IoT Concept

Development
From A to Z

So, youve chosen a smart product concept to develop. You may even have a mental picture of
how it should look. However, you also know that smart product design and development involve
an understanding of several key factors: electronics placement, user experience, physical design
considerations, and cost. Here are a few tips to take into consideration when designing your
smart product concept.

1. When building smart products, user experience is key

During the smart product design phase you must address how the operational aspects of the smart product
affect the end user to ensure they are positive and drive engagement. For example, when designing a
wearable smart product with a microphone, the microphone must be located near the products surface and
close enough to the wearers mouth to pick up their voice, but not so close as to be uncomfortable to the
wearer or pick up unwanted sounds.

Tip Smart Products must be designed from the eyes of the consumer

2. The importance of electronics placement has never been

greater
Design may change based on the specic selection of electronics, as some electronic components
necessitate specic designs. Also, the product layout must take into account the compatibility of each smart

1
component with the others. Returning to the example above, if creating a product with both speaker and
microphone, the two components must be far enough apart to not pick up sound from one another. Or, if
placing magnetic sensors on a product too close to a Bluetooth device, the magnets could interfere with
how the device functions.

3. The placement of electronics must be based on shape,

material, distance and location
For example, in order to measure ski performance in action, you must embed sensors into the tip of the
Ski as well as in the middle. Additionally, sensors should be placed where they are best protected against
impact and drastic temperature changes.
Or, if you want to build a smart doll that connects to a screen and would like to track the movement of its
legs as you walk it back and forth, motion sensors must be placed at the bottom of its legs to be able to
track and identify the widest spectrum of movement.
These are merely a few examples of design requirements that dictate the placement of electronic
components.

4. Design and costs are strongly intertwined

IoT design hinges on the selection of smart components, taking into account their functionality and
placement. The design period is often referred to as the Concept Development Phase, in which you nalize
your concepts, components selection and placement. Yet how can you nalize your component selection
without knowing the prices?

5. In order to align your concept development closer with

reality and build a cost-effective IoT product, you must
understand smart component pricing
Electronics prices are constantly decreasing; real-time visibility for electronics prices and data refresh
are crucial. You must have tools and technologies that allow for this.

6. Physical prototypes will get you closer to reality

Before moving on to production, you must experience the smart capabilities of your new product and
iteratively operate, test, re-evaluate and optimize all moving parts - placement, electronics, behaviors and
performance - until you are positive that your dream product is coming to life as expected. This step
entails a working prototype of your smart product.

2
 The importance of integrated cross-platform
testing

Since smart products are larger than their physical dimension and span both
the tangible and virtual, it is important to test both areas, as well as the
alignment between them.
An IoT prototype is essential for creating a real-life experience in which to test
your new IoT product. An IoT Prototype consists of a combination of a
tangible electronic prototype and a smart testing application.

The IoT Prototype is essential for ensuring:

The best user experience
The desired smart behaviors and operations
Ideal alignment between the product and smart element or between the
Thing and the Internet

The IoT Prototype lets you test the app and debug it quickly and easily,
eliminating the need to work with the actual hardware or electronics. A testing
application that connects to your prototype enables you to test the smart
features and better understand how they will perform in real life. Especially
given the unfamiliarity with the Internet of Things and smart product
development, it is essential to ensure that the products performance meets
requirements and its features perform as expected.

The combination of an IoT Prototype and a smart testing application allows for
the right validation process, empowers you to make the right business
decisions, and gives you assurance that you have designed the experience you
were striving for: a standout product that excites your target audience and
encourages sales growth.

3
 Decided to go smart?
Build your smart application rst!

Upgrading your products to smart products requires tapping into a new world
of software, rmware and application coding. It not only involves applications,
but also the combining of hardware components with electronics.
When starting to build smart products, a whole new set of skills and expertise
is required. Customers often ask themselves,

Do I need to establish new teams?

Do I need to train my current staff?
Will I need to change internal processes and methodologies?
Which new expertise do I need to bring in?

Moreover, manufacturers must bring on board not only new internal skills,
but also new vendors and factories, as well as engaging with labs and meeting
regulations.

Getting ready for production

How will you identify the perfect PCB factory for your smart components?
How will you successfully communicate, track and manage the production
process?
Production for a smart product is nothing like the manufacturing cycle of a
traditional product.
The IoT production process requires navigating across third-party distributors,

4
diverse technologies, complex processes and new product architectures.
In order to develop your smart application - a web or mobile application that is
connected and operated in alignment with smart components embedded in your
smart products - you will need to hire two developers:

1. A web developer to develop your web and mobile application.

2. A rmware developer to code the software that operates the smart
components in coordination with the web and mobile application.

By this stage youll have your electronic smart features selected and tested;
from now on, youll have to focus all your efforts on bringing everything
together to form one intelligent product that can communicate with the virtual
world.
This process involves extensive preparations which, if not managed correctly,
will result in signicant gaps in expectations between the manufacturer and all
the other vendors involved.

How to avoid gaps in expectations between production

plans and production process
During this phase you will have your electronics ordered, your Bill of Materi-
als well dened and rmware and middleware completed.
It is very important to provide your production factory with visibility over the
whole production process and accurate guidance, to avoid any gaps in expec-
tations.
It is highly recommended to prepare a Blueprint le that will act as your main
production le and include:

1. Crisp and clear Bill of Materials (BOM);

2. Schematics and layout that specify the interfaces of each and every

5
component with the other and the exact manufacturing instructions for the
PCB factory;
3. Firmware - the software that will be burned on the MCU Processor.

While production plans are forming, it is important to search for the ideal
assembly factory: The factory that will receive your electronics requirements
and assemble them on the PCB on the production line.
When engaging a PCBA factory, there are a few main considerations to note:

How will you ensure the lowest price per unit?

How will you ensure support for xing bugs and remote maintenance?
How do you avoid delays in the supply chain?
How will you ensure security and privacy ?
Would you be able to transition to another factory at any point?
Will you receive robust real-time analytics?
How do you ensure a scalable solution that can meet Christmas spikes
in usage?

Seebo offers an end-to-end IoT Platform that will get you to market fast,
safely and at the lowest cost per unit. Our professional team will guide you
through the process and manage it for you from start to nish.

Start building IOT products

Set Up Your Free Consultation

Follow us: www.seebo.com