Project Industry: CONCEPT

MEM’S LEG

CAT-TASTROPHE

Mem’s Leg is the tribute to  a wonderful calico cat, Mem, who got into a tussle with an off leash Pitbull. Mem lost the fight and her rear leg after chewing through the stitches that had  put her leg back on.  While sounding tragic, Mem  moved forward as a very loved and  very happy 3 legged cat. She probably received more attention this way than she ever did prior.

The product, Mem’s Leg, is  a fun plush super sized leg that  doubles as a satchel, ready to carry your phone, keys and wallet. The interior is lined with   flannel, reminiscent of that old sleeping bag your parents had as kids ( or if you’re old, maybe it was your sleeping bag). Of course, Mem’s Leg is part of the Furillaverse.

STEW

STEW  is a place for  ideas, drawings, models, oddities, musings, national emergencies* and more. These are not necessarily associated with a destiny of commercialization.  They,  hopefully,  have a smidge of creativity

MOBILITY DEVICE

Walker, Texas Ranger

A successful real estate tycoon came to  FUSE  to design a better cane.  He had pals that were getting to that age and he disliked the choices  they had for this additional stability.    Our benefactor wanted something that did not say “disabled or feeble”. Something that was more akin to a piece of sports equipment.  He and we wanted  something  its owners would love and rely on like a favorite tool or tennis racquet. We know the best products are not just trophies, but also tools.

FUSE understood the styling problem but certainly wanted to do more by adding functional attributes to the product. For example can it stand up on its own, i.e. self-balance? Provide a better smoother gait? Offer greater mechanical advantage? Be lightweight and not cost a fortune?

FUSE generated several concepts and  here below is the  Blade Runner concept that  we and a focus group of users liked the most.

The Blade Runner (or Riddler?) can balance on its foot, provides shock absorption, adjust for height, collapse for storage and provide a better ride due to its  curved foot. This concept is inexpensive to manufacture with a telescopic aluminum shaft and injection molded handle and foot structure. A rubber outsole grips the ground and its design is easy to  clean.

 

SKIN CARE DEVICE

CREAM BELIEVER

Many people, especially women, are very concerned about their skin’s appearance and they have a very specific regimen for how to clean and care for their faces.  These regimens can be very individualized as all  of our faces have  different requirements whether due to our genetics, diet and environment we live in.

The Sonatap founder recognized this  and wanted to create a single dispenser that would have cartridges that could be filled with a person’s unique regimen’s content. This  more convenient device would do away with all the disparate containers  and put them in one hand held device.   The cap contains  make-up removing wipes. This product  would be perfect for traveling.

Our solution was to use pie shaped airless containers.  These dispenser/containers are common in the cosmetic industry and refillable. The ergonomic problem becomes the greater the number of containers, the greater the diameter.

The very tight mechanical constraints had us  start the design process  by directly modeling the individual components and then configuring them.  We had to balance using an existing pump geometry with the minimal viable container volume with the maximum number of vials.  Our client wanted as many vials per device as possible.  Again, too many vials and the product is un-holdable due to its large diameter.  Creating a new pump geometry was out of the question given the development costs and  minimum order quantities required to get the pump guts at reasonable price

Our Revolver concept narrowed the diameter and  used a greater diameter  for the orbiting mechanism. This allows the user to spin the  dispensing orifice around the indexed containers.   Clear housings for the individual containers can make identification of each fluid that much easier

Runners Orp

BE EVEN MORE SPLATTERPROOF

Orp Industries has  always talked about building a running version of their innovative  bike horn/ light product, and finally with our help, they’ve done it.

The Runners Orp or “Rorp” is for runners, walkers, hikers and boarders of all  types. The big idea, of course, is to make  pedestrians more visible by being more hearable, but the  Rorp can do more. Runners and walkers who use nights or  dark early mornings to run and walk not only have a beacon to be seen but also a very loud horn to let any would be attackers know their attention  is unwanted,  and if that’s not enough, an accessory cranulator (machined aluminum) is available to cause  more serious damage.

The Rorp has a gumby-like malleable metal armature in its body so it holds on to you, works for small and large hand sizes and  features a dual tone horn,  just like the bike Orp, and the actuator is  always under thumb. The Rorp is symmetrical so works on either hand.  Multiple light modes including  highly visible green LEDs. The LEDs fire every time either horn is fired. Newest versions incorporate a  180 degree  Chip On Board (COB_ LED array. This new LED offers better visibility.

ABOM SBIR PROJECT

SPOOK SPECS

ABOM  won a prestigious  government  contract to leverage their fog fighting technology across multiple military optic platforms.  Beyond the more protective war fighting goggle, the SBIR project included the undercover operator. This is the individual that may  appear to be a good looking Russian speaking petroleum engineer, but is actually a lethal CIA  operative.

The military was looking for  slicker design  that could go from the urban cafe to the battleground. Military operators call these “spectacles”.  This product, of course,  can be used in low temperatures, but also in high temperatures where the wearer may be sweating.  The wearer’s head is  radiating heat at a temperature higher than the ambient air. The result is condensation, fogging.  ABOM’s moisture sensing system will automatically turn on and eviscerate the fog. Because the system is only on when needed, less energy is required so the product is feasible even with the  required smaller batteries.  That said,  an external battery pack can  provide additional runtime.

 

BATTING GLOVE CONCEPTS

Hey batter, batter!

Wilson  Sporting Goods owned DeMarini, came to FUSE to  to get concepts for a  batting glove. Batting gloves do a few things to make batting better for the batter:

1. The batting glove  adds a protective layer of skin, like a callus,  to protect the player from the friction injury caused by wielding a bat. The injury is usually just blistering, but  this is painful, can keep a player from participating and becomes and entry point into the body for more lethal  bacteria.

2. An errant pitch can hit the dorsal surface of the batter’s hand.   Injury can range from bruising  to real broken bone and nerve damage. Putting  protective armor and or energy absorbing materials on this dorsal surface can mitigate this problem.

The less great aspects of the batting glove is the reduction of feel and the increase in heat or rather hand heat.

The challenge of creating  a good batting glove  is to provide protection, not impede articulation and keep them as thermally neutral as possible. Below are the more traditional winners.

 

NED (NOT BREAD)

EDIBLE PACKAGING

A few summers ago we were on a camping trip with another couple and one of the partners  had a gluten allergy. We had stopped  at drive-thru for a quick refuel on the way back. The gluten free friend (GFF) had ordered a vegan burger with a lettuce wrap to avoid the bun. What a mess! There were condiments all over her hands and  subsequently, my car!   Not only is the gluten a problem, it’s also the high carbs of that bun. A typical burger bun is some 40 grams of high glycemic index refined white flour. There had to be a better way.

When we got back to or studio, I grabbed ( hang on, not physically)  a colleague and  we brainstormed. I always loved the genius of the edible ice cream cone, especially the  one inaccurately named the “cake” cone.  I did a little research  and these wonders of industrialization, a literal injection  molding  of water and flour are only 6 grams of carbs and that’s with rice flour. And, it gets better…, if you use almond flour, you can bring the carb count down to zero! Not to mention how brilliant the whole  family of edible  packages are!  Taco shells! Sushi! And then.. wholly cow ,  and  start digging in more,  and  did you know  the average common restaurant – remember those , burrito  flour tortilla  can be 80 grams of  carbs!!!

The big idea was to make a small edible piece of luggage, kidding, not luggage but a bread or tortilla  replacement that could be gluten free if needed  and lower carb. This is good for celiacs, diabetics and everyone that wants to lower their ingestion of high glycemic  index carbohydrates.  By the way,  the term “Keto” was Google searched for more than Subaru in the Pacific NW.

In terms of design,  this concept  allows  almost infinite shape, color, texture and flavor. This concept can replace anything where bread is simply a carrier. Think pizza, tacos, burritos, all the bread shapes,  even low carb snacks like crackers can be NED. Best of all if you were brought up by TV like some of  us were, then  you’ll love  the brand-ability of this concept. See the images above.

Knowing there’s a fair amount of tooling (though relatively inexpensive per mold) to make these things, we approached the Joy Cone company with NED. They are biggest  ice cream cone maker in the U.S.  with plants in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Joy makes special branded cones for  some of their largest customers.

I don’t  want to say we’re brilliant, but I think  given the hand friendliness, this qualifies as thumbelievable!

Ok, shutting up now –  have a look!

 

ARIEL CHAIR

When they go low, we go high.

The Ariel chair is an update to the Crane chair. This new version  adds a visually thicker mold-able cellular structure that conforms to the  users’ body.

The Ariel Chair  features that same elastomer powered lift mechanism that allows users to set up standing desks and sit only when needed. Users can sit and lean against the Ariel with its easily locked casters. Ariel’s more minimal i-Back encourages active postures.

Complex only 3D printable structures are super intriguing, but really hard to make. At the moment, 3D printing while compellin,g is unbelievably slow compared to modern injection molding. This design  creates a thermally neutral  cellular surface that is cleanable and most importantly, mold-able.

ABOM POWER PACK

ABOM wanted to extend run time for their unfoggable goggles for the endurance athlete and those that engage in expedition activities. This meant designing an external power pack with a larger lithium ion battery.

We made the design fit the body with a gentle curve like a nice flask.  We were sensitive to the potential for disconnection and keeping the pack weatherproof should the skier/snowboarder/snowshoer/ explorer take a spill. Beyond the industrial design, FUSE added convenient, logical features like a flashlight  and additional USB port for charging a cell phone or other accessories.