Bespoke control systems & custom electronics

We build the things that bridge the gap.

HALF GREY BEAR designs the bespoke controllers and custom electronics that connect systems never meant to talk — filling the gaps off-the-shelf kit leaves behind, so your imagination is the only limit. For live events, theatre, installations and brand experiences.

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The studio

We design and build the bespoke controllers that make existing technology do what it was never meant to.

Off-the-shelf systems only get you so far. We engineer the custom electronics, control and software that bridge them together — filling the gaps, removing the limits, and turning “can we…?” into “it’s running.” From a single button to thousands of devices in perfect sync, designed in-house and proven night after night.

  • 12years engineering shows
  • 200+bespoke builds delivered
  • ∞ideas we can make real

Selected work

Things we've made light up,
move & respond.

A mirrored, pixel-mapped neon tunnel forming an infinite kaleidoscopic corridor of coloured light.
Pixel-mapped installation

The Infinity Cave

Hundreds of metres of addressable LED, mirrored into an endless kaleidoscopic corridor — every pixel mapped, sequenced and synced in-house.

A giant red retro mobile phone with a backlit keypad and a colour screen running a playable game of Snake, on an exhibition stand at Mobile World Congress.
Playable build · with Fresh

Snake, Supersized

A giant, fully working phone running a playable game of Snake — backlit keypad, colour screen and scan-to-play pass reader, all driven by electronics we designed and built in‑house. Created with Fresh for Mobile World Congress.

A sculptural, faceted tree wrapped in colour-shifting RGB light under an illuminated arch, glowing in a darkened venue.
Light sculpture · Paris

The Light Tree

A living, colour-shifting centrepiece — bespoke LED, mapping and effects bringing a sculptural tree to life.

A custom black circuit board labelled HGB-014 Controller, © Half Grey Bear Ltd 2025, with an ESP32 module, Ethernet jack and DMX terminals.
In-house hardware

We design the boards

Most builds start as a bare PCB. We design, program and manufacture our own controllers — Art-Net, sACN and DMX over Ethernet — so every show runs on hardware built for the job.

What we do

One studio, the whole build.

We take an idea from sketch to show floor — designing the boards, writing the code, and engineering the connections that make everything work as one.

  • 01

    Bespoke controllers & custom electronics

    We design, program and manufacture our own circuit boards, controllers and sensor systems — purpose-built for the brief, never adapted from something else.

  • 02

    Bridging & integration

    The glue between systems that were never meant to talk. We make protocols, hardware and software from different worlds behave as one.

  • 03

    Interactive installations

    Buttons, joysticks, RFID, motion and touch — turning an audience into participants.

  • 04

    Show control & networking

    Art-Net, sACN, DMX and timecode over solid networks — triggering that runs the same, show after show.

  • 05

    Lighting & pixel mapping

    From a single fixture to thousands of mapped pixels in perfect sync — when the brief calls for light.

  • 06

    Software, simulation & fabrication

    Custom apps and digital twins to design and operate the build — finished to look the part and survive the road.

Trusted by the people who make the moments

Universal Live✦ WRG✦ Sky Magic✦ Touch Associates✦ Flying Object✦ Event World✦ Fables & Fire✦ House of Live✦ Blue-I✦ Marvellous✦ Spark✦ Seen✦

Let's build something

Got a brief that
shouldn't be possible?

Tell us what you're imagining. We'll engineer the way to build it.

@halfgreybear ↗