Latch — Long-Distance Empathy Glove

A pair of soft haptic gloves that mirror each other in real time. Squeeze one and your grandmother across the country feels the same gentle pressure on her palm. Designed for caregivers, partners, and grieving families.

complexity: mediumtolerance: precision

Snapshot

Feasibility at a glance

PT localization

8/10

High

The whole build can be sourced in Portugal.

Per unit

€140–€220 per pair

at 200-unit volume

Starter batch

200units

minimum viable run

To first batch

Bottom line

Industrial flat-bed knitting, conductive yarn on the palm grid only.

Read full insight

Picked based on the localization score (8/10) plus the dominant process (smt assembly). For an early build at this batch size, this gives you the best balance of cost, risk, and speed of iteration.

What it does

4 capabilities

Reads the wearer's grip pressure across a soft sensor woven into the palm.

Sends an encrypted pressure pattern to the paired glove anywhere on Earth.

Inflates micro air bladders in the receiving glove to recreate the squeeze.

Logs only the timing of the touches — never the pressure data — for memory keepsakes.

How it's made

3 stations · build route

1
Knit the shells
Industrial flat-bed knitting, conductive yarn on the palm grid only.
2
Build the wrist module
Tiny 4-layer PCB, micro-pump and 250 mAh cell in a TPU housing.
3
Pair, test, ship
Each pair is paired and burned-in for 24 hours before it ever leaves the workshop.

Knit the shells

Industrial flat-bed knitting, conductive yarn on the palm grid only.

Build the wrist module

Tiny 4-layer PCB, micro-pump and 250 mAh cell in a TPU housing.

Pair, test, ship

Each pair is paired and burned-in for 24 hours before it ever leaves the workshop.

Risks to watch

3 identified · 1 blocking

1 high

2 medium

High

Single-source ICs become unobtainable

Modern designs almost always include one IC with ≥30 week lead times when demand spikes.

Mitigation — Pin the BOM to two qualified part numbers per critical line and place rolling forecast orders.

Medium

Firmware ships before it's stable

Hardware looks done, software is still landing fixes — early customers feel it.

Mitigation — Hold the launch ship-date on a single firmware-stability KPI, not on hardware readiness alone.

Medium

CE / FCC test fail on first attempt

Most first-time radios fail EMC; budget a re-spin.

Mitigation — Pre-scan in a partner anechoic chamber before the official lab visit.

Production timeline

12 weeks to first batch

wk 1wk 7

SMT pick-and-place

wk 1–2

PCB fabrication

wk 3

Soldering

wk 4

Wire-harness build

wk 5

Cable assembly

wk 6

Functional QA & batch sign-off

wk 7

wk 1wk 3wk 5wk 6wk 7

SMT pick-and-place

wk 1–2

PCB fabrication

wk 3

wk 1–2 is the longest stretch — SMT pick-and-place takes 2 weeks of the 7 weeks on this build.

What goes into it

6 materials · 7 processes

Materials

Merino wool blend knit (shell)Conductive silver yarnSoft TPU air bladdersFlexible PCBESP32-S3 microcontrollerUSB-C lithium-polymer cell

Processes

smt_assemblypcb_fabricationsolderingwire_harnesscable_assemblyfinal_assemblypackaging

The plan

9 tasks · 22 weeks to first batch

Week 1

2 tasks

foundersmall effort

Lock the pilot scope to one variant

One material set, one feature set, one user persona. Anything else is roadmap, not pilot.

opssmall effort

Shortlist three vendors per critical step

Use GETMILK Match to pull a ranked list across the top three processes — smt_assembly, pcb_fabrication, soldering. Send the same RFQ to all three; do not customise per vendor yet.

Weeks 2–3

2 tasks

engineeringmedium effort

Freeze the design for the first 10 units

Move the active CAD set to a tagged release; any change after the freeze gets logged in the change-board.

opsmedium effort

Place first-article orders with two of the three vendors

waits on Vendor shortlist signed off

Order one of each critical part at full spec. Do not buy 100 — buy 1, inspect, learn, then buy 100.

Weeks 4–7

2 tasks

engineeringlarge effort

Run the integration pilot

waits on First articles delivered

Ten complete units assembled in-house. Track yield, defect modes, and cycle time on a shared dashboard.

legalmedium effort

Kick off compliance + certification

Engage a notified body for the relevant standards. Booking a slot now beats discovering a 12-week wait later.

Weeks 8–16

2 tasks

foundermedium effort

Put 25 units in the hands of lighthouse users

waits on Integration pilot complete

These users help refine the product, but they also become your first paid customers. Charge a symbolic price so the data is real.

foundersmall effort

Scale-readiness review with the chosen primary vendor

waits on Lighthouse trial telemetry

Before you tool up for 1000 units, walk the line together and agree on capacity, payment terms, and the failure-mode plan.

Ongoing

1 task

opssmall effort

Stand up a customer support loop

Every defect that reaches a user becomes a ticket, a root cause, a fix, and a regression test on the line.

Who you need

3 roles to fill before month one

EU electronics co-investment broker

Inova+

Knows the EIC funding gates intimately.

EMC test partner

ANACOM-listed test lab

Pre-scan saves you a re-spin on first official test.

Firmware contract studio

INESC TEC firmware group

Backstop for embedded headcount you can't yet hire.

Watch-outs

3 things to avoid in this plan

watch-out

Founder time leaks into vendor management instead of customer development

certification

Compliance booked too late and blocks shipping for 8+ weeks

quality

Demand exceeds the chosen vendor's small-batch capacity right when momentum matters

2 tasks in week 1

Lock the pilot scope to one variant

Open the plan

Shortlist

414 matched · 8 shown, ranked by coverage

Covers, left to right: SMT Assembly · PCB Fabrication · Soldering · Wire Harness · Cable Assembly · Final Assembly · Packaging

Manufacturer

Location

Covers

Certifications

People

Keenfinity EMS

Ovar

ISO 13485, EFQM

1100

Uartrónica

Aveiro

ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, IATF 16949, IPC-A-610, RoHS Compliance

—

Proto-Electronics

Braga

ISO 9001, RoHS Compliance

ACEMIS France

Occitanie

—

Exatronic

Aveiro, NUTS2 PT16

ISO 13485, ISO 27001

Sungrow

—

c5. Seedsight

Porto, NUTS2 PT11

—

Awaiba CMOS Image Sensors / now part of ams-OSRAM

Funchal, Madeira, NUTS2 PT30

—

Registry coverage

Portuguese producers per required step

Final Assembly

369

SMT Assembly

Soldering

Cable Assembly

PCB Fabrication

Wire Harness

Packaging

Depth

How many cover more than one step

414cover at least one step

21cover two or more

4cover three or more

0cover all 7 steps

The gap

Picked based on the localization score (8/10) plus the dominant process (smt assembly). For an early build at this batch size, this gives you the best balance of cost, risk, and speed of iteration.

Send one RFQ to the top 4

Keenfinity EMS, Uartrónica, Proto-Electronics, ACEMIS France — same package, one click.

Request quotes