POOM Combines Arduboy-Inspired Gaming with Maker, Tinkerer, and Security Researcher Tools

Technology startup POOM has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a handheld gadget designed to act as both a DIY games console and a tool for makers, pen-testers, and more — powered by the Espressif ESP32-C5 and boasting dual-band Wi-Fi and IEEE 802.15.4 connectivity for Zigbee and Thread experimentation.

"POOM [is] an open-source multitool made to Pentest. Play. Create," says POOM co-founder Michelle Mendez of the company's inaugural product. "It's for makers, security learners, gamers, and anyone who loves to explore how tech works. POOM is a multitool, packed with four different modes! I designed and conceptualized this baby, I am a fan of tech with purpose and personality."

The credit-card-sized POOM is, on the face of it, a handheld limited-specification microcontroller-powered games console in the spirit of things like the Arduboy. The front features a 128×64-resolution 1.3" monochrome OLED display, a four-way D-pad, and two fire buttons, while the back hosts a single lithium-polymer cell. There are nine user-addressable LEDs, a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) for gesture-based control, and a Qwiic-compatible connector for hardware expansion.

The gadget goes beyond just playing low-resolution games, though: powering the device is an Espressif ESP32-C5 microcontroller module, which gives it dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (BLE), and IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee and Thread compatible radio connectivity with support for the cross-vendor Matter ecosystem. There are also separate radios for reading from and writing to Near-Field Communication (NFC) and 13.56MHz radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags.

These features are supported by four "modes": Maker Mode includes functionality like an I2C scanner for the Qwiic port, data visualization, and webhooks for n8n, Node-RED, and Home Assistant, plus compatibility with the Edge Impulse Studio platform; Zen Mode provides an NFC wallet and a Bluetooth-connected motion-controlled MIDI interface; Gamer Mode delivers, naturally enough, games, including a roadmap towards compatibility with the existing Arduboy game library; and Beast Mode targets security researchers and penetration testers with Wi-Fi, BLE, and IEEE 802.15.4 radio sniffing, forensic logging, drone identification, and more.

The POOM is currently funding on Kickstarter, with physical rewards starting at $79 for "super early bird" backers with a planned $140 retail price. All hardware is expected to ship in April this year, the company says.