Demystifying the connected world
2014-09-08A new guide from product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants aims to demystify the world of connected devices. It highlights the top 10 things companies need to consider when creating the new generation of products for the so-called ‘Internet of Things’. The guide is aimed at companies that are new to creating connected products – identifying the potential pitfalls awaiting the unwary and helping them avoid making costly mistakes.
“We work with a wide variety of clients who want to understand how they can 'get connected' and make the most of the trend of the Internet of Things for their business,” said Rob Milner, head of smart systems technology at Cambridge Consultants. “The one thing they all have in common is a desire to provide customers with a differentiated, more intuitive user experience,” he added.
The trend of creating connected devices or popularly known as ‘appcessories’ is affecting nearly every market - from a pharmaceutical company that wants a wireless inhaler to measure compliance, to a sporting goods manufacturer wanting to offer performance/technique tracking, or a lighting and heating controls company aiming to enable smart homes and offices. Cambridge consultants, world’s leading product design and development firm has come out with the top 10 things companies need to consider when creating connected devices.
1. Define Minimum Viable Product: An uncompromisable set of written down statements or parameters that fulfils ergonomics, product design and customer needs allowing companies to remain in control of development costs for eg, functionality, weight, size, user frequency.
2. Electronics: There’s no point designing something small and beautiful if companies can’t produce working electronics that can fit inside. For developing unique products, companies need to go beyond tried and tested original design manufacturer (ODM). Instead they should look for development partners that can ‘bend’ the laws of physics to realize the ‘wow’ factor in the new product.
3. Interaction and user experience: Map out the desired user experience –from first use to everyday use to end of life – before embarking on the product design. Any device must convey brand values and the message a company wishes to deliver – be that quality, reliability, robustness, fun, discreetness or professionalism.
4. Power and batteries: Simply changing the frequency of blinking LED can double a battery life. Therefore knowing which optimization gives the greatest benefit to the device is valuable. This is where the system architect comes in – they will make sure the company’s development budget is spent in the areas where it has the greatest effect.
5. Radios and antennas: To push the performance of a device, custom design antennas can increase the communication range and reliability while keeping the size minimal. Radio users need to take note of legislations that require them to operate and schedule time to perform compliance testing via certified test house.
6. Phones and apps: Since the user-interface of many connected devices is via smartphones, it is important to choose a platform that can sync with the app and operating system. Both Apple and Android based phones quite often upgrade their operating systems every few months and sometimes these updates can be pretty significant.
7. Algorithms: Ignoring algorithms, aka clever maths, can prove to be risky, as they enable a whole new set of things to be measured and reported, add battery life and the do away with cheaper sensors and components to save money in the long run. For medical devices, the algorithm is often the critical element that yields the diagnostic result or evidence required for demonstrating efficacy.
8. Price and BOM: Partitioning the overall cost of goods sold (COGS) into electronics bill of materials (BOM), materials, manufacturing, packaging and set-up costs is important. Companies need to be careful about going for the cheapest components. The production quantities will have a large impact on the BOM and very high production quantities can give companies increased negotiation power with potential manufacturing partners and component suppliers.
9. Manufacturing: It is important to partner with a manufacturer that has the right skills and equipment for connected devices. The company needs to check who owns the design of the product as this can make it really quite challenging to move to someone else downstream. Caution should be taken, especially if software is involved.
10. Build a Robust Business Model: Whether it is an ambitious start-up or an established business offering a new connected device/system, the value proposition and source of revenue will have a great bearing on the device and application design. A good business model not only guides development budget, but it also dictates operational and maintenance costs which can easily be overlooked.
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