The SMART Kitchen… A digital measuring cup.  A fridge that tells you what food you need and then orders it from the organic grocery store around the block.  A coffee maker powered by the sun.  This is your future home full of automation, intelligent and technology driven appliances that need no more than an electrical outlet (or a rechargeable battery).  As highly advanced, green, and sustainable technology scales down in size and lowers in price we will see it more and more in our daily lives.  The kitchen is a place where technology can not only help out, but make things safer as well. It can ensure that an elderly person gets the food they need, or keep food cleaner with odor and freshness sensors. It will be able to do all this for a fraction of the energy and water needed now. Imagine an entire kitchen that cleans itself, without even having to load the dishes…

I found this article on the new technologies website gizmodo.com.  Gizmodo.com is a website that blogs about the weirdest, wackiest, newest technologies of the current and future.  It was a short introduction to a “smart measuring cup” in which the measuring cup gave liquid amount digitally in US units or metric units and the type of liquid.

In 2007, a Denmark Innovation Lab redesigned a Siemen’s refrigerator to talk, even remotely over the internet. If you type a recipe into the fridge, it will inform you of the ingredients you need.  It will tell you what contents are used up and what you need to replace.  The fridge is the future but there’s more large appliances that could use a makeover.

What else could you redesign in the kitchen to make it “smart”?  What about creating a frying pan that, on initial set up registered what kind of stove you have, gas or electric and its average heat temperature.  From personal experience, I know gas stoves typically, are hotter than electric stoves, therefore foods cook faster.  Within this pan, one would be able to tell, type of meat, poultry or fish, size of meat (full size or chopped), and average thickness.  As a result, it would let you know when it’s cooked.  If the meat is a full size porter house steak, it could time when to flip it over.

The other improvement to a counter appliance would be the coffee maker.  Although coffee makers have come a long way, like this Solar Coffee Maker Concept (right) by Gun Ho Lee, I feel there still might be some areas of improvement.  For example, my parents leave for work at different times of the morning, like many Americans, my mother makes coffee for both her and my father but has to use two separate “coffee times”.  What about a coffee maker that allowed two set times to brew?  What about a coffee maker that auto fill your to go cup with the exact amount of cream and sugar every morning.  Although this may be on the brink of laziness, it seems to be where technology, gadgets and gizmos are headed – perhaps this next little bit of automation could be that next threshold.

August 5, 2009

By Jessica Chin

This past week Flashpoint Development had the privilege to witness industrial designers inventions as a panelist reviewing student projects at MassArt’s School of Industrial Design. We were joined by Staple’s head of design and the department chair of Industrial Design at Mass Art. This Staples co-sponsored event focused on the “worker of the future”.

The first area of design, done by the Sophomores focused on thematic words like aggressive or organic. These produced emotional designs like a spiny teapot and a bulbous tea cup. On a separate assignment these same students were asked to develop new uses for plastic bottles which resulted in LED lamps, radio containers and lots of other solutions.

The juniors took on a brand like John Deere and looked to extend their brand, utilizing their “brand language”, into un-served markets. One of the more powerful concepts was a line of gardening supplies for ‘Jane Deere’ marketed towards females.

The seniors were given a broad opportunity statement, one of which was to use a wearable and portable device to tell time (can’t be a watch). Students developed a Twitter based watch and a graphic based time device (sun rising, moon rising).

A different senior project focused on the “worker of the future” which carefully analyzed how teenagers communicate and feel about technology. Results included mobile offices with kiosks that printed.

Any of these concepts could become the basis for a start-up venture. These designers were taught to examine market needs, usability issues, economics and line extensions. Designers bring a lot to product development team, much more than making devices appealing. Their business, product and design background provides a diverse skill set that can be helpful in any product endeavor.

I spent this past weekend re-reading the past few months of Inventors Digest. A lot of great ideas for blogs popped into my head, but this one article made me stop and check it out immediately. 5 Questions with Charles McCarthy is an interview of a blogger who writes about ideas that he has on his blog Ideas By Chuck. His premise for the blog is faciniating and logical:

“I will be giving away some of my best ideas for inventions, businesses, stories, and marketing ploys. I don’t have the resources or passion to make these ideas reality, but I know that you might. If you use any of my ideas to make tons of money, please let me know and think about sending me a small percentage of your profits. I hope this blog makes the world a better place.”

