Presence detector product question

[jensa]

Hi,
I've made a product that may be of interest to Adafruit customers and I'm curious if Adafruit would be interested in reselling it? I'm posting here to see if there's any interest. It's sold as a "no-programming required (but hacking welcome)" kind of product. It'll work out of the box, but can be bent to do a lot more. It's definitely a niche product, but millimeter radar solves a lot of problems when it comes to detecting permanent presence.

Back in 2023, I researched all the MMwave sensors I could purchase off the shelf. Based on that, I found that it would make sense to make an easy to use product based on my findings. It's been an interesting experience for me as a hardware consultant to take a product all the way out to the consumer. There's incredibly many small things about selling that you never think about as a hardware dev, so I've written up a blog post summarising this for others wanting to make products for sale.

The product came about since I needed a sensor that could detect the presence of a person outside a phone booth. I was building an audio book experience and the customer wanted the phone to ring if someone was standing outside the phone booth, looking in. None of the traditional sensors could handle the semi-outdoor conditions. PIR sensors can detect movement, but will fail if a person is standing still. Optical sensors will fail when exposed to sunlight. Ultrasound sensors will fail if there is a window in the way.

Using a millimeter radar, I can look through the glass in the kiosk to see a person standing outside - no matter the conditions. This also solves lots of other use cases, so I think it's a very useful product. It's made so anyone can pick it up, connect two wires and plug it in. For many use cases, that's all that is needed and it's a good selling point for those users.

Coming from a Hackerspace/Makerspace background (Resident member and organizer of Bitraf) I can't see why those buying the device shouldn't also be able to change how it works, so I provide pinout, schematics and firmware for those that want it. I've also written up a series of Tutorials for absolute beginners and more experienced users.

The device is based on an ESP32-C3 and contains two relays, multiple NeoPixels/SK6812 for feedback, a STEMMA connector, two potmeters and more. It comes with an enclosure that allows for screwing onto a wall or click onto a DIN rail. The packaging holds the USB Type C cable and tiny screwdriver needed. Just add any USB charger and something to connect to get started. Several less obvious usecases are described at the blog.

Read more about the device here: https://maketronics.no/radsense-1/ The device is currently available on Amazon, but I'm thinking that Adafruit might be a more suitable reseller? Fingers crossed.

[adafruit2]

hiya, thanks this looks cool! you can email pt@adafruit with your product suggestion :)