Videos coming soon!
I’ve been buried in development for the past few months. Here’s the plan:
- Two videos before Open Sauce
- Live streaming from Open Sauce
- A few more videos after Open Sauce
2026
Build guides — Build-a-Box is ready; MVP and 4+1 are next
A decent Build-a-Box guide is ready right now — full step-by-step assembly photos. Coming soon: build guides for the MVP and the 4+1 button + rotary encoder V3 box.
Rubber Chicken Challenge booth design finished
Finished the design for the T-Rex Rubber Chicken Challenge booth display. Below are the rendered images of the build. ETA on the metal parts is the second week of July — assembly and testing right after.
Full set of production prototype PCBs ordered
We just sent a full set of production prototype boards to fab — covering three product lines in one run:
- T-Rex Talker V3 — Autistic Stim variation main board
- Processor board — the shared brain, stacks with the Nonverbal daughter
- Involuntary Nonverbal daughter board — stacks under the processor board
- Sip-N-Puff V1.2
- plus the shared SEESAW daughterboard used across the V3 family
As soon as the boards arrive we’ll start populating, testing, and shipping units into the MVP test groups.
Interviewed on the CircuitPython Podcast
A long-form conversation about R.O.A.R., open-source AAC, and building the T-Rex Talker on CircuitPython. The interview also picked up a “Hug Report” shout-out in the Adafruit CircuitPython Weekly Meeting notes for 2026-06-01.
Selected for Bay Area Maker Faire — again!
We’re back at Bay Area Maker Faire in Vallejo for 2026. After Editor’s Choice in 2025, we’re returning with the full R.O.A.R. lineup — T-Rex Talker V3, the new sip-and-puff, and a lot more devices to put in people’s hands.
Bunny Feeding Frenzy — a pixel-art trainer for the Sip-N-Puff
What started as a baseball cap for testing the 9-axis sensor on the Sip-N-Puff turned into a Duck-Hunt-inspired game called Bunny Feeding Frenzy. It’ll be part of the autistic stim interactive software — and it’s actually pretty fun.
Free game — coming soon to T-Rex Talker Stim Edition, Windows, Linux, and Android. Mac and iOS may come later depending on demand.
Building 30-50 Autism Stim Devices with American Legion Post 468
An autistic-stim variation of the V3 hardware. The hardware is laid out, plastics are designed, PCBs are on the way, and a Build A Stim Device instruction set is coming. Working with American Legion Post 468 (Julian, CA) for the charity build.
Sip-N-Puff is up and running
A working alpha/beta of the open-source sip and puff switch is built and has been used to operate the T-Rex Talker V3. One build, many purposes — the same hardware will reconfigure for many uses (USB mouse, two-switch keyboard, Xbox Adaptive Controller input) by editing a plain text file on the device’s USB drive. No reflashing, no IDE.
Version 3.0 is live on GitHub
Fully compatible with all hardware from Version 2.0 onwards. We’ve also introduced two no-soldering build options — all you need are two specific parts from Amazon and a 3D printer to get started.
From workshop to PhD research
I’m in Chiang Mai in part to discuss the possibility of doing my PhD work at Chiang Mai University. Right now it isn’t PhD work yet — so I wrote a document about how it becomes PhD work and why that is important.
I started with a passionate document and then iterated with Gemini for an academic version. Feedback is appreciated — thank you.
AAC Device and Personal Update
Testing speakers, motors, screens for next version.
I want to apologize for dropping out for a bit. I had some disruptions that were not inherently bad, but I don’t like change. Specifically, I had some emergency dental surgery and changes to my living arrangements that took up a lot of my time and energy.
I am going to try and start making more videos with a goal of 2 a month, but I won’t be committing to a set schedule. I’ve got a lot of things to talk about and share, from lessons of being an autistic adult to building special needs devices.
I have a bunch of little projects I’ve built that I need to release as open source:
- An over-engineered, multi-purpose USB night light that doubles as a volume control for PCs.
- My custom mini-ITX NAS server box.
- A Christmas tree topper.
- And so many more things.
AAC Device Projects and Goals
I am actively building 30 devices to be given away to autistic children for stim / education purposes as part of a charity drive.
I am also looking for test groups for the next version of my AAC devices:
- Test group of 10 or more people for my pocket-sized AAC device.
- Test group of 9 or more people for my next version of medium-sized AAC device for limited mobility.
Regarding the next versions of my devices, I currently have 3 of 4 PCBs that I need designed. My plan is to send all of them off for production in the next month.
Funding and Support
I do have a full-time job that thankfully allows me to do all this traveling and not only pays my bills but leaves me with enough left over to fund these projects. I have gotten some initial sponsorships and hope to expand those relationships to be able to build more devices for people in need.
Call to Action
I am currently looking for:
- Individuals who can benefit from these AAC devices.
- People to join the team and help with these projects.
If you are interested in sponsoring future events or device builds, please contact me through my channel.