One lesson might be the free flow of ideas to promote innovation, but I feel that the more prevalent is the way he communicates his ideas.  His blogs are a few paragraphs, but he is able to “pitch” the idea effectively.  He never starts off with so this is my idea and that is it, like so many inventors do.

Tactics:

Experience, he starts off talking about his background…  “Most of you, my millions of readers, would probably be surprised to find out that I have worked for no less than four ice cream franchises in varying capacities. Yes, I have a lot of ice cream experience under my belt.”

Targeting, focusing the pitch on who he wants to hear it… “Do you work for Willy Wonka, Hasbro, Jelly Belly, Tonka, Wham-O, Slam-O, Jack-O, Wack-O, or any other candy/toy company that I didn’t mention? Do you want to bring joy and cavities to millions of boys and girls, while making millions? Are you excited yet?”

Humor, a little joke (not a gut buster) to get people hooked… “Whenever I eat Chinese food, I use chopsticks. Guess what. Billions of Chinese people also use chopsticks when they eat Chinese food. Of course, they just call it food.”

You might notice that there is no mention of his product in the opener.  These are hooks showing the market, problem, experience etc.  Work some of these techniques into your pitches and marketing materials.  Getting the attention of the reader is encredibly important when looking for investment, licensing and everything else.

This past SNL episode featured an inventor pitching her product, Clear-Rite an adult retainer that is unnoticeable.

The inventor had developed a prototype, a package and was practicing her infomercial. Of course, like many invention pieces on TV this is meant for entertainment which means that they are going to make fun of this inventor despite her progress. She did super-glue her prototype in her mouth and was practicing her infomercial in front of a mirror, but does that make her crazy like SNL depicted? I don’t think so and the continued mockery of invention by TV is somewhat disturbing for a professional inventor. I have to admit I laughed.

This past Friday Jay Leno featured six inventions from the Yankee Invention Expo and the InventBay Expo. In this segment, Pitch to America, The inventor introduces the idea, does a quick demo and the audience crowd guesses sold or not sold. As I have been told in the past, this is an entertainment piece and is not very friendly towards inventors often framing them as crazy.  However, I do believe that there is a lot to learn about each of the products that sold, the pitches of products that didn’t sell and getting on the show.

First I was psyched to see the Stay Dry Face Shield on the show.  I saw this at the Yankee Invention Expo and thought it might be a great product.  I have been staying away from medical devices (for myself) because of the complications that never seem to end but this one did catch my eye.  Of course the inventor didn’t have a great marketing story and without that it is hard to buy into.  Questions I had like, how many people have face plastic surgery a year? were sidestepped instead of a statistic (that should be growing).  Anyway I am happy to see that they sold and have even more respect for the Yankee Invention Expo for making the selling connection.  Only one other product sold, the Pop Blocks and honestly I didn’t exactly get it.

Of the ones that didn’t sell, (four) three had problem issues and the security purse had a major solution issue.  Regardless the majority were struggling to rationalize their idea, instead of picking a problem that is an issue.  Anyway it was an interesting TV segment, and even those that didn’t sell I am sure are enjoying the publicity.

Wedding Daze with Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher had a few interesting product development scenes with Matt Malloy Isla’s father as a Jewish inventor. Specifically the Jewlahoop and Jewnacorn. As the movie goes, Matt Malloy had an idea after walking into a toy store, why if there was a line of stuffed animals for Jewish children. After being asked what Jason thought, he replied, “Its very specific … in a good way”.  Perhaps with some work on the audio recording, the idea might work in real life too.

He does admit that the Jewlahoop does not really work…

While some may think the idea is silly, others do not like those who operate MazelBear a Jewish stuffed animal company featuring teddy bears and toad. These cleverly named toys like “Mazel Toad and Hisha Bearach” are being sold for $40.

Prototype This, is a great new show on the Discovery Channel.  It continued to answer my dreams of a truely great prototyping / product development show.  Many of their tactics for quick prototyping are those that we employ throughout the entire development process.  They use existing technology, so no long term research and development is necessary (they only have a few weeks).  More importantly they outsource through an established network!  In the second episode featuring boxing robots they utilized the help of many area experts to get their prototype done.

