Product Status Update: Cue
Introduction:
As bikers, our team wants to create a safer way to have bikers show what actions they are going to take when biking. Utilizing our product, bikers will be able to easily signal movements and increase visibility with wireless signal lights that are able to be attached to a variety of surfaces, such as a sweater/jacket, backpack, or on the bike itself. With our product, we plan to aid in minimizing bicycle-related injuries and death across the world.
Current Sprint Objectives:
Reconstruct our prototype
Create a more durable and presentable design
Implement more features into our design (LEDs, clips, adjustable straps)
Create code for added electronic components
Finding a slogan / catchphrase
Original Prototype:
This was a rough prototype we put together to present to the class for demo day. Its main purpose was to show our design concepts as well as the functions of the electronic components we planned to use. We plan on reinforcing the straps, cleaning up the conductive thread, adding LEDs, and adding clips to the straps for added security. We also want to find a way to hide the microbit as it will need to be battery powered for our product to function as intended. We plan on securing it between two layers of felt so that it is hidden and protected from outside elements.
Testing Plan:
After reconstructing our prototype we plan to begin testing on our design.
Our parameters include…
Signal visibility at various distances
Signal visibility at various light levels
Strap durability
We won’t be testing our prototype on the road until we are more confident in its ability to produce highly visible signals at a distance. Instead, we will have one group member wear the prototype and activate the LEDs at various distances from the data recorders. To test strap durability we will have the tester perform various movements to ensure we have secured the straps properly. We will perform these tests for multiple trials and record results in a spreadsheet document.
Obstacles / Unknowns:
We are a bit unsure if the LilyPad LEDs we have been using for our design are powerful enough to be visible, especially during the daytime when sunlight could heavily impair their visibility. We will be able to determine their effectiveness after testing.
Here are possible replacement LEDs we could use for our design:
Product Name:
Our team is set on the name Cue but we still need to brainstorm a slogan / catchphrase to go along with it. We will dedicate some time into brainstorming slogans, but our main objective for this design sprint is to reconstruct our prototype and create code for the new components we’re adding.
What’s Next:
Based on our findings during testing, we will make any necessary adjustments to our prototype and continue more trials of testing.