Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024!

At ByoWave, we're passionately committed to fostering inclusivity through our hardware development, particularly focusing on accessibility. Allow us to offer a quick introduction for those who may have encountered us for the first time during the GAAD24 Xbox announcement!

Our Story

Hello there!

We're a tight-knit team of fewer than 10 people based in Galway, in the West of Ireland. Our journey started four years ago just after our CEO, Brandon Blacoe completed his Masters degree in Electronic Engineering, after his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering.

The spark for our mission ignited when Brandon reunited with his childhood friend, Eibhlin (Evelyn), during the Global Game Jam 2020 in Dublin. It was during this reunion Eibhlin told Brandon about her disability, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and how it affected her ability to use standard controllers. Eibhlin was struggling to find a controller that let her play with just one hand in a way that worked best for her. Brandon and Eibhlin used to play games together all the time as kids (Shrek 2 on the PS2 was their go-to) and when Brandon learned about her struggles with playing games, he thought of his own experiences of gaming, and how important it was to his lift and he took it upon himself to try and find a solution. Brandon started doing more research and found 100s of other people through Reddit who were also struggling and began working on a solution.

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What’s Coming Next?

The main idea behind the Proteus Controller ecosystem is to give users the tools to build a controller in whatever way works for them. We built the system so that we could continue developing and iterating based on community needs and we are always doing R&D on new ideas for the Proteus Controller, and other products for the ecosystem.

We are starting with the Proteus Controller Standard kit, this gives you everything you need to play and more, including modules that will allow you to build a wide range of different configurations.

We have heard your feedback and we are also also working on offering some different kit alternatives at a lower price point that will still give you everything you need but at a lower cost. Stay tuned for updates! We can’t give too much away just yet, but watch this space! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter and join our Discord server to be the first to know!

One Handed Controller with 3D printed base