Prototyping & small series
Build the hardware.
Skip the code.
Brain is the only off-the-shelf controller where you buy the box, describe the machine in plain language, and an on-device AI agent writes the control system. No PLC programming, no controls engineer — just the mechanics you already know how to build.
The prototyping tax
The machine takes weeks. The controls take months.
Controls is the bottleneck
You designed and built the mechanics in weeks. Then the control system — PLC selection, wiring, IEC programming, HMI, safety — takes months and a specialist you may not have.
Prototypes are throwaway
Every iteration means re-wiring and re-programming. The control work rarely survives a design change, so you pay the tax again and again.
Maker boards don't scale
An Arduino or Pi gets a demo running, but it isn't industrial-grade — no rated I/O, no safety, no path to a machine you can actually sell.
With Brain
The controls keep up with the hardware.
Describe it, don't program it
Tell Brain what the machine does — heaters, motors, sensors, limits. The AI agent writes the control logic, builds the HMI, and walks you through commissioning.
Iterate by talking
Changed the mechanism? Describe the change. No re-wiring the logic, no re-opening an IDE. The prototype keeps up with your hardware.
Industrial-grade from day one
Rated I/O, on-board power, hardware watchdogs, and a 5-tier safety model — the same box that runs your prototype runs the production machine.
The honest comparison
From idea to a running machine — the options today.
AI assistants for PLC programming exist — Siemens Eigen, Rockwell Studio Copilot, Beckhoff CoAgent. But they're software add-ons inside an engineering suite: you still buy a PLC, open the IDE, and review the AI's output as an engineer. Nothing else ships as a box you describe a machine to.
| Approach | Interkey Brain | Arduino / Raspberry Pi | Traditional PLC | PLC + vendor AI assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete hardware out of the box | Yes | Partial | No | No |
| Programming skill required | None — describe it | High (C++/Python) | High (IEC 61131 + IDE) | Medium–High |
| AI writes the control logic | Yes | No | No | Partial |
| Industrial I/O & power (24 V, relays, 3-phase) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Safety-grade & audit trail | Yes | No | Partial | Partial |
| Time to first running machine | Minutes–hours | Days–weeks | Weeks–months | Days–weeks |
| Same unit scales to production | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
See the full professional feature matrix on the comparison page.