The original plan was a base unit as a pure prop and a Pro variant with a microcontroller as the upsell. That plan was wrong. The microcontroller isn't a feature — it's the door to the thing that makes this a platform instead of a product.
A Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W sitting inside every unit changes what Deadband is. Out of the box it still feels like a prop: the button lights up, the toggles arm modes, the knobs run LED patterns. No computer required, no setup, no code. That's the default firmware and it ships pre-flashed.
But the Pico mounts as a USB drive. Plug it in, drag a new `code.py` onto it, and the panel becomes whatever you want it to be. CircuitPython means no toolchain, no IDE, no compiler — the same loop that makes web dev feel alive, applied to a piece of desk hardware.
The pitch writes itself: it's a beautiful physical object. What it does is up to you. That's the line that makes a maker community form around this instead of just buying from it.