Applied Electrodynamics unveils WaveSight to map pipes and wiring through walls
The YC S26 hardware maker says WaveSight images hidden building systems from across a room, with construction as its first market.
By Ryan Merket · Published
Why it matters
Applied Electrodynamics pairs a team behind the iPhone, Nest, Pixel Buds and Humane AI Pin with a measurable industrial problem: finding hidden building systems before work begins.
Bilgehan Avser and fellow hardware veterans Brian Huppi, Paul Leutheuser, George McLean and Matt Egan introduced Applied Electrodynamics in an X post on July 30th, unveiling a radio-wave camera designed to produce images of pipes, wiring and structural elements hidden behind walls.
https://x.com/ae_dynamics/status/2082850868383318193?s=46
The San Francisco hardware maker calls the product WaveSight. Applied Electrodynamics says WaveSight can scan from across a room and map mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems with millimeter-level accuracy, giving contractors a view of existing conditions before they drill, demolish or price a job.
The pitch rests heavily on the founders' record shipping consumer hardware. Y Combinator lists Avser as Applied Electrodynamics' co-founder and CEO and says he led antenna technology across several iPhone generations, including ultra-wideband, 5G and millimeter-wave systems. Avser later served as Humane's head of technology. HP agreed on February 18th, 2025 to pay $116 million for key Humane AI assets, intellectual property and technical staff.
Brian Huppi helped build early iPhone prototypes and co-invented the first Nest Learning Thermostat, according to YC. Paul Leutheuser worked on iPhone features including the haptic home button and IPX8 enclosure before leading product design at Humane. George McLean brought experience in semiconductor imaging, medical devices and Humane's laser display. Matt Egan previously worked on Pixel Buds hardware at Google and the laser display at Humane.
Applied Electrodynamics is starting with construction
Applied Electrodynamics says its hardware and imaging algorithms can see through sheetrock, tile, marble, quartz, brick and insulation. The output is a point cloud that Applied Electrodynamics claims is accurate to 1 millimeter. A planned handheld unit would combine radio imaging with visible-light and thermal cameras, according to Applied Electrodynamics' YC launch page.
Construction offers a clear first test because incomplete plans and undocumented changes routinely leave contractors guessing about what sits behind a finished surface. On its LinkedIn page, Applied Electrodynamics says it can image inside a wall from across a room in less than a minute. WaveSight's product page also pitches the technology for manufacturing inspections, bag and package screening, and locating metallic and non-metallic objects.
WaveSight remains in an early commercial phase. Applied Electrodynamics has opened registration for preorder access, launch pricing and product updates rather than listing units for immediate purchase. The July 30th launch is therefore a customer-development push as much as a product announcement: the founders are seeking introductions to general contractors, industrial inspection groups and US defense organizations for demonstrations.
Standoff imaging is the core technical bet
Radio-based wall scanning already has established products. Walabot sells handheld scanners that detect studs, wires and pipes up to four inches inside drywall. Bosch's D-TECT120 uses ultra-wideband radar to detect metal, wood, wiring and plastic pipes when placed against a surface. Resolv's InSite Pro is designed to roll along a wall while generating live radar images.
Applied Electrodynamics is making a different performance claim: a larger field of view, operation from across the room and output that resembles a scaled image rather than a proximity alert. Those claims place the technical burden on resolution, scanning speed and reliability across different wall assemblies. Construction sites combine dense materials, moisture, metal mesh, insulation and undocumented repairs, conditions that can complicate radio imaging. Applied Electrodynamics has published example scans, but the launch materials do not establish performance across those variables.
YC backs another post-Humane hardware team
Applied Electrodynamics was founded in 2026 and joined Y Combinator's Summer 2026 batch. YC lists five people at Applied Electrodynamics and says four of the engineers have worked together for more than eight years. Applied Electrodynamics says the group collectively holds more than 250 patents.
Acceptance into YC carries the accelerator's standard $500,000 investment: $125,000 for 7% through a post-money safe and $375,000 through an uncapped safe with a most-favored-nation provision.
For Avser and his co-founders, WaveSight moves their sensor and product-design experience away from personal devices and into industrial imaging, where a hardware sale can be tied directly to avoided demolition, rework and inspection time. The launch gives Applied Electrodynamics a concise claim that contractors can test on a job site. Whether WaveSight becomes a construction instrument depends on whether its across-the-room images remain useful when the walls are messier than the demonstration.