Evaluation
Market Survey
I created an online survey to reach out to people who have no emotional attachment to me, and would give objective opinions about the product ideas. I kept the questions very simple to increase number of responses; I only asked if they would be interested in using such a product, and how much they would pay for it if they were interested. I received 53 responses. Below is a plot showing number of responses of “would use” out of the 53, and the average price that would be paid by those positive responders.
Benchmarking 2x2’s and Patent Search
Beat Sneaks:
There is a patent on shoes that act as a pedometer and play music as well. They do not create a beat that is paced by the foot movements, however.
Commuter App:
There is a pending patent on a vehicle mileage-counting app that uses a vehicle-implanted chip that makes an automatic connection with a smartphone, so the user does not need to connect the phone manually or tell it what vehicle is being used.
Wind Wheel:
There is no patent I could find on a bicycle-mounted wheel of this type. I did find a patent on a resistance mechanism that relies on induced eddy currents:
Stabilo-Sneakers:
I was able to find lots of patents shoes that are intended to improve the stability of the foot, but none on a shoe that intentionally de-stabilitizes the foot.
Power Meter Shoes:
There is a patent on implanting devices in shoes such as altimeters and trackers that are used to record distance traveled, etc., but not on power output by the user.
Feasibility Concerns
Wind Wheel: My biggest concern is that if it were used on a non-stationary bike, the uni-directional nature of the induced wind would induce significant side loads on the bike, affecting stability. Also, there are safety concerns about turning the bike’s wheel into an impeller.
Beat Sneaks: Many people would find this annoying. If not the user, then the people surrounding the user. It would need to be audibly unobtrusive. Finding the user’s rhythm and making a beat to match could be difficult when pace is changing frequently.
Stabilo-Sneakers: The obvious concern with these is the lack of stability of the user. They would need heavy disclaimers about their use, and ideally would be used primarily in controlled settings, such as physical therapy clinics.
Commuting App: The user would likely not be inclined to check the app and inform it of what transportation mode was being used before every trip. Ideally it would be automatic. That presents challenges, which one of the patents I mentioned addresses by adding chips to the vehicles to make automatic connections.
Power-Meter Shoes: Power meters have long been a staple in cycling, integrated into wheels, crank arms, pedals, and more recently in cycling shoes. I discovered upon my bench marking work that companies are actually releasing some of the first running-shoe power meters imminently. I could not find a patent on the technology, but work is being done to integrate them into insoles or chips that can be added to any shoe. It is definitely a technology in its infancy, though, and is currently seeing early adoption by some competitive runners.
