Ethical Hazards
Since this product is a fairly trivial consumer good, there are few ethical considerations. Due to the target market being music students, there is some concern that it could give certain students and academic advantage from having purchased the product. The low target cost does somewhat mitigate this, though, as the piano would be financially accessible to most students. Additionally, as with any manufactured good, one must consider the labor used to produce it. Many products have unethical working conditions somewhere in their chain of production. To mitigate this, our team would work to ensure that any materials purchased to assemble the piano are ethically sourced and that any factory that we partner with to produce the keyboards respects the rights of workers.
Product Liability
As with any powered device there is some electrical hazard. Particularly, a portable device with open ports could be vulnerable to many environmental conditions such as moisture. In order to mitigate this liability, we would design the device to have a water resistant enclosure and instruct the user to be cautious around liquids and moist environments.
Social Impacts
When designing an electronic with the goal of being cheap, one must be cautious of creating e-waste. Our product will not be designed to be disposed of quickly. Any design should be able to last at least five years of normal wear and tear, which we will guarantee with a warrantee. We will also provide proper disposal instructions for when that time does come. Additionally, people are more conscious than ever of the isolating impact of electronic devices. In order to combat this, our team will highlight the collaborative possibilities that this tool enables. This product would also make playing the piano a much more accessible hobby, possibly allowing those that were previously unable to begin playing.