Element F: Design Viability

Market Analysis Overview

Competitors

Noticeable competitors to Edison's Co. includes to any companies who manufacture sunrise alarm clocks which is by far the most similar product compared to Edison's main product. Te-Rich's and other brands such as Dekala and Hatch's Sunrise alarm clock does what Edison's paper lamp does and a bit more which could be a problem if consumers look into similar products and choose Te-Rich's or any other competitor product over Edison's. An app capability with Te-Rich's Sunrise Alarm Clock is a major feature that Edison is also developing for making our prototype. Other similar brands such as Hatch also make Sunrise Alarm Clocks that hosts the same features compared to Te-Rich's, however their main difference is in their designs that would then come down to user preference in customization. Theses types of alarm clocks would be the top competitors for Edison Co. in terms of features and what the paper lamp is trying to achieve and more. There are other major competitors that do exist that are not found in amazon but products listed other sites other than amazon.

An edge that Edison will have for it's competitors is in its design, despite having the same features of a sunrise lamp and perhaps hosting less features, the one design choice is what sets Edison's design apart it being a paper lamp instead of an alarm clock. Paper lamps are often bought for room lighting by consumers and takes up less desk space making it a valuable option to consumers wanting that optimization and save desk or nightstand space.

Edison's product given it's one key difference will also fit in to the sunrise alarm clock market place while also sticking out as an option for potential buyers wanting something different than an alarm clock. By having Edison's product have the same features of a sunrise alarm clock while also being unique in its design, this can be used to Edison's advantage making it a highly potential viable option in the market environment.

Element F: Design Viability -- Curre0t Market Analysis - Portfolio Version

Price

Current Solution Cost

The starting (theoretical) starting price of the final Edison product will be priced at $33.98.

Here at Edison Co., the team believes that the price should be set at $33.98. Edison believes that the price should be set to what it is currently as it is something that the team would buy at that price for their own product. From a consumer perspective, Edison's product is something that the team believes is something that consumers would want to buy for it's price. It is also taken into consideration the returns from the product for Edison will stay a sustainable company to stay as a business.

Market Pricing Comparison

The current market cost of the selected pre-existing solutions prices normally sit within a $30-50 range. However there is a noticeable spike in price with more premium versions of the sunrise alarm clocks. The spike in price trend is the normally paired with the nuanced features and more expensive materials made for that product. The two products that come in mind with the inflated price is Hatch's Sunrise Alarm Clock priced at $129.99 and Dekala's Arched Alarm Clock priced at $129.00. Both alarm clocks possess unique designs, with the price range being dependable. A good estimation of their worth is the reviews for each product. However, this isn't always the case with some products being priced significantly higher for no apparent reason. With the Philips SmartSleep alarm clock, it is priced the highest within the given chosen products being placed at $169.00 without any stand out features compared to the rest. Another outlier in the chosen set of products is Dekava's other sunrise alarm clock being priced $75.99, which is the one alarm clock being priced at it's particular current range. Compared to other sunrise alarm clocks of it's nature, there is nothing that stands out in particular given it's price, the other similarity it possesses is with the company tied to the alarm clock, being Dekala. It could be assumed that Dekala prices their products higher than the rest of the market. It should be noted that these products were picked out for their price to understand the market range of which sunrise alarm clocks go for. There are plenty more sunrise alarm clocks on the market that are not listed that while could be great products, simply share the same price as the ones listed.

Available Market and Marketplace Study

Edison's marketplace study includes the potential audience of consumers of Edison's product and the competitors that exist in the market. Given the pre-existing solutions, by solving the problem there is also an already existing demand for sunrise alarm clocks. There is an incredibly big market for sunrise alarm clocks to help people to solve their problem with sleep inertia, and other sleep problems that are common. The problem to solve is the potential lack of exposure of sunrise alarm clocks, which could be a future breakthrough in the industry. People aren't aware that such alarm clocks exist, but Edison Co. believes that if they heard about the idea of a more gentle alarm clock, and had a opportunity to try it out, they'd be very interested in purchasing one. A way to get people to try Edison's product is if they buy and also possess the option to get their purchase refunded if they did no like the product giving consumers to at least test the product to see if they like it. There are more possibilities to also have consumers to try Edison's product, such as having a showcase to where people can test it out at a showing as well as other options.

Element F: MarketPlace Analysis - Portfolio Version

Product Lifecycle

Figure 1 - Product life cycle of Edison Co. Lamp, produced May 1st, 2022

Manufacturing and Distributing

Prototype I

With Prototype I, Edison Co. had a pretty firm conceptual grasp one where they wanted to take the paper-lamp design, and thus were able to create a model for what manufacturing the product would look like. Edison Co. would maintain standards that are already set in the life cycle for lightbulbs but can be more narrowed into specifics for some steps of the life cycle process. Theoretically since Edison's product contains hardware and software, a specific manufacturing line would need to be established in order for mass production of Edison's product ensuring that consumers will always have a way of getting their product on time in a reasonable manner. For distribution, Edison's product would be sold online on Edison's Co. main site.

Prototype II

The Raspberry Pi quickly cemented itself as an essential part of the ongoing prototyping effort as part of Prototype II. As the group also continued to tinker with PWM, the need for a dimmer board arose. These two new components should be considered for the manufacturing process. It is mostly likely that Edison Co. would outsource the manufacturing of both the processing unit and dimmer board should the product be pushed to production. Both of these components require a high technical knowledge to create which the company is doubtful they would be able to supply. While it might be cheaper to manufacture boards in-house, Edison Co. does not consider it feasible.

Prototype III

Prototype III contained all of the same manufacturing considerations as the previous two prototypes, but with the added difficulty of the 3D printed box to house electronics. Chances are, Edison Co. would not 3D print this box in a market solution. 3D print is not a particularly fast process, and if every lamp required a 3D printed box, it would be difficult to manufacture. Perhaps molded plastic would be a better solution.

Ethical Considerations

Sustainability

More sustainable actions can certainly be considered, especially in with disposal of lightbulbs. There is room for improvement in finding ways to recycle pieces of lightbulbs and potentially restore broken products that would be shipped backed to Edison Co. for reuse. Due to the last longing life-span of lightbulbs, the industry finds no need to recycle lightbulbs as they last so long that they don't really impact the industry or environment that much in the short term.

Electrical Safety

When working with high-voltage currents, such as what the Edison Co. alarm lamp uses in several of its connections (namely input to/output from the dimmer board), the safety of the user must be paramount. In the original iteration of Prototype III, Edison Co. found several exposed wires which could have caused a serious threat to the user's safety. Several leads were too long and extended out of the dimmer board, in other cases, the shrink wrap did not fully cover solder points, and lastly, exposed pins on the bottom of the dimmer board were conducting live current. After slowing down and cleaning up the prototype, almost all dangers were eliminated, so the lamp could be safely tested.

Ceiling Stress Test

Edison Co. has is currently waiting on several box components in order to be able to complete a stress test to ensure that the final assembly will be able to safely hang from the ceiling. Prototype I was easy enough to support with large Command hooks (the smaller ones were inconsistent and unsafe, occasionally dropping the prototype), and the group believes that the use of a proper hook, such as an open eye hook should have no trouble. Open eye hook can regularly support up to 15+ pounds of weight, and the prototype will be well within this window.

Misunderstanding of Product Goals

While the Edison Co. product might provide a more gentle wakeup, the user should understand that it is not a replacement for a good night's rest. Using the team's alarm does not allow one to function on lower quantities of sleep than would be healthy.

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