Messing Around With the PolyCast5 Hacker Multitool

I’ve never had to pause a tool test on account of creepiness before.

PolyCast5 is an open source multitool for controlling wireless devices. Created by Justin Atkins of RoboticWorx and powered by an ESP32-C5, it packs in five different types of control: WiFi, Bluetooth, LoRa, ESP-NOW, and IR. There’s also an optional AC relay that can be used to switch mains-powered devices on/off. If those aren’t enough controls, the I2C pins are accessible for adding DIY addon boards.

We got to play around with a preview model and had a bunch of fun testing it out. The device is surprisingly hefty, and the color screen is sharp. There’s a haptic buzz when navigating the menu, which is a nice touch.

PolyCast5 comes with a few offline apps, including a pomodoro timer. I thought it would feel like a gimmick, but it turns out having a vibrating, pocket-sized focus timer on a device with no apps is genuinely useful.

The firmware won’t be published until shipping begins, but we could still test out some built-in scripts. Auto Keyboard can type keystrokes over Bluetooth (thankfully it needs a pin the first time it pairs with a device). Scripts are easy to customize, and the Rickroll example does exactly what you would expect.

Being it’s 2026, there are AI functions, including a voice-controlled keyboard and an AI packet monitoring tool. These need an API key – currently Grok-based but it’s expected to be switchable in the future.

The AI and keyboard functions are set up through a browser. It’s simple to do, with well-commented configure pages. But the IR signal cloning can be set up directly on the PolyCast5. It easily copied signals from a tiny IR controller that came with some LED lights and was acceptably powerful compared to the original. It holds multiple IR profiles, and I have a basket of other appliance remotes.

The deauth attack did what deauth attacks do, and was a little concerning. A WiFi sniffing function lets you bring up MAC addresses on nearby networks, and that was enough to discover that someone nearby had a Roku. I only named a couple of other nearby devices before I was told to stop being creepy.

You can learn about all the current functions and future plans on the Kickstarter page. They’ve already blown past their goal, but you have through June 24th to pledge.