a box to open it. Drag to look around.

3D view of the selected kit box. Its lid opens and the box's two projects rise out of the foam insert and slowly turn. Showing BOX 1 / LINK: Core Mesh Node and HUD Monocle.

  • Core Mesh Node

    A belt-worn LoRa mesh node for texting and team positions with no cell service.

  • HUD Monocle

    A one-eye heads-up display on clear glasses, fed by the Core.

Six builds, one network

Sense it, share it, see it.

BOX 2 / SENSE

  • 3D render of the Acoustic Array

    03

    Acoustic Array

    Hears where a sound is

  • 3D render of the Pan-Tilt Vision

    04

    Pan-Tilt Vision

    Turns to look

BOX 3 / SIGNAL

  • 3D render of the 5.8 GHz RF Finder

    05

    5.8 GHz RF Finder

    Spots 5.8 GHz signals

  • 3D render of the RF Direction Finder

    06

    RF Direction Finder

    Finds a radio's direction

BOX 1 / LINK

  • 3D render of the Core Mesh Node

    01

    Core Mesh Node

    Relays everything

  • 3D render of the HUD Monocle

    02

    HUD Monocle

    Shows it in your eye

  1. Sense. Four units hear, look and scan: sounds, faces, 5.8 GHz video links and radio bearings. The radios only receive.
  2. Share. The Core sends every detection over its LoRa mesh. No cell service needed.
  3. See. The Monocle shows it in front of your eye, with messages and teammate positions.

Bonus builds

From parts members already own:

  • Head-tracked camera
  • Sound-following camera
  • Digital periscope
  • Night-vision viewer
  • Auto-scanning direction finder
  • Perimeter monitor

Every build ends in a portfolio piece.

  1. Skeleton code with the key algorithm left for you to write
  2. A measurement lab with target numbers
  3. A modify-the-PCB step
  4. A write-up template that becomes your GitHub README and resume bullet

The portfolio hardware recruiters ask about.

ExampleREADME.md

Acoustic Array: sound bearing from four synchronized mics

  • Measured bearing error: 4.1° RMS at 3 m (lab target: under 5°)
  • Rotor classifier: 92% accuracy on the 400-clip test set
  • PCB change: moved the mic clock trace, cut sync skew from 2.1 µs to 0.4 µs
  • Resume bullet: "Built a 4-mic time-difference-of-arrival array on an ESP32-S3; measured 4.1° RMS bearing error."

Founding members

The first production run is small. Founding members get:

  1. Box 1 ships to you first
  2. Your rankings decide the order of Box 2 and Box 3
  3. Members-only Discord office hours
The BYT kit box, closed, with BOX 1 / LINK printed on the lid

Join the waitlist

Five quick steps. Your project ranking decides what ships after Box 1.

FAQ

Who is it for?

US engineering students and early-career engineers, including software people moving into hardware, who want portfolio-grade hardware projects.

Do I need to solder?

TODO(soldering: how much soldering each box needs, and whether any parts come pre-assembled)

What else do I need?

A laptop. TODO(tools: anything else, e.g. a soldering iron or multimeter)

Where do you ship?

US only for the founding run.

Is it legal?

Yes. The 5.8 GHz RF Finder, the RF Direction Finder and the Acoustic Array's Remote ID scanner are receive-only. The only transmitters in the kits are pre-certified LoRa, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.

How long does each build take?

Estimated build times (EE student / new to hardware): Core Mesh Node 8–12 h / 15–25 h, HUD Monocle 4–6 h / 6–10 h, Acoustic Array 12–20 h / 20–40 h, Pan-Tilt Vision 5–8 h / 8–14 h, 5.8 GHz RF Finder 3–5 h / 5–8 h, RF Direction Finder 4–8 h / 6–12 h.

Is there an age limit?

Yes, 18+.

When does it ship?

TODO(ship date)