Right so  this meeting will be about the conceptual design , don't ask me s precisely what conceptual design is , it's just something important that we need to do . In this meeting ideally we'll come to some final decisions on what we're gonna do for the prototype . Right so  , apologies for the last meeting , it was brought to my attention that I did not make the roles clear enough , so I will attempt to do so more accurately in this particular meeting . So , basically all we're gonna do is have some presentations again much like last time , and gonna go through you ,  whoever wants to go first is f fine by me  and we'll collate what we know about  what we discussed in the last meeting , possible directions . And then we'll make some more decisions on  basic  firm up our idea on how we want this remote control to look and work . It is Nathan right ? I'm not calling you the wrong name over and over again ? industrial designer: No Nathan's fine . industrial designer: basically what I'm gonna have to talk to you about today is  component design and it's been brought to my attention that we may be somewhat limited as to what we can do because of what our manufacturer offers , project manager:  . We've already kind of gone over this but we're gonna have to get into more detail and probably have to reach some conclusions some time soon . Our manufacturer didn't say anything about lithium so we might have to look if we do go that route , we might have to look elsewhere . Basically , it's like a  the idea of moving the remote would create enough energy to keep it running . So that's one possibility but I don't know whether that would be powerful enough to illuminate a touch screen .  and then as far as the way it's shaped , we can do standard boring flat , which we probably don't wanna do , curved or very sexy double curved . project manager: What kind of th thickness are we looking at ? industrial designer: I imagine that we could specify . industrial designer: the buttons , there are multiple scroll buttons available from our manufacturer , but to use those we'd have to use more chips ,  and that would cost us more . And if we do go with the rubber doubled curved case  we'll have to use rubber push buttons because the other buttons aren't compatible with that . industrial designer: one thing that I noticed was that most remotes operate on a infrare on the infrared part of the spectrum . So you notice when you push a button on a remote you can't see anything coming out of it but in fact there is light coming out of the remote and you know the television can detect that . And if you were to record if you were to make a video recording you could actually see the light .  one thing that I thought might be interesting was to use part use visible light coming out of the remote , just kind of as a fun gimmick . industrial designer: Course it'd have to be a part of the spectrum that wouldn't damage the human eye or anything like that . project manager: is there an option that we can have that off or on so a person can select like industrial designer: Yeah .  , and then on to the circuit board that we're gonna use , also known as the chip .  , we really don't have any way around the T_A_ one one eight three five . project manager: user interface: industrial designer:  findings , okay , we're very limited by what our current manufacturers can offer ,  and my question to all of you is , should we look to other manufacturies or should we just make do with what we have available ? user interface: Interesting question . marketing: Well I'd say shop around but with our time constraints , is that really a feasible option ? project manager:  .  , if we do go the lithium battery route then we'll have to go outside our current manufacturer . My personal preference is I'll just throw my cards on the table ,  I think we should probably go the solar battery route , just to kinda keep with the environmentally friendly theme that we have going on .  , I like the idea of the visible light signalling , that's something to set us apart and  I was thinking about I was thinking of ways that we could produce the remote in a variety of different case materials to suit different tastes . So we're not so confined by one style and say some you know , say our the one marketing: Right . industrial designer: if we just go with one and it doesn't go over well then we're in a bad situation . project manager: Can we do marketing piloting too ? Try to see what kind before we launch can we see how they're received ? marketing:  It's an option ,  but actually there's I've got some research already on like what we're looking at and trends in casing right now project manager: Okay . project manager: That's perfect , so I guess that makes sense for you to take it from here . project manager: industrial designer: user interface: Did you ? marketing: You waiting for me ? project manager: Fascinating , compelling even .  , basically I was looking at what's going on in the remote control market right now and what's going on in other design fields , to see sort of what's what's trendy , what's new , what's happening .  , remote control right now basically everybody says they want newer , fancier , more exciting they're sick of this boring , normal , functional ,  that we need innovative design options and there needs to be an easy user interface .  