Inventing

• 1. Identify the problem

     1. Gain a clear understanding of what the customer is asking for

     2. Identify any limitations that may come into play

     3. Offer rough ideas or scenarios of how your device might work and gauge the responses from the customer

  2. Create 3 distinctly different solutions for each problem on paper

• • 1. Identify the parts needed for each solution

    2. Identify the amount of time needed to create and test the solution

    3. pick the solutions you think are best

• 3. Create a prototype of the invention

• • 1. Make a working copy of the invention and test it “ad-hoc”

• 4. Test Invention

• • 1. Use invention in real-world circumstances or re-create the environment it will be used in

• 5. Present invention by making a short movie/commercial with your group.

• • 1. Please make sure to touch on each point in your movie.

       1. What the problem was

       2. How you solved it

       3. How your invention works (explain in simple steps)

       4. The next steps you would take to improve your invention. ("The next steps I would take to improve my invention are...")

• • An average invention

    • Works properly less than 85% of the time

    • Aesthetically unpleasing and obtrusive

    • Is inconvenient or extra work for the customer

    • Takes more parts and costs more to do the same job

    • Overly complex

  • A good invention

    • Works properly almost all the time

    • Blends in or compliments surroundings

    • Requires no extra effort from the customer

    • Makes good use of parts and costs

  • A great invention

    • Works properly and all the time and is intuitive

    • Aesthetically pleasing

    • Makes highest possible use of parts

    • Simple

    • Makes the customer's life easier, solves the problem completely, goes above and beyond customers expectations, solves problems for the customer that they didn’t know they had

Problems to Solve

• Alert the faculty when there is food in the faculty room

• Count Laps when warming up in the gym

• Visual indication when someone is in the office

• Alert when the paper supply is low in the copier

• Indication when the noise level is too loud

• A consistent supply of sharpened pencils

• Notify students when they are running in the halls