Launchpad Projects
Rapid turnaround projects for a fast moving startup.
- UX Design Lead
- Launchpad Build AI
- What
- Tools for my teammates at a fast moving startup, from robotics machine tooling to presentation decks.
- Why
- Launchpad Build AI makes the Digitool, a robotic manufacturing unit. A team that size has more odd jobs than people to do them.
- How
- While there, coding agents made massive leaps (Claude Opus 4.6 through Fable 5), and I used them to build tools for my teammates.
- Result
Five toolsEach built in an afternoon to two weeks, for teammates across hardware, finance, sales, and AI.
A WIP build of the V2 Digitool
Takeaways
Gotta Go Fast
Five tools, each built in an afternoon to two weeks, for teammates across hardware, finance, sales, and AI.
Agentic Coding
Leaps in AI models made short work of tasks that used to take days, so I could say yes to the team’s odd jobs.
It’s also made my work more fun.
Coming from Game Dev
Real-time 3D carries straight over to the browser: a 3D digital twin, a WebGL globe, and an infinite canvas presentation deck.
LED Lab
Making a more stylish stack light.
A 3D prototype for animating the Digitool’s LED strip, with custom tools that make editing its behaviors easy (and fun).
ResultA plan to hack the LED controller to handle animations, and a streamlined CAD-to-React pipeline.
- For the hardware team
- 1 afternoon
- React Three FiberBuilt withThis project used Claude Code (Fable 5), React, TypeScript, Three.js (React Three Fiber), GSAP, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, and Vite, with a Draco and mesh-optimizer pipeline for the glTF models.
World View
Two international offices, always on the move, and short on desks.
Office hours and who’s in, for the Edinburgh and LA offices, so hybrid and traveling staff could plan meetings and find a free desk.
ResultWelcomed alternative to the Google Sheets form that normally held the content, with the added help of global clocks to keep Edinburgh and Los Angeles offices synced.
- For Edinburgh and LA offices
- A few mornings
- Three.js and GLSLBuilt withThis project used Claude Code (Opus 4.7), React, TypeScript, Three.js (React Three Fiber), custom GLSL shaders, GSAP, and Vite.
AI Platform Sizzle Reel
From a photo to a purchase order, in one reel.
A quick-turnaround reel for the VP of AI, pitching a Manufacturing Language Model to the board of directors.
- For the VP of AI
- 2 days
- Claude DesignBuilt withThis project used Claude Design, Three.js for the 3D models, and generative AI tools for the scan sequence.
Launchpad Canvas
A slide deck without bounds, or wifi requirements.
An infinite-canvas deck app for desktops and tablets, built for presenting in the field with little or no Internet.
ResultPresented on tablets at a private industry event, answering questions on the fly.
- For the CEO and VP of Sales
- 2 weeks
- React and CapacitorBuilt withThis project used Claude Design and Claude Code (Opus 4.6 and 4.7), React, TypeScript, Three.js (React Three Fiber), GSAP, Framer Motion, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, Capacitor for the Android build, and Workbox for offline use.
Landing Pad
Scouting Edinburgh from San Francisco.
A dashboard tracking Edinburgh real estate against the company’s requirements, as it planned a move to a larger manufacturing space.
ResultEasier for the team to keep tabs on listings and share notes.
- For the VP of Finance
- 2 days
- Next.jsBuilt withThis project used Claude Code (Opus 4.7 and 4.8), Claude Code Routines, Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, Leaflet, Recharts, SQLite, and OpenStreetMap Nominatim for geocoding.