• Golden Glove winner, Professional Boxer
• Motion Capture Company
• Robot Building Expert
• Welders

While the team may have been able to do this project with their internal team, they saved a ton of time using experts and got a better end product because of it.  The team knew how to weld, but needed extra hands.  The team could have learned to box, but that can take years of experience.  These days, especially in this business outsourcing has come to mean going overseas.  Although we do go to Asia for some of our advanced prototyping and manufacturing, the majority of our outsourcing is very similar to Prototype This.  I can’t wait for next weeks show!

The decision of what to invent is more conscience than most believe. Inventions often revolve around your life, work and interests. It is an important decision to make because you will end up spending a lot of time in a specific industry doing research on companies, competitive products and trends. If you are going to be spending days of internet research and lots of money to understand a market it should be transferable into future inventions.

Our clients want to make money on inventions. This is often dependent on the market as much as timing, product features and any other variables. Choosing an area to invent in where the typical customer will feel a problem, look for a solution and be able to pay for a solution is important.

We also invent to make the world better, easier and more fun (or a different positive like safe, affordable etc.). This drive to make the world better is what draw me into my second invention industry child safety. The better the cause, the easier it is to build a team, get early financing (not necessarily large, later financing) and the better you can feel about it.

So where would I invent next??? I am not exactly sure but I’ll give you some idea…

Hobby or Fun: I love to ski, am a very good skier and so hanging out on a ski hill and talking to skiers about a product would be a blast. Same with sailing and golf, although my skill level is not as high.

Safety: I am still drawn to the safety market although I think I would focus on emergencies and weather issues.

Modern Life: What I mean is the information overload and tools to help organize the hectic life that we all live these days.

Environmental: I’d like to do something with the greening up of the world, but not exactly sure about what to do. I’d be in the “bringing technology to consumers” area, not developing the technology.

Where would you invent next?

This past weekend I attended the Taste of Rhode Island festival in Newport. Besides leaving with a full stomach, some great pictures and I better appreciation for different seafood, I left with a backpack full of promotional products (even the backpack).

The basics of promotional products from wikipedia: One of the most notable means of promotion today is the Promotional Product, as in useful items distributed to targeted audiences with no obligation attached. This category has grown each year for the past decade while most other forms have suffered. It is the only form of advertising that targets all five senses and has the recipient thanking the giver.

While we all enjoy these souvenirs, they do serve an important function for the company MARKETING.  These products create an experience with the brand for free.  Very notable at this festival versus other promotional product give away events was the existence of the competitions / games.  These games like spinning a wheel similar to The Wheel of Fortune (Southwest), Bags similar to horse shoes but with bean bags (Naragasset), Putting / Mini-golf (Mirassou winery) and audience voting (Sam Adams) are just the beginning of the experience.

Besides the experience the customer enjoys, they provide exposure for the brand.  All of these products feature the brand name prominently on a related item (or just a high use item).  In order to get exposure they need to be used a lot or stand out.  The blow up airplane hat from Southwest is noticeable, acceptable to wear at the event (somewhat) but won’t last much farther than that.  I doubt I’ll ever use that Frisbee, but the cozy will get some use.  I’ll probably use the ball marker, because of the magnetic aspect and all my golf gloves no longer have the button.

Could your product be a promotional product?

Does it feature a spot to show off a brand?

Is it noticeable?

Is it a variation of a high use item?

Does it supply an experience?

Can you make it for a few dollars?

After recently watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory reminded me of a classic case of forgotten competition, customers make it themselves. The beginning of the episode feature Sheldon folding his clothes with a shirt folder similar to the Flip Fold Shirt Folder available at Nu-Era.

I really like this product because I find folding laundry to be tedious and the end result is never as nice as when you go into the store. But before I spend $19.75 plus shipping to get a plastic one, I might just as easily embark on building my own. Without dimensions, trying this might be difficult but that is not the issue anymore.

While I find the music abnoxious, the plans are there to make your own.  This does not necessarily mean that customers will make their own gizmo that is your invention, but they make something that works to fulfill their need.  To know if this is the case, talk to customers about the problem and find out what their existing solution is.  If it is a homemade version, your job is to provide value beyond their homemade version.  Also remember that the customer may actually enjoy building their own solution, so the value of not having to build it is actually a negative.