hardware-feasibility

Hardware Feasibility

Hardware ideas die on three rocks: BOM cost at volume, regulatory / certification, and manufacturing tolerance. Surface them early.

Steps

1. Read the idea. Confirm with the user that there's a meaningful hardware component (not just "an app that connects to existing hardware").
2. Sketch a bill of materials (BOM) at small volume (1, 100, 1000 units). For each line:
   • Component category
   • Likely supplier or off-the-shelf module reference
   • Approximate unit cost at each volume
   • Lead time / supply-chain risk note
3. Identify hardest engineering problems — the components or integrations that aren't off-the-shelf and require real R&D. For each, note:
   • What's hard about it
   • Whether a prior art / open-source design exists
   • Estimated engineering effort (weeks of one engineer)
4. Feasibility tests — propose a phased prototyping plan:
   • Phase 0: bench breadboard / dev kit proving the riskiest function works at all
   • Phase 1: integrated prototype, ugly, single unit
   • Phase 2: form-factor prototype, externally presentable
   • Phase 3: pilot run / DFM iteration For each phase, estimate cost and duration.
5. Regulatory & certification — note any required certifications (FCC, CE, FDA, UL, etc.) given target geography and category. Flag long-lead items.
6. Path to manufacturing — contract manufacturer landscape (US, EU, China, Israel/local), ODM vs. CM vs. self-manufacture trade-off.

Output

<workspace_path>/ideas/<slug>/analysis/hardware-feasibility.md with frontmatter:

---
lens: hardware-feasibility
generated: YYYY-MM-DD
bom_estimate_v1_usd: <number>
hardest_risk: <one-line>
---

Notes

• Use WebSearch to verify component price ranges; don't invent.
• A hardware idea where the hardest problem hasn't been built before by anyone is much riskier than one composed of solved sub-problems integrated cleverly.