Hardware | Firmware | Industrial Design
Smart, simple and easy donations
Contactless payments have quickly gained ground as the new norm for everyday transactions, ultimately causing a massive decline in small cash transactions. This increasing unavailability of cash is causing friction between merchants and consumers and creating barriers between people and the causes they care about. In a market that demands speed and simplicity, there is a growing need to identify areas for development and search for new opportunities as we move towards a cashless society.
Enter tiptap.
tiptap is a standalone, wireless, mobile, contactless payment receiver that has simplicity at its core. It is set up to process pre-set denomination transactions anywhere by anyone, and it accepts all available contactless payment sources like cards and phones. This autonomous, tap-and-go payment solution creates a big impact in many different areas including charities, fundraisers and, ultimately, any setting where small, fixed-amount transactions are performed. Basically wherever you used to use change (small coins or bills). Each tiptap works as a standalone point-of-sale device and offers incredibly easy setup and usability.
In working with tiptap, NeuronicWorks took this market-changing concept and successfully developed prototypes and beta units as tiptap scaled for mass production.
project scope
NeuronicWorks was tasked with developing the industrial design, hardware, and firmware for the device. From its prototype phase, we modified and redesigned the unit to allow for ease of production and usability. NeuronicWorks worked closely with tiptap on hardware design and layout, ensuring that the final design was production and market-ready.
Industrial Design
Our industrial design team worked continuously with the client to achieve a sleek and versatile design, incorporating LED indicators, a light pipe, an ON/OFF button, a USB-C charging port, a lanyard mount and a complementary clip mount, a unique mounting bracket and anti-tamper mechanism.
Industrial Design
Our industrial design team worked continuously with the client to achieve a sleek and versatile design, incorporating LED indicators, a light pipe, an ON/OFF button, a USB-C charging port, a lanyard mount and a complementary clip mount, a unique mounting bracket and anti-tamper mechanism.
Firmware Development and Secure Wireless Payment
As with all payment devices, security and encryption are key requirements. At the core, POS devices have secure kernels that process data for communication with the server. NeuronicWorks worked to understand the secure kernel process for payment verification. The firmware team worked meticulously to bring the hardware to life. Developed firmware included a modem, server communication, LED/buzzer use-cases, and client-defined system logic. Working closely with the cloud team and the client, we implemented various use-cases and responses to provide additional security and verification to the process.
Hardware
Our hardware team worked diligently to comply with a multitude of payment standards for tiptap’s hardware design, and we achieved the required functionality in accordance with the client’s form factor. In collaboration with the manufacturer, anti-tamper switches and other key security measures were implemented to ensure all payments remain private and secure. The antennae were tuned to allow for fast, simple tap transactions, and the modem was developed to allow secure communication with tiptap’s server and cloud services. During our process, we worked closely with major distributors to ensure all components were available for production.
Hardware
Our hardware team worked diligently to comply with a multitude of payment standards for tiptap’s hardware design, and we achieved the required functionality in accordance with the client’s form factor. In collaboration with the manufacturer, anti-tamper switches and other key security measures were implemented to ensure all payments remain private and secure. The antennae were tuned to allow for fast, simple tap transactions, and the modem was developed to allow secure communication with tiptap’s server and cloud services. During our process, we worked closely with major distributors to ensure all components were available for production.