Custom research & development
Reverse engineering and development for workshops, tuners and developers who need something no off-the-shelf tool can do. Tell us what you’re trying to achieve, and we’ll work it out for you, privately.
What we do
We take on projects for any make, model or platform: engine and transmission computers, body and security modules, clusters and more. The same low-level research behind ECU Hero goes into every project.
Analysis of factory firmware: memory layouts, calibration tables, bootloaders and the control logic behind them.
Seed/key algorithms and manufacturer access levels for UDS, KWP2000 and proprietary diagnostic protocols.
Mapping the diagnostic services and routines a module uses, and the steps it needs to be read, written or reflashed.
Finding where a module keeps its VIN, configuration and security data, so it can be read, moved or rebuilt.
From small calibration overrides through to new functions and diagnostic services built into existing firmware.
Windows software and procedures built around your workflow, for your own workshop or your own product.
Confidentiality
Every project starts with a clear conversation about how the work can be used and whether anyone else may ever access it. You choose the model, we put it in writing, and we honour it.
At quote time you pick Exclusive (the work is sold once, to you only) or Non-exclusive (discounted, and it may be offered to others). It’s agreed in writing and honoured throughout.
We’re happy to sign a narrow NDA that covers your project and the material you share, or to provide one of ours. Broad NDAs and non-compete agreements are non-starters.
Binaries, dumps and anything else you send are kept on access-controlled systems and treated as confidential, during the project and after it.
How it works
Tell us the goal, the vehicle and module, what you can supply and your timeline. NDA first if you need one.
A written outline of the approach, deliverables, risks and price: fixed price or hourly, whichever suits the work.
The work itself, with updates at the level of detail you want, from short summaries to full technical reviews.
The finished result and the information you need to use it, with support afterwards if you want it.
Pricing
Some work has a defined shape and some doesn’t. The pricing model follows the job.
Option A
For well-defined work, where the scope and the outcome can be agreed up front. You know the cost and the timeline before we start.
Best for
Option B
For open-ended research, where the path can’t be fully known in advance. You pay for the time spent.
Best for
Every quote includes a written scope and the pricing model, so you know exactly what you’re agreeing to before work begins.
Questions
It depends on the platform and the goal. Whether you can supply the module’s binary, how the target is protected and how much is already known all change the time involved. Send us the details and we’ll come back with a real estimate.
The vehicle and module (part numbers help), what you want to achieve, what you can supply (a binary or dump, logs, or the module itself) and any deadline. Please don’t send anything sensitive until any NDA you need is in place.
ECU Hero keeps the intellectual property it creates: the research findings, firmware and software. You receive the finished result and the information you need to use it. Whether the same work is ever offered to anyone else depends on the exclusivity option you choose.
Exclusive: the work is yours alone. If someone later asks for the same thing, we contact you first, and it isn’t offered to them without your agreement.
Non-exclusive: you pay less, and we may offer the same work to others in future.
Whichever you choose is written into the agreement.
Any make, model or platform. Engine and transmission computers, body and security modules, clusters and other modules are all in scope. Tell us the vehicle and module, and we’ll let you know what’s involved.
Yes, a narrow one: an NDA that covers your project and the information you share with us. We can sign yours or provide one of ours. Tick the NDA box on the form and we’ll sort it out before you send anything sensitive.
Broad NDAs and non-compete agreements are non-starters: we don’t accept terms that restrict work beyond your project.
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