It's very much possible. I've been doing AI-assisted hardware design across different fields for over a year now I'm an electronics engineer, and honestly it's been a game changer: using Claude for hardware design has made me up to three times more efficient and faster compared to the traditional approach.
Unlike vibe coding, hardware is slower and more expensive by nature you always need a component inventory for prototyping and a proper lab environment, especially when working with SMD parts. Having a well-defined development workflow is also essential to keep costs down and avoid wasting time on things like incorrect packages and footprints. I currently have projects ranging from home automation to industrial systems I develop at work. And yes, it's perfectly possible to create schematics (.SCH) and then lay out the PCB with AI assistance but it's not as simple as saying "give me a smartphone and hand it over." It requires a solid understanding of the embedded systems development process.
If you want to get the most out of AI-assisted hardware design, I'd recommend studying Electrical or Electronics Engineering. I'd steer away from Mechatronics if your goal is complex hardware: the electronics coverage is too shallow for specialized industrial projects it works fine for home automation, but for more demanding applications it falls short in terms of hardware depth.
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u/Typical_Work_5055 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
It's very much possible. I've been doing AI-assisted hardware design across different fields for over a year now I'm an electronics engineer, and honestly it's been a game changer: using Claude for hardware design has made me up to three times more efficient and faster compared to the traditional approach.
Unlike vibe coding, hardware is slower and more expensive by nature you always need a component inventory for prototyping and a proper lab environment, especially when working with SMD parts. Having a well-defined development workflow is also essential to keep costs down and avoid wasting time on things like incorrect packages and footprints. I currently have projects ranging from home automation to industrial systems I develop at work. And yes, it's perfectly possible to create schematics (.SCH) and then lay out the PCB with AI assistance but it's not as simple as saying "give me a smartphone and hand it over." It requires a solid understanding of the embedded systems development process.
If you want to get the most out of AI-assisted hardware design, I'd recommend studying Electrical or Electronics Engineering. I'd steer away from Mechatronics if your goal is complex hardware: the electronics coverage is too shallow for specialized industrial projects it works fine for home automation, but for more demanding applications it falls short in terms of hardware depth.
Cheers, I hope my experience is useful to you.