Wearables Product Innovation
You've seen all the fun, now let's get serious.
Since 2008, I've been a multi-platform product innovation engineer for Wearable Technology, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Hydrogen fuel cells, and lithium power systems for a variety of markets including the Defense, Outdoor, Medical and Industrial Sectors. I'm fascinated by the intersection of physical hardware and digital spaces and how developing these new products can better transform people's lives in the modern age.
My Primary focus in helping companies and their partners navigate the challenges of bringing novel materials from the lab bench into production. This can be from material science innovation to ground up outerwear products and accessories.
The example show here is the next generation conductive stretchable inks from ACI Materials converted into printed heating elements for outerwear and accessories:
My contracted services are multi-functional along all steps of the Product Development Journey. Can you see a repeating constant of things taking longer than expected with many steps from A to B?
Here's an example of a Product Journey converting military technology to a commercialized consumer product for Ardica Technologies, Mountain Hardware, Sitka and Hugo Boss. Of note, it always takes longer than you think :)....
Apple's original iPhone transformed more than just how we use mobile phones. It created a market to push development of small rechargeable batteries (Lithium based) and extend the features of many small electronic devices. This was a driver for Ardica Technologies to make the push from Defense into consumer markets.
Once the heating system was developed, we branched out into other markets, starting with Sitka, an innovative hunting outerwear company creating gloves and heated vests.
Fast forward to December 2023... I spent 2 weeks in the high sierras field testing the next generation heating elements created by ACI Materials. I designed the whole heating system including integration into a lightweight heated vest. Enough of my words here, checkout the video and you can see for yourself:
Product design and innovation is a complex and very FUN step, but once we're built our MVP, how does it get to market? With over 17 years of experience, I can help on the often overlooked challenges of the supply chain and integration.
And what does the future hold?
Thanks for taking the time to read about my work and services I can provide for Product Innovation. Feel free to reach out, and let's start a conversation!