MakingThings Services

MakingThings offers a wide range of design and engineering services to companies and institutions in need of prototyping and product development solutions. This includes interaction and UI design, rapid prototyping, software programming, mechanical and electrical engineering, and hardware fabrication.

It's our breadth of expertise and, in general, our ability to straddle the worlds of both software and hardware that makes us unique. We have an outstanding group of designers and engineers. We also have a large and proprietary library of software and hardware tools that allow us to deliver on digital projects extremely quickly and cost-effectively.

Specific skills and areas of expertise include:

• System design of complex software-hardware applications
• Numerous programming languages: C/C++, Java, Flash, and more
• Multiple operating systems: Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Digital and analog systems
• Microcontrollers
• Embedded solutions
• Non-traditional input and output devices: Sensors, motors, lights, LEDs, and more
• Electromechanical assembly

MakingThings has worked as a direct contractor and sub-contractor for a wide variety of clients on a wide variety of digital projects. Samples of recent projects include:

Smart Prototypes. A leading industrial design firm hired MakingThings to come up with a working prototype of an innovative input device for a kiosk -- a moldable "fish" tethered to the kiosk that customers could pick up with their hands and,in turn, bend, twist and shape to control what was happening on the computer screen.

Software Solutions. A telecommunications company hired MakingThings to design a peer-to-peer distribution system for purchasing and downloading movies. This project required programming for a set top box (C++), a web site (JSP/Tomcat) and a backend server with complex databases.

Museum Exhibits. Our custom-built technology can be found in numerous exhibits currently on the floor at such leading institutions as the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland and the Zeum in San Francisco. Most of these exhibits integrate software with external hardware, including non-traditional input and output devices (such as sensors, motors, and more).

Interactive Environments. MakingThings designed the software and electronics system for an "Infinite Maze." Motion-detection cameras track visitors as they walk through the maze, causing the walls of the maze to constantly reconfigure.

Public Installations. Our technology was recently integrated into a high profile and heavily trafficked public installation in Athens Greece for the Summer Olympics. More than a quarter-million visitors walked through an artificial wonderland in which they could record and playback personal sounds, images and videos.

Industrial Design. A cable television company recently hired MakingThings to lay out the electronic components for their soon-to-be released cable box and DVR. MakingThings also designed the "look and feel" of the box, including the front bezel and button layout.

To learn more about MakingThings and its contract services, including availability and rates, please contact info@makingthings.com or call 415.255.8329.