The device is a flash/illumination case accessory for GoPro cameras. The GoPro is fully enclosed in the waterproof housing. When the remote shutter button is pressed, illumination LEDs are activated and a solenoid-driven mechanism triggers the GoPro shutter button.
The device also includes a Bluetooth LE subsystem that in combination with a smartphone app, allows for configuration of various system parameters such as RGBW color mix. An 18500 Li-ion battery is charged via the USB port.
Design IP contributions on this project include:
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Design of the basic solenoid-shutter activation. Design of the functional electro-mechanical assembly shown in the images using Solidworks.
SPECIAL COMPONENT SOURCING
Ledex solenoid; Cree RGBW LEDs
ELECTRONICS AND CIRCUIT BOARD DESIGN
Designed schematics and circuit layout for four circuit boards. The design incorporates the following components:
- Atmel ATmega32U4 MCU
- Nordic nRF8001 single chip BLE transceiver
- TI TPS61087 DC-DC converter
- Diodes Inc. AL8805 LED driver
- Microchip MCP73831 Li-ion battery charger
EMBEDDED SOFTWARE AND iOS DEMO APP
- modified Arduino bootloader
- PWM LED control
- Bluetooth LE stack
Tools Used:
Solidworks
Eagle CAD
Keyshot
Arduino IDE
Xcode
A proof-of-concept LED graphics display was designed. The final prototype included 1,155 (15 x 77) 0402 LEDs. The LEDs are individually addressable, which provides flexibility for font sizes and animations.
The driver electronics included an Atmel MCU that controlled the LEDs via ten 74HC595 8-bit shift registers.
WHITE DEAD-FRONT
One prototype included a white dead-front display implementation, where a thin opaque white plastic layer hides the LED array. When the display is on, the LEDs glow through a thin micro perforated metal sheet and the white layer.
NFC INTEGRATION
The intended product is a Point-of-Sale terminal, therefore the prototype included an NFC reader.
Design IP contributions on this project include:
- exploration of various discrete LED driver ICs
- design of shift register driver circuit
- layout of driver and LED array circuit boards
- develop dead-front mask component
- electro-mechanical integration of display into client end product
- MCU display driver software
Tool used:
- Eagle CAD
- Solidworks
- Arduino IDE
The Smart Lockbox was developed for the on-demand peer-to-peer car rental market. It provides a secure, anonymous, and convenient option for the car owner to transfer the car keys to the renter.
To transfer keys to a renter, the car owner places the keys in the open lockbox and closes the hatch. The lockbox is then attached to the car, for example at the car door-window seam. The car owner then passes the car location to the renter via a smartphone app. When the renter arrives at the car, the app provides an unlock code which he enters using the keypad, and the lockbox hatch is released.
There are two main innovations in this product:
SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY ACTIVATED LOCK
A shape memory alloy wire is used as the actuator to unlock the hatch. When the unlock process is activated, current is passed through the wire, which shortens approximately 5% in one second. The stroke is amplified by a lever and the latch releases and the hatch pops open revealing the keys.
EMBEDDED ELAPSED TIME COUNTER
The Smart Lockbox includes an embedded microcontroller with and a LiFeD2 primary AA battery. The MCU includes a real time counter using a 32.768 kHz crystal. The elapsed time counter function is started at the factory and the start time is stored along with the lockbox serial number in a database. A series of unlock codes is stored in a lookup table in the MCU memory. When the user arrives at the car, the cloud server provides the current unlock code based on the time elapsed from the factory start.
Design IP contributions on this project include:
- conception of using shape memory alloy as actuator
- mechanical engineering and prototyping of actuator
- battery sourcing
- power and power supply engineering
- engineered for automotive temperature range
- elapsed time counter MCU prototype
- embedded software utilizing 16-bit counter for elapsed time counting and lookup table for unlock code
Tools used:
- Solidworks
- MPLAB X IDE
- Keyshot
This project was a electro-mechanical production design for a cellular modem that is retro-fit inside vending machines for enabling card payment.
Design IP contributions:
PRODUCT DESIGN
Worked iteratively with electrical engineer on location of internal components.
DFM
Plastic part design for injection molding with draft, molding wall thickness, and considerations for assembly fastening. There are five custom mechanical injection molded parts in this design.
This product went into medium volume production. The molder is located in China.
Tools used:
- Solidworks
- Keyshot
Telepathy engaged with Nonobject on the industrial design for the TelepathyONE HMD.
Contributions on this project include:
Management of industrial design project
Design of variable fit attachment system
Electromechanical integration of components including projection display, embedded electronics, and battery
This Bluetooth headset is designed to be less conspicuous because of its simple round design. It is the only supra-aural headset - resting comfortably against the ear.
The design includes an innovative noise suppression design that incorporates a noise-cancelling microphone in addition to digital noise suppression for clearer sound on the far side of the call.
The headset is designed to magnetically attach to a various charging docks including a car charger.
Design IP contributions:
- industrial design
- mechanical engineering
- accoustic engineering
- DFM
Tools used:
- Solidworks
- Keyshot
This product shipped in high volume with manufacturing located in China. The products were sold Apple Stores, Best Buy, and Amazon, and many other retailers.
