The Lab

The Lab is where DV8 explores ideas before they become products, workflows or boringly reliable infrastructure.

It is deliberately hands-on. We prototype quickly, keep the useful parts, throw away the clever parts that create more maintenance than value, and document the patterns worth repeating.

Disbursement

A focused iOS application distributed privately to authorized devices. The current DV8 site includes a protected over-the-air installation page with server-side authentication, secure cookies and Apple Ad Hoc distribution controls.

Open the protected Disbursement page

AI-operated infrastructure

We are developing an operations toolkit that lets AI assist with routine infrastructure work through narrowly scoped tools rather than unrestricted shell access.

The pattern is simple:

request → validation → pre-flight → approval when needed → action → verification → structured result → audit log

Read-only checks can be automatic. State-changing operations are constrained. Destructive or unexpected situations stop and escalate rather than improvising.

HomeView & connected spaces

A tablet-first Home Assistant interface built around a clean, glanceable control surface rather than a wall of default cards. Experiments include secure guest experiences, appliance control, climate, lighting, media, QR handoffs and a consent-driven photo booth workflow.

The interesting part is not the dashboard itself; it is how local devices, cloud services, automation and user experience can be made to feel like one system.

Automation as infrastructure

We use workflow automation as a glue layer for tasks that cross service boundaries: monitoring, notifications, document handling, scheduling, data synchronization and application-to-application actions.

The important pieces are the boring ones — validation, idempotency, retry behaviour, error handling and useful logs.

Self-hosting without the mythology

We experiment heavily with virtualization, containers, storage, reverse proxies, DNS, monitoring and local AI. The goal is not to self-host everything. The goal is to understand where ownership and integration create a real advantage — and where a managed service is simply the better tool.

The rule

A Lab project does not have to become a product. It has to teach us something useful.

Want to compare notes or bring us an interesting problem? Contact DV8.