The Art and Science of Engineering Design

Wireless Headphones
Kaitlin Halady Shilpa Sarkar Carolina Jaramillo Romn

What is the problem?

Todays headphones arent giving users a 100% enjoyable, perfect music experience
Wireless headphones are too expensive for the average college student

What will solve the problem?

Reasonably priced
High quality Comfortable Give consumer unrestricted range of motion Water-resistant

Why wireless?
Problems with wire Knots and tangles Limits range of motion Potential safety hazard Constant re-adjustment Reasoning Direction of market Competitors Latest products

The Survey: General Info

89 students at Stanford University

100% use headphones

The Survey: Brands

20% Apple Sony Bose Philips Sure *Other brands

3% 4% 6% 17% 50%

* Other brands: Panasonic, Sennheiser, Audio Technica, Samsung, Creative, Grado, Beyerdynamic, Etymotic, Koss, Uknown, Skull candy, V-moda, JVC-Gummy)

The Survey: Type of Headphone

Types of Wired Headphones

Non-earbuds Earbuds Did not say

20

40

60

80

7% 7%

86%

86%

Wireless Did not respond Wired

The Survey: Headphone Usage

Work out Listen to music Study/read Biking Transport(on plane, walk) Sleeping Watch movie Other

The Survey: Hours of use per day

<1: 17 1-2: 44 3-5: 18 5+: 2
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Less than 1 Between 1 Between 3 More than hour to 2 Hours to 5 hours 5 hours

Survey: Important Factors

Most Important Less Least Important Important Important 33.7 % 25.8 % 27 % 13.5 %
28.1 % 7.9% 25.8 % 24.7 % 5.6 % 61.8%

Price

Comfort 40.4 % Style 5.6 %

Sound quality

20.2 %

38.2%

22.5 %

19.1 %

The Survey: Have your headphones ever felt uncomfortable?

Are headphones...
24%

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Shape Fall out/ Headache Wire

76%
Comfortable Uncomfortable

If a pair of $60 to $80 wireless ear buds was on the market, would you purchase them?
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

No Yes

Objective Tree
Objective Tree Wireless Headphones

Comfort

Versatil ity

Marketability

Shape

Wireless

Compatibility with Mac

Durable

Water Resistant

Portable

Style

Price

Container

Colors

$60 - $80 (mid-range)

Detailed Design
Inner-ear bud Adjustable over-ear piece User Interface Charger/Adapter Materials Colors Retail Scheduling

The Headphones
Left headphone: 100 mAh battery, four hours playing time Charging plug Lights to signal power and bluetooth signal Right headphone: Circuit board Bluetooth chip/antenna Controls for the two wheels (track and volume changing/power) Switches, capacitors, resisters, and other technical components that make headphones possible

Canalphones
Directly into the ear canal
Natural seal

Traditional type
Sleeves
foam

QuickTime and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompress or are needed to see this picture.

Adjustable Behind-ear piece

Rigid backbone Adjust vertically to fit different size ears Rotate up to a 90 degree angle from earbud for maximum comfort

User Interface
Wheels (Right)
Volume
<100 decibels

Track (toggle)

LED Light (Left)

Bluetooth Power

Materials
Plastic Paint

Foam
Plastidip Soft elastomer

Colors
Pink
Blue Black White

Technical Components

The Charger
Portable 1000 mAh battery ( ~ 15 hours hours of playback time) Plug to charge headphones in case USB port on the outside with a wire that plugs in to an electrical outlet When plugged into a wall it is a standard charger When unplugged it is a compact carrying case that can supply power to the headphones

The Adapter
Takes the analog signal from the iPod and converts it to digital so it can be sent wirelessly to the users headphones Plugs into the iPod Bluetooth chip in a circuit board Runs off of the iPod battery.

Morph Chart
Means Feature/function Transmit music wirelessly Compatibility Shape Material of headphone Water resistance material Power for headphones User interface Bluetooth One brand of mp3 player Earbuds Silicone rubber Plastidip Charger (plugs into outlet) Buttons on headphones RF transmitter (FM) Multiple brands Earbuds with over-ear piece Elastomate Polypropylene Container with charger Be controlled by mp3 player Canalphones (inear) Foam Mylar Docking Station Mix: some buttons on headphones, others mp3 Supra-aural headphones Infrared transmitter (WiFi) 1 2 3 4

Battery Storage

Goes in both headphones Carrying case

Goes in one headphone Charging carrying case Magnetized

Alternative Designs
Connecting Wire Aural Headphones vs. Earbud

Compatibility
User Interface Placement/Type

Over-the-ear Piece

Budget
(Headphones + Adaptor + Charger)= $17.50 17.50 x 3.5 = ~ $61.25 17.50 x 4 = ~ $70.00 Retail price somewhere between $60 and $70

Piece
Headphone Battery (100 mAh) Bluetooth (includes digital-to-analog converter) Material (Foam, Plastic, TPE) Packaging Chip to charge battery Other components (switches, LEDs, resisters, capacitors, etc.) Plasti-Dip Charger-case

Estimated Cost (Dollars)

~ .50 4.00 1.00 .75 1.00 1.75 ~ . 50

Plastics
AC power adapter Adapter Plastic Casing Bluetooth Circuit Board/Electronics TOTAL

1.00
1.50

.50 4.00 1.00 17.50

Retail
X 4, X 3.5
Selling Shipping

Middlemen
Store Online

Scheduling
(for hypothetical release of product) 0 wks - Design start + 4 wks - Industrial Design + 4 wks - Mechanical Design + 6 wks - Tooling design and fabrication Less than 12 wks for electrical design, so this is not critical path to this point. = 14 weeks, 1st milestone - First prototype + 8 weeks to get from first to final prototypes + 4 weeks to get FCC certification = 26 weeks, then mass production would start

The Competition: Jaybird JB-100

Released Fall 2007 Online Market $180.00 (with adapter)

Pros In-ear Bluetooth headset Noise canceling Water/sweat resistant Comes with charging dock and mesh case

Cons High Price No User Interface Wire between headphones Volume too low/No bass Only available online Doesnt fit all ear sizes

The Competition: Sennheiser MXW1

Release May 2008 In Store Market $599.00
Pros Twist and Fit System Kleer Technology Higher Battery Life Received Editors Choice Award in 2008 at Consumer Electronic Tradeshow Cons High Price New technology No current customer reviews

What will the future bring?

Market movement to wireless
Evolving design Compatibility New technology (Kleer) Cheaper costs for technical components