First, we dig into the technical details, working together to understand the problem at its root and to begin to push the boundaries of our thinking.

We study patents, historical roots of the problem, and ways that others may have approached the solution, as well as the fundamental science involved with the issue. Our persistent curiosity kicks into high gear and enables us to go deep into the fundamentals of the opportunity.

During our Immersive Innovation™ session, we delve into the nuances, details, mysteries, knowns and unknowns of the problem—as we wrap our arms and minds around the opportunity.

This proprietary approach typically includes three to four days on our campus, where we push everyone to increase risky thinking, thinking about the impossible, to push ”beyond” out of the box.

The goal of the session is to generate as many concepts as possible, put them through a funnel of judgment, and then reduce the number of concepts down to three to further evaluate.

The task at this phase is to gain knowledge about possible solutions, to refine the concepts, get the initial engineering designs in place and find simple, inexpensive ways of testing our hypotheses.

We commit designs and ideas to paper and start to build out mathematical models and proof-of-concept tests of the most difficult aspects of the project.

At every step, we test our design hypotheses in the crucible of the real world. Each design decision is tested to determine whether or not its hypothesis is viable, testing parts of the whole to ensure that viability.

After Phase 2A, we have gained enough knowledge about possible solutions to be able to refine the concepts and get the full, integrated engineering designs in place.

Such a design is an integration of all that we have learned and leads to the development of a testable prototype. 

During this phase, things come to life—your vision is becoming a reality.

The engineering design prototype is the manifestation of all of the knowledge about the solution made into a testable device.

The complete, integrated prototype is thoroughly tested to prove the validity of the design and to look for any issues that will affect the reliability of the solution.

The prototype at this phase is a “function-like”, but not necessarily a “look-alike”. The look-alike phase will come during the next phase, DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING.

With a TESTED, working concept and prototype in hand, we then develop the full set of documentation for manufacturing.

At this point, we have integrated, sophisticated, well-thought-out Industrial Design into the prototype to create a “go to market” solution.

Nuances of the market, needs of the intended audience, and budget requirements are all taken into consideration, and we collaborate on the specifics to make sure we're still reducing risk as the vision from the initial phase comes to life.

The complete, first run devices are fully tested for design compliance, confirming that they work as specified, and undergo reliability testing to ensure that they have the specified life as required. Only then are they released for the first full production run, at the completion of our final phase.