Wazihub prototyping session: How to perfect your IoT prototype?
When designing a product, it is extremely important that you focus on the end user so that you do not just develop something technically smart but “not smart” when it comes to the user side. When designing, it is important to understand all the things the community in which you want to install the prototype wants. Otherwise, the adoption of your solution will be hard.
Just like any other technical project that is targeting users, it is important to have a data and user flow which will guide the entire development process
IoT surely has a bright future ahead, considering that some of the sensors required to implement IoT solutions are readily available even in the smart phones we carry. It is also good news to know that the use of smart mobile phones in Uganda is steadily rising. Recently, Airtel Uganda announced that it is now providing 4G network across the entire country so which makes directly motivates the development of IoT applications that can have sensors in any remote region of Uganda and share. This wide coverage of high-speed broadband internet can also be very important for cases where the data to be collected requires the participation of citizens’ smartphone applications.
The Wazihubers are currently in the second phase of the IoT accelerator program which is the prototyping phase. This phase closely follows the Ideation phase where participants attended a bootcamp and generated ideas which they are currently bringing to life through rapid prototyping. These participants are now part of a vibrant IoT ecosystem that aims to support them on their journey.
During the most recent prototyping info-session at Hive Colab, we were able to share information about how we can perfect the prototypes faster while highlighting some of the key areas one has to consider as they go about this Wazihub phase. A summary of some of the discussion points follows:
- Sensors
All the startups or teams participating require sensors to capture data which is eventually used to make decisions accordingly. One interesting thing to consider while using sensors is the number of sensors one needs in order to make an accurate conclusion/analysis of results.
An example could be a sensor that predicts the soil moisture in an entire district, could having one sensor in any randomly selected spot in the district be enough to provide accurate data? These are some of the things that have to be put into consideration when designing a product. It might be wise for one