the challenge is that current trends right now , across the board in fashion , in furniture , in technology , is a very organic fruit and vegetable kind of thing . user interface: project manager: user interface: project manager: user interface: industrial designer: marketing: Now I'm not saying we should have , you know , tomato shaped remote controls or anything , but I think it is possible maybe to use  natural colours , like if wood is an option , that whole organic , sleek , clean , industrial designer:  . Different skin options , or if we can't afford this touch plate thing , or touch face screen interface  , maybe having the b images be specific , like you could choose your menu bullets to be project manager: Tomatoes . marketing: a different shape industrial designer: user interface: marketing: or okay , not the example I would choose , but you know what  to t sort of and th apparently the feel of the next couple of years is spongy , project manager: industrial designer:  . marketing:  not something I I've come up with a though if we can get around to getting piloting , I thought maybe a casing option like  not like a skin , but like a holder almost if you could do like  , leather options or wood options or something industrial designer:  . As far as the rubber that we can use we can use a rubber as part of the case , marketing: So overall I think we should stick with what we're finding , everyone's looking for easy to use , technologically innovative and this fancy new I think perhaps the double curve thing and maybe this rubber option is our best way to go for right now . Well I d but then if the touch screen thing isn't gonna work out for us that's really a non-issue . industrial designer: I like the idea of of rubber too because it's tends to be associated with being durable , something that you can drop and it doesn't matter . project manager: Yeah , it's like , yep industrial designer: Taped with duck tape and what have you , marketing: Very much so . project manager: it's ubiquitous isn't it ? user interface: We can have a duck tape casing . user interface: marketing: I think that goes against the whole fancy something , a new line , project manager: user interface: It could go with the granola crowd . project manager: industrial designer: user interface: marketing: Ah , it could be , it could be , project manager: Great , marketing:  . project manager: industrial designer: marketing: user interface: So yur user interface , guys , is basically aspects of a computer system that we can see or hear , or otherwise  perceive . Here's a d series of different remote controls industrial designer: user interface: that are out on the market today .  voice recognition , we we  actually have some new  information from our research design team but  I'll get to that in a moment .  , so current voice recognition starts up to about eighty speech samples ,  and basically you record your own verbal labels c and connect them to the remote control . Now our design team , research team , has been able to  set up a system in which  you can teach the remote control voice c recognition system to respond to  with standard responses . Like you could say good morning  remote control and it'll say in a sexy female voice , Good morning Joe . project manager: marketing: project manager: industrial designer: user interface: In fact we already have this for a coffee maker line marketing:  . project manager: Lot of single people on the  on the re on the remote control research team user interface: On the remote control industrial designer: project manager: at the user interface: right . user interface: another concept is what  Apple has come up with , the spinning wheel with  L_C_ display like on the  iPod project manager:  . user interface:  and then we have the scroll button with integrated push-button , kind of like a modern a bit bulky , a bit crazy , project manager:  . user interface: And  some special components ,  ideas like  blocking , having the ability to block channels from your for your children  and  dedicated buttons for for commonly used  channels and even  ideas like secured or hidden programming but  I again if we go with touch screen I don't think that's a big issue . industrial designer: marketing: user interface:  the jumbo universal remote control is almost impossible to misplace or lose . user interface: again probably not what we're going for marketing: user interface: so I  my ideas here and kind of where I think we're heading is something slightly larger than a regular iPod  with a hard cla c  plastic casing marketing: Okay . user interface: although I think some of the suggestions we've come up with are definitely  very good ideas .  changeable casings  our design team was possibly talking about including one extra face plate with the package to kind of set the idea that you can change it and you can try changing it marketing: right . user interface: and kind of get used to thinking about maybe buying another one which can add value to our  bottom line .  touch screen interface ,  possibly having go-to buttons being  stuck into the system so those don't move away from the screen , the important ones like power , volume and jump between channels .  , and of course our voice command system which I've talked a little bit about already project manager:  . user interface: and  the use of recognisable colours and shapes to aid recognition of the features  that are around so red for power ,  arrows for different volume ups and downs and channels ups and downs and what not . user interface: And  perhaps even adding in some stupid little jokes with the voice recognition idea like perh  for instance my toastie maker that I got from my bank marketing: user interface: has jokes when it's ready . project manager: That's what they need , it's like a little dongle it just sticks up this further so you don't have to stand up every time , just connect it , my kingdom . Now we kind of have to come to some decisions , I figure we can just go down the line and all three of us can have a chat about it . Based on what Nathan presented as far as the  various costs and benefits  I think , I dunno , what do you guys think about the touch screen at this point ? marketing: I think it's our most marketable feature just because it's so new and it's something that is showing up in other places . marketing: But can we really afford it 'cause it looks like they would be , that would be a really main cost source then project manager: marketing: right ? industrial designer: My estimate is that in order to incorporate touch screen technology it's gonna cost us upwards of seventeen fifty Euro per remote , project manager: To produce each one . marketing: And our goal was to be under twelve fifty or we have to be under twelve fifty ? project manager: Well . project manager: There is , it's just , it is a question of and how much ca o does that mean we're gonna have to increase the price to make money . marketing: Can we justify it ? project manager: from twelve fifty if we d wanna get our fift  hundred per cent profit margin  that would mean selling it from twenty five . project manager: So user interface: Where do you guys come up with these numbers ? industrial designer: That's just off the top of my head , project manager: From the board , industrial designer: it is pending further emails . project manager: well marketing: Though I think that's what people would pay for , user interface: marketing:  if you're gonna pay for an expensive high class remote , you're gonna expect it to do something project manager: That's true ,  industrial designer: It is the new it would be in a class of its own . project manager: And that's to be fair the  the per cent of the market we're not going for mass any you know , mass sales anyway , we're gonna make  we we're not talking about selling eight zillion of these things , we just couldn't , not for twenty-five Euros , marketing: Right . project manager: so we could probably maybe shrink the profit margins rather than selling for twenty five , sell 'em for thirty , but that's something that we can have finance deal with . project manager: or wh y wh what was your thought on the matter Ron ? user interface: I'm thinking that's  definitely a good idea and I also think that we could probably come up with some sort of a cheaper  means to to go about this kind of production , my my team in the  on the third floor suggested that  marketing: See if we can cut some corners . Well and we can look into this other manufacturing option , and maybe we can get 'em somewhere else cheaper . industrial designer: We could initially go with what we have and if we can find them cheaper later on marketing: Right . project manager: No we could have a s very simple touch screen , you know , there's always the opportunity , if it's gonna be about the size of the iPod or whatever , you know , w we yeah , I guess we can play around with it a bit . Alright , let's let's say that okay so the touch screen will be our  our main selling point here . project manager: So user interface:  I think that we really have two main selling points , I think that our casing and the voice recognition marketing: Yeah 'cause with voice recognition  really this is pretty bells and whistles kinda remote . project manager: if if we're looking at bottom line , now we're looking at upping the cost to seventeen to get the touch screen on , user interface: project manager: I think we might have to drop the voice rec . user interface: To be honest , we have the capa we have the design in-house , marketing: Price-wise . user interface:  we've we've come up with this , with this new voice marketing: True . What do you think on it Nathan ? About the voice rec ? industrial designer: I think if we we do both the obviously production costs are going to go way up  but it does put it into it'd become the Rolls Royce of remote controls basically . Course , maybe they hadn't thought of this whole touch screen option , but definitely we know the market is there for voice recognition so to say we have the technology and we're not gonna use it even though we know it'll sell is a call I don't think I can give the highs ups . marketing: Like really I can't go in and say no we're gonna just ignore everything we know . user interface: Does having both really up our costs ? project manager: I can't see how it wouldn't , there's you know the old aphorism , you can have it fast , you can have it cheap or you can have it quality , pick two of three . industrial designer: Yeah , 'cause you you just upping the number of chips that you need to deal with each different function . project manager: Well if we're gonna pick betwe e alright so we have to pick between one of the two . What which , which do we suspect we should hold o we should hold on to ? marketing: Well , we already have research backing voice recognition as you know fiscally solvent . But  I I I personally would tend to another direction but if that's what's gonna sell I think that's what we need to go with and maybe we can table this touch screen for our next model . industrial designer: I think the voice recognition is simpler , we already have the all the technology in-house , it's ready to go , it's packaged , it's project manager: What does the cost look like Ron ? Is it cheaper to do the V_R_ or to do the  touch screen ? user interface: Well my p is project manager: Nathan ? marketing:  . industrial designer: this is just off the top of my head keep in mind , but I think the voice recognition would they're both  they're both gonna push the costs up , but  , since we already have the technology in-house for the voice recognition project manager:  . marketing: And we're still not then we don't have to deal with this battery issue nearly as much either , project manager:  . So I'm getting alright so more or less you guys think that o o of the two of 'em , the voice recognition will be better . marketing: which for right now we can have it on the market sooner which is all in all our best option . industrial designer: marketing: So and when are we gonna have basic prototypes coming up next that's you guys's next step right ? project manager: Yeah , well we'll we'll sic we'll sort out what it what f what else we're gonna talk about for the prototype industrial designer: Yeah . project manager: but yeah that's our next step , it'll be a developing of prototype . industrial designer: Are we going to talk now about  the materials that we're gonna use for the case and all those things ? project manager: Yes . Would the solar power be enough to fuel a voice recognition ? Or this kinesthetic one , would that be enough to fuel a voice recognition remote control ? industrial designer: the solar power definitely would be but I think just to keep people from getting annoyed , 'cause sometimes solar power fails and there's no way round that , we should install a small backup battery . industrial designer: Just to cover those moments when for whatever reason , the remote hasn't been exposed to marketing: Well what of people with like the T_V_ in their basement , project manager:  . marketing: like what if wha we can't guarantee sunlight everywhere so having a secondary source is probably industrial designer: It's true . Yeah , it works about the same as a solar powered calculator , marketing: industrial designer: and you know how those those don't really require that much light , user interface: Calculator . industrial designer: but obviously a little more light than a calculator , but we're not talking about a lot of light . Doesn't have to be out taking a sunbath for a few hours a day or anything . project manager: What do you think Ron ? user interface: I'm willing to agree with everything that's been said . If we're really not  handling the remote control to a great extent we could possibly get away from the idea of having a hand-held remote control and maybe kind of have a round remote control that kind of looks like a paperweight or something like that , kind of a sleek little  neat thing that sits on your table or something . industrial designer: Why , why moving away from hand-held , why ? user interface: Just a thought . industrial designer: What's the  idea ? user interface: Well if you don't need to pick it up it could kind of be a selling point . marketing: I if it's got voice recognition it can be technically anywhere in your room and still do its job . Do you think people that are people that buy a remote , are they always gonna wanna use the voice recognition or is it just something that they do sometimes . marketing: True , and i probabl I think we're banking on selling it to more than just voice recognition people , like we want it to work fundamentally as a basic manual too , project manager: Well we have to have buttons on it too as well . project manager: But that's done , that's no bother  if you look at the catalogue from places like with sharper image or whatever you know they might have or like  who is it , Apple makes these really pretentious speakers with the th sub-woofers you know like clear and glass and you know marketing: project manager: And maybe a menu button and so forth , you know  use a channel button to scroll through the menu d if they want to record programmes or whatever you know  we can sort that out . Maybe something that looks nice on a table is would be good , even though and hand-held the same time . user interface: I think it's all about following Apple's lead on a lot of these things . project manager: Yeah ,  a nice although we do  wh  is I'm recalling that she mentioned that we n need to get away from the surgical white kind of brushed aluminium thing marketing: Right . project manager: but you could have a very tasteful  wood coloured or earth tone kind of  marketing: That would be kinda neat . And the  the material like the plastics and so forth , we were discussing that being  using like a rubber kind of softer feel , industrial designer: Okay . project manager: li lik if you feel the the tip on this pen it's a bit gives just a bit . project manager: something where it's  a a more advanced f form of plastic that has some kind of a tactile response to it . marketing: Yeah , which is the next big thing , so that's not gonna hurt us either . user interface: project manager: Yeah let's see if we can do a squishy non-remote control-looking remote control . industrial designer: project manager: But to be fair , yeah , you just c you could just put it literally put it on the the ni the coffee table next to the telly and say volume up . I guess we'll a that's gonna be  a thing , if we run a bit over-budget , that might be okay ,  . industrial designer: Sorry about the  lack of information on cost , I just haven't been provided that information by our manufacturers marketing: Okay . project manager: We'll have more of an idea when the prototype have more of a industrial designer: and I'm just having to guess .  , so user interface: project manager: we've revisited the touch screen and more or less ruled that out , I think so we're more or less con we wh wh we're more or less in agreement that we want to have a  a simple kind of function , you know , not too complex . Well when the majority of people are only using the most primary functions on a daily basis , although I'm not saying we should completely rule out major functions , they should be secondary , at least if not functionally then visually , like those shouldn't be industrial designer: Right . marketing: Take precedence , industrial designer: If , if we're not going the touch-screen route then we can  just incorporate maybe something that folds out marketing: yeah . industrial designer: like what you often see on these kinds of remotes is the most basic functions up here project manager:  . marketing: Well and do we wanna consider like an iPod screen which isn't a touch screen but you're still scrolling through menu options , in p user interface: Think then we're hitting our cost issue again . project manager: Yeah marketing: True , project manager: we've also got the the me the thing of , industrial designer: Yeah . project manager: if we're gonna have a non-remote-looking remote , how do we yeah . project manager: we could do a slide or a compartment , you know , like if it say it's a lit little vaguely ovoidal type of thing , it'd be easy to have a compartment in there . project manager: Or you know , a b a b a a series of you know three or four buttons with a menu button and then a side an s up and down type of thing , like on  like on a D_V_D_ player . You know you see the modern D_V_D_ players'll just have  a menu button on the side and then four buttons around them marketing: industrial designer: So are we gonna are we talking we need to figure out what kind of buttons we're going to use , are we going to use scroll buttons ? Rubber buttons ?  project manager: Well it seems like I dunno it seems to me that we could just do the  stick with the rubber 'cause since we're probably gonna be using some kind of  rubber for the outside case marketing: Yeah . user interface: I think to a certain extent we have to stick with  kind of  a little bit traditional in terms of the buttons and then and then make our unique feature our casing and what not and our voice command . Well no it's basic just like four directions that are that can use as menu or channel and volume or however you wanna do it , are really versatile and everybody's already got them to some extent on the remotes they already own so it's not like we're dealing with everybody relearning things 'cause that's not something anybody's gonna wanna buy a new for . That seems to be selling  and we we've more or less agreed that we want to kar target this youth market ,  . project manager: Especially now with eighteen to thirty five year olds being such a large quantity of the population . Yeah alright , well , more or less covered what we need to cover I think fi an an any final thoughts before we think about doing the protot moving on to the prototype . project manager: The  , yeah okay I was just gonna assign tasks in the next b anyth any oth user interface: Sure . industrial designer: have we decided that we are gonna go with different style cases for different people ? project manager:  . industrial designer: Or are we just going to go with one ? ..It's very , it's very hard thing to predict because you have different cases marketing: Yeah . industrial designer: and that might open up your market a little bit obviously , but if you have just one case and it doesn't go very well  . industrial designer: but obviously having more cases also costs more so project manager: Well then again colours wouldn't be so hard to do , you could have  a , you know , a   kind of a natural wood colour , like a stained wood and  , I don't know , olive green or something . project manager: That wouldn't be so much of a problem to incorporate into the colour of the thing . user interface: And again copying iMac's kind of for iPod Mac Apple's  colour scheme . project manager: Yeah , I think that's probably a good id okay so let's work on  multiple case colours . But yeah , stick with the same kind of kinda yeah , the same basic non-remote kind of remote design . I want the  I'd like Nathan , I'd like you to work on just the basic look and feel , what can we accomplish , given these parameters that we're just gonna sort of have this kind of  non-remote remote . project manager: And  Ron if you can figure out how probably best to lay out this idea of this simple design with the voice recognition built in and also this kind of drop down or s on the side kind of menu options simple . industrial designer: user interface: marketing: project manager: And also  specific instructions will be sent to you by your coaches as well . project manager: So that's what to start with for now , is that alright , you guys feel clear about this ? marketing: Cool