ProGlove MAI

ProGlove is a Munich-based company and one of the best-known providers of wearable scanner solutions for industrial and logistics environments. Founded in 2014, the company built its reputation on the MARK family of hand-worn scanners, now deployed by thousands of workers across manufacturing, logistics, and retail operations for customers including BMW, Audi, and Bosch. With MAI, ProGlove is expanding its offering with a more capable device - pairing its proven image-based scan engine with sensor-driven insights and an intelligent companion app. It is aimed at optimizing not just the process of scanning but the workflow around it.

ProGlove MAI is a hand-mounted scanner featuring a multi range scan engine, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a compact multi-sensor array. Worn on the back of the hand, it lets warehouse and factory workers scan a wide range of 1D and 2D barcodes without reaching for a separate device, saving the seconds that add up across a shift of repetitive tasks. MAI connects wirelessly to a companion mobile app. Its built-in IMU, magnetometer, and barometer track hand movement and orientation throughout the work shift. That data feeds into ProGlove's software to aid in spotting patterns and improving how tasks are done. The built-in microphone and speaker help to keep the worker's attention on the task rather than a screen. The onboard touch display supports on-device interaction alongside configuration and setup.

ProGlove's team knew which components and architecture they wanted for MAI - but they needed the hardware and firmware engineering expertise to build the foundational layers of the device. Grinn delivered this by designing the PCB and developing the low-level embedded software beneath the application layer. This included writing drivers for every onboard sensor, programming communication between the device's multiple ICs, and handling display and audio communication. ProGlove's team owned the application layer and overall product certification; Grinn supported EMC testing and provided lab access for ESD testing alongside that process.

The biggest constraint on MAI was space. Fitting a multi-processor, multi-sensor architecture with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth into a compact wearable meant the PCB itself had to be exceptionally thin. Grinn designed a discrete electronics board from the ground up, using high-density interconnect (HDI) techniques. The second major constraint was power: a wearable this compact only has room for a small battery, which put hard limits on how much current the system could draw. Grinn addressed this at the firmware level, optimizing low-level code across the sensor drivers and communication stack to minimize power consumption and extend operating time on a single charge.

Grinn delivered a fully custom hardware and firmware platform that met ProGlove's component requirements, fit within an extremely tight wearable footprint, and was ready for prototype manufacturing and certification support. MAI has since moved from prototype to shipping product and is now available to ProGlove's customers, with Grinn's hardware and low-level firmware running underneath it. We're proud to have built that foundation.