Browser-based hardware design tool Flux raises $12M

Part of the problem they are trying to solve is a lack of design discipline:

The schematic, about 56 sec into the video, is nonsense. These people are goofs.

Yeah really, try finding some STM32F4 to buy somewhere

The one schematic is using one of these multi-die things:

If you read between the lines, they were programmers, not hardware designers. And you can see this in their writeup which deemphasizes the complexity of hardware and physics, those are just blocks of ported stuff. and focuses on all this collaborative file development and syncing.

Like this:

They are going to simulate that?

Looks to me that the people in the video are actors and the circuit is nonsense.

This may well raise $10 million from people who don't know much about electronics.

Thought about collaboration:

If we normalize electronic design skill so 1.0 is good, their collaboration model suggests that skills add, so four 0.25's together make 1.

But they actually multiply.

There's a similar thing in the UK, currently being hyped up by New Electronics..

The company is called Circuit Mind and it's hype engine is even more out of control than Flux's !

"ACE helps electronics engineering teams by automatically generating, optimising, maintaining and redesigning component selection and electronic schematics in seconds"

MK

On a sunny day (Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:02:00 -0700 (PDT)) it happened Fred Bloggs snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

What's the problem? I am using the MPU6050 The MPU-60X0 is the world's first integrated 6-axis MotionTracking device that combines a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, and a Digital Motion ProcessorTM (DMP) all in a small 4x4x0.9mm combined with a HMC5883L_3-Axis_Digital_Compass_IC.pdf Drivers written in C Been working fine for 9 years now.

Impressive project.

I can believe that. And the longer they spend on it, the worse it gets.

And how do they simulate it, code and all?

How many hundreds of uPs will they support? How many compilers?

One rumor about Mike Englehardt is that he's working on a circuit-optimizing Spice. That's not so crazy, given some way of defining goodness.

FOOD? Spoonable also?

I see a troubling trend, affecting many industries. Computer programmers & app developers, swarm in, using "building block" dev tools that promise "rapid deployment" & "minimal coding" -- But Not doing thorough requirements-analysis with the actual users. So you end up with a quickly (barely) working software product, but a pain to use, etc. Maybe those "blocks" can't do what's really needed?

.... and which works only with the very latest software, that needs to be updated every two weeks to keep working, while all the time trying to siphon off as much of your private info as they possibly can.

Jeroen Belleman

If we design with Flux and a browser, do we own the design?

What happens 5 years from now, when they are gone? How would we maintain a design?

Symmetric collaboration is a crazy way to design. One person has to be responsible and he/she should own the files.

There are a couple dataflow "languages" for microprocessor "app" development where you just drag-and-drop, some are OK. This one in particular is pretty well-developed and even lets you do stuff like examine and modify execution in realtime without a JTAG debugger harness:

Is okay for rapid prototyping and can be a time-saver for simple stuff, a lot of use cases for 8 bit microprocessors aren't setting the world on fire or require 10,000 lines of C

And what would you do if your internet went down or maybe you wanted to work while camping out in the middle of nowhere ?

At home, I'd use the files on my PC that Dropbox kept synced. Camping, I wouldn't work, or could scribble on paper. Or just think.

But camping? I'd rather scribble in a snug cabin with beds and heat and pastries.

Does Flux keep working when the internet is down?

I sent them a chat telling them how stupid their Youtube schematic was. The email reply was

You’re in! Welcome to the Flux private beta!

Hi there,

Thanks for signing up for the Flux private beta. We're excited to share that we have selected you based on your background to get access!

Flux enables you to build better hardware faster through an easy-to-use simulator, modern collaborative tools, and the support of a community of experts. Claim your seat by signing up here (It's FREE):