Custom
Electronics for Every Machine, Site, and
Structure
J1939 telematics modules that speak the native language of construction equipment. LoRaWAN structural monitoring networks that cover an entire jobsite. Worker safety electronics that operate when site connectivity does not. Full-stack construction electronics from sensor hardware to project management platform.
The Problem We Solve
Construction Is the World's Largest Industry. The Hardware Layer Is Why It Remains the Least Digitized.
Consumer IoT devices are not built to survive concrete dust and diesel exhaust. Industrial sensors designed for factory environments do not understand J1939 CAN Bus data from a Komatsu PC490 excavator. Telematics platforms built for truck fleets do not handle the mixed-protocol, multi-manufacturer complexity of a construction site running 60 equipment types from 15 different OEMs. And structural monitoring systems designed for operational buildings were not designed for the dynamic, rapidly changing monitoring requirements of a structure actively under construction. The hardware layer is the reason why construction digitization initiatives stall at pilot scale.
Construction electronics must survive environments that would destroy consumer and light industrial hardware within weeks: concrete powder that is alkaline and abrasive, diesel particulate coating PCB surfaces, rain and pooled water where enclosures get damaged by equipment, direct sunlight raising internal temperatures beyond rated limits, and the continuous vibration and impact that machine-mounted hardware experiences during normal operation. Designing for the jobsite is not an IP rating on a BOM — it is an engineering mindset that governs every component selection, mechanical design decision, and firmware architecture choice from the first schematic.
Three converging forces are creating urgent demand for custom construction electronics: the autonomous and semi-autonomous equipment wave requiring machine control, proximity warning, and sensor fusion hardware; the infrastructure monitoring mandate driven by high-profile structural failures creating regulatory pressure for real-time structural health monitoring; and the construction productivity crisis driving investment in workforce tracking, materials management, and AI-powered site monitoring. Construction technology startups, heavy equipment OEMs, construction materials companies, and large general contractors all need a hardware engineering partner that has been to a jobsite, not just read about one.
Construction & Heavy Equipment Electronics
From J1939 telematics modules that retrofit onto any machine to LoRaWAN geotechnical sensor networks spanning entire excavation programs — custom electronics for construction at every scale.
IP67 and IP68 enclosure design for concrete splatter and rain. MIL-STD-810 drop and vibration tolerance for machine-mounted electronics. Wide operating temperature range for equipment from Minnesota winters to Arizona summers. IEC 61000 EMC design for the high-EMI construction site environment.
J1939 CAN Bus PGN decoding for equipment-specific engine data, fault codes, and operational parameters from mixed OEM fleets. CANopen for machine control applications. RTK GNSS firmware for sub-centimeter machine positioning and grade control. Proprietary OEM CAN message format integration.
LoRaWAN sensor network design for construction site coverage from minimal gateway infrastructure. Low-power firmware for battery-powered instruments in concrete structures or deep boreholes. ASTM C1074 maturity method implementation. Automated trigger level alerting for geotechnical instrumentation programs.
BLE and UWB firmware for real-time worker location across large construction site footprints. Proximity warning system firmware with fail-safe architecture. Wearable safety device firmware — fall detection, impact detection, gas detection. OSHA and HSE safety regulation-aware design throughout.
ISO 15143-3 AEMP telematics data standard implementation for mixed fleet visibility. Local data buffering for connectivity loss — maintaining telematics continuity regardless of site cellular coverage. OTA firmware updates for large site device fleets during non-working hours.
iOS and Android site management apps with offline capability for poor connectivity sites. AI predictive maintenance from J1939 engine data and hydraulic pressure signatures. Computer vision for progress tracking, PPE compliance detection, and unauthorized access alerting. BIM platform integration middleware.
Platforms & Protocols
Built on Construction-Grade Platforms
Why Engineering Teams Choose Ankh
Built for the Jobsite, Not the Cleanroom
IP67 enclosure rating is a minimum, not a specification endpoint — a construction site introduces chemical exposure from concrete alkalinity, mechanical impact from tool and equipment contact, and thermal cycling from direct solar loading that requires engineering decisions beyond an IP rating on a BOM. MIL-STD-810 drop test tolerance for equipment knocked off scaffolding. PCB conformal coating and underfill for hardware operating near concrete vibration sources. Wide operating temperature range for electronics sitting on a flatbed in Arizona in August and operating in an excavator cab in Minnesota in January. Every hardware decision at Ankh is made with the jobsite environment as the binding constraint — not as a post-design certification exercise.
J1939 and Machine Fluent at the Firmware Level
J1939 is not a single protocol — it is a family of Parameter Group Numbers spanning engine performance, transmission data, hydraulic system status, fault code reporting via DM1 diagnostic messages, and hundreds of PGNs that equipment manufacturers implement partially, incorrectly, or with proprietary extensions that override the standard. Building a J1939 telematics module that actually works across a fleet of Caterpillar excavators, Liebherr cranes, Putzmeister concrete pumps, and XCMG wheel loaders requires PGN-level firmware knowledge, OEM message format documentation, and CAN Bus electrical interface hardware that survives multi-network CAN architectures on modern construction equipment. Ankh has navigated this. CANopen for lifting equipment and machine control. RTK GNSS for sub-centimeter grade control positioning.
Connectivity Resilient by Design
A construction site is not a connected environment by default — cellular coverage drops in deep excavations, LoRaWAN gateways move as the site layout evolves, and site Wi-Fi infrastructure is temporary and unreliable. Hardware and firmware that assume reliable connectivity fail on construction sites in ways that are operationally disruptive and commercially damaging to the technology vendor. Ankh designs connectivity resilience in from the first firmware architecture decision: local data buffering sized for expected connectivity loss windows, adaptive telemetry intervals that manage cellular data costs on large deployments, satellite fallback for remote civil infrastructure projects, and LoRaWAN for areas of the site where cellular infrastructure cannot reach. When connectivity returns, data is there. When it does not, safety systems still operate.
From Single Structure to Megaproject Scale
A structural health monitoring system for a single bridge bearing and a 200-sensor geotechnical instrumentation program for a 28-meter deep excavation in a dense urban environment are both Ankh projects. A telematics platform for 10 machines and a mixed fleet deployment across 1,400 machines on 80 active projects are both Ankh projects. The hardware architecture and platform design choices that work at single-structure scale are not the same ones that scale to a 200-sensor LoRaWAN network or a 1,400-unit fleet deployment. Ankh designs the architecture for the end state, not for the pilot. The commissioning and OTA update systems that manage 10 devices manage 1,400 without architectural change.
Custom J1939 Telematics Platform for a National Civil Contractor
Custom J1939 CAN Bus telematics module designed to retrofit onto any construction equipment regardless of OEM, manufacturer, or age — deployed across a 1,400-unit mixed fleet of excavators, dozers, cranes, and concrete pumps across 80 active projects. Unified fuel consumption, idle time, fault code, and operator behavior data to a single fleet management platform integrated with the contractor's ERP system. J1939 PGN libraries covering Caterpillar, Komatsu, Liebherr, Volvo, and Hitachi platforms.
Start a Similar ProjectBuilding electronics for construction? Let's break ground.
Jobsite-grade hardware from the first schematic. J1939 and machine control at the firmware level. Full-stack delivery from ruggedized sensor hardware to fleet management platform and BIM integration — with the construction domain knowledge built in.
Quote your project