During our New Venture Design class (17 Oct), we looked into ways to test innovative ideas and be inspired by those ideas. This was done by conducting several experiments and observed how they were put together to form a complete innovative product.
The main object used to experiment in class was a toothbrush where we all had to find many different ways to use it by using other objects that we see around us in class. One method in mind was to involve technology in my experiment, where I taped my toothbrush to the back of my iPhone. The idea behind this experiment is to be able to brush your teeth more effectively when using the vibrate feature of the iPhone and to see yourself brushing when using the front camera of the phone.
In addition, we experienced what it was like to be the person conducting the experiment as well as how it felt to be experimented on. As this was a group assignment, my teammate voluntarily chose to be the person who was experimented on and I was the observer. After a few minutes of observation, I noted that my teammate used slower movement to brush his teeth and that he was more focused on looking at the iPhone camera than the observer. On the other hand felt, my teammate felt that it was more effective to brush his teeth when using the vibrate feature on his phone compared to manually brushing his teeth using just the toothbrush itself. The idea of this experiment helped me understand that this could be very beneficial for people who travel frequently as they may lack a mirror when brushing their teeth and its easier to carry in their pocket.