Prototypes Help Intrapreneurs Drive Change

Innovation means driving change. Every change starts with an idea, a vision of what could happen that would create a tangible benefit for an organization. Driving change can be difficult, but often "intrapreneurs" see a need and then gather limited resources to transform that vision into a new reality. These individuals need a fast, efficient way to jumpstart their idea and to start receiving feedback. Enter pre-engineered prototypes, which are the keys to creating a successful product without having to create a startup.

 

What are Prototypes?

 

At the simplest level, a prototype is an initial or preliminary model of a product. Prototypes can be used to test feasibility. Does the design function correctly? To test desirability, the prototype can be put in a customer's hands to answer questions about how well the product satisfies the customer’s market requirements.

 

Prototypes can be used to answer questions about how a product might fare within a market and allow developers to test their assumptions on a minimum viable product before spending lots of time, money and resources on an idea that might not sell. Arduino Platforms and Raspberry Pi are examples of tools that are used as the basis for many prototypes.

 

Pre-engineered prototypes fast-forward this process and allow intrapreneurs to experiment rapidly. Voler’s Universal Health-Sensor Platform is designed to accept sensors that have been selected utilizing our knowledge and experience, combined with our ability to write code to make them work efficiently. Instead of off-the-shelf sensor solutions, this platform provides a quick custom sensor solution that will meet your specific needs.  This provides a useful method for rapidly developing a functioning prototype that users can interact with and review, letting “intrapreneurs” discover what needs to be altered or improved for the final proposal. From a marketing perspective, this leads to a better understanding of a target audiences and from an engineering perspective, these prototypes test the product’s practical application and usage.

 

Why Are Prototypes Important?

 

Prototypes are crucial for three main reasons:

  1. Ability to quickly test assumptions
  2. Quickly learn about users and technology integrations (what works and who is interested)
  3. Ability to make progress for development (get additional funding)

 

Perhaps most importantly, prototypes allow developers to experiment with their ideas because changing product designs becomes easier and more economical.  

 

Not All Prototypes are the Same

 

The type of prototype you need will depend on your stage of development and the type of data that you need. In early stages, spreadsheets, illustrations, storyboards, wireframes, paper prototypes and other low fidelity prototypes may be sufficient to generate the feedback you need for initial buy-in. Later product decisions may require a functional prototype or proof of concept. For example, you might explore alternative ways of solving a problem by prototyping a few solutions and putting them in the hands of your customers to observe the interaction. Pre-engineered prototypes often need to leave the lab environment and should directly evolve into your eventual commercial product. This requires mature software as well as careful sensor selection and design for meaningful data capture.

 

The more information and data that you can capture from prototyping before final design, the more likely you are to develop a product that satisfies your requirements and the less likely you are to make product decisions that are costly to reverse.

 

At the Medical Sensors Design Conference in San Jose, Voler will be demonstrating their Universal Health-Sensor Platform. Voler enables your fastest path to capturing and transmitting patient data with a pre-engineered prototype device that can directly evolve into your eventual commercial product. With Voler's platform, 70% of your prototype is done before you start, allowing you to get to market faster. The platform includes Bluetooth wireless data collection to the Cloud combined with the ability to connect a wide range of sensors. We’ll help you get the prototype you need so you can focus on that data, demo quickly, reduce time to market, lower your costs, and win in your market!

 

A Sneak Peek at Voler's Universal Health-Sensor Platform at Sensor Expo & Conference West 2018

 

Voler Systems, a product development company based in Sunnyvale, California, will offer a sneak peek at their Universal Health-Sensor Platform at the 2018 Sensor Expo & Conference. Voler's wearable health platform makes it possible to innovate faster and at a lower cost with rapid prototyping. It's no longer necessary for a company to design the core electronics and basic software for a new wearable device since Voler has developed the core wearable sensor platform software. Firms can start gathering data very quickly to test their product and market assumptions. New sensors can be quickly added to the basic design. The Universal Health-Sensor Platform is intended to quickly build small functional prototype wearable devices.  The code can be ported to production designs as well, again saving time and money.

 

Walt Maclay, Voler System's President, will speak on a panel at the Medical Sensors Design Conference co-located with Sensor Expo & Conference at 4pm on June 25, 2018. He will be sharing valuable insight into rapid prototyping with wearable sensors.

 

Voler Systems provides electronic design and firmware consulting. They specialize in wearable and IoT devices and help companies of all sizes create innovative medical and wellness products. Voler Systems delivers quality products on time, on budget, with a design process that mitigates technical risk, and ensures that the products are easily manufactured.

 

Voler’s experience in medical device development includes wearables, consumables, point-of-care, diagnostic, surgical devices, and more. Their expertise helps clients navigate the design, engineering, manufacturing, and regulatory challenges associated with medical device development.

 

Transforming client ideas, needs, and challenges into innovative, marketable products and successful brands fuels the passion that drives Voler. Passion for innovation drove the development of a rapid prototyping platform for the medical industry. Voler Sytems has built a record of delivering consistent success.

 

About the author

 

Walt Maclay, President, and founder of Voler Systems, a leading electronic design firm in Silicon Valley, is committed to delivering quality electronic products that are easy to manufacture. Voler Systems specializes in designing wearable devices by using its skill with sensors.