Week 6 and 7 Questions and Comments

As stated in the last post, we received no feedback after our presentation in either way. The class voted 100% green, which is a good indication that our design will be a worthwhile pursuit.

Here are the questions that were asked during our mock interview session:

- Is it going to light up?
- Yes, it will include lights on the base of the centerpiece that will have soft-colored lights that will illuminate the piece from the bottom up.

- Is the centerpiece's leaves (speakers) going to be wireless or wired?
- We'd like to have it wireless, but there are certain restrictions that may arise. Things such as having the wireless receiver built in with the speaker will potentially make it difficult to stick onto the wall.
- However if we go with wired leaves, it'll definitely reinforce the metaphor of our centerpiece being organic but again might be too much of a visual burden with all the wires sticking out.

- What are the leaves going to made out of?
- We'll have to experiment, things like sponge and foam might absorb the sound but the upside is it'll be light. However if we go with a heavier more sturdy material it might be too heavy to stick to the walls/windows.

- Approximately how much would this retail for?
- We've already established that we're catering towards upper class homeowners so if this were to go in production we'd want to use very high quality materials and speakers... We're probably estimating somewhere between 350 - 450 dollars.

- What kind of Controls will there be for this centerpiece?
- We have a couple ways we could go about doing this. We were thinking of having water controls so it'd seem like you were watering the plant but instead you'd put water droplets into little test tubes that would detect the weight of the tube increasing and thus would send a signal to change things like volume, skipping songs, stopping and playing.
- Another way we could approach this is using modern symbols that are projected on the piece by lights and over a photocell. When the user puts their hand over the symbol the photocell will detect the change in light and trigger said functions.

- Will the centerpiece's leaves play all the same music?
- We want all the leaves to play the same music so they wouldn't conflict with each other, however after taking this into more consideration this could very well be a possibility once we advance further into the project.

- Will the centerpiece look ugly if there is an MP3 dock exposed?
- We'd try our best to hide all the electronic hardware to maintain the centerpiece's elegance and sleek structure.

- Is it possible that the leaves will be too high for the user to reach?
- Probably not because you're going to be the one positioning the leaves up there in the first place...

- If this is supposed to be a 5.1 surround sound speaker system how can you tell which leaves are which?
- We'd have to develop a system to tell the users which leaves are which. Possibly by implementing a feature so you can Ping the leaves from the system and have the leaves play some sort of indicator sound.

- How would you power the centerpiece if it's supposed to be in the middle of the floor?
- Using wireless power we will be able to transmit power to it without having a huge ugly extension cord sticking out of the piece. Here is a product that we might use.


Here are some pictures from those discussions.

Karen doing some sketches for the interviews

Our group conducting the interview..

How the centerpiece would look in someone's living room

Again how it would look in someones ultra fancy apartment, the piece is using it's sub woofer that on the glass system.

Presentation File

Our presentation can be found Here

The presentation went well. We did not really receive any feedback either than the general feeling of content throughout the class.

Week 5 Assignment

Team 22km's Gantt Chart can be found here

What people or positions will be most affected by this project?

- Parents will feel more secure that they know that their children can be more independent in finding their way to and from school and other places

- Children will be able to use this device to display information on the safest way to get certain places that are pre-programmed from their parents.

Who will be required to operate it?

- Parents will have to program in specific places into the device and then give it to their child

- Children will have to be able to use the device to navigate to the menu to display the place they want to go to

How many people will be affected by the project?

- This question is a bit ambiguous, but that being said parents who feel they need to have the feeling of security for where their child is so they don’t have to drop their kids off to places everyday. Hopefully the child will become more independent.

- Potentially millions I suppose…

What are their current levels of skill in operating this technology?

- Basic motor skills and the ability to recognize symbols

What training, if any, will they require?

- Ability to follow the instructions given by the device. Device will include an instruction manual mainly for the parents to learn how to program locations into the device for their children

What team support will they need to keep using the project?

- IT support if software/hardware problems occur

- A help center in case they really have no clue how to use it after reading the instructions

What are their attitudes towards this change?

- Parents will feel more secure that they know their children can get to different locations on their own. They will also feel more self confident that the route the device gives them will be the safest route they can take (not into dark alleys!)

- Children will become more independent while using this device.

What can the team or organization do to alleviate their concerns?

- Address any problems that the consumers might have.

- Properly advertise all the benefits of the product.

Conclusion to your end users:

- Because this is quite a sensitive subject (parents and child safety) we’ll have to reassure them how the product will help their situation and all the positives of using it.

What is the need for your product?

- Children need to be independent

- Parents need to feel that their child is safe

How will this product make people’s lives easier?

- Parents will have to spend less time taking their children places (school, friend’s houses etc)

- Kids will have the device to guide them so they don’t get lost and they will develop knowledge of familiar routes better

How will it help fill the niche you are aiming for?

- The device and its functionality is directed towards mid-class families

What are the benefits of having such a product?

- Feeling of security, confidence in the community

Conclusion on your project goals:

- Aims in helping family security, allowing their children to become independent

Project Scope, Goals and Asssumptions:

Project Contract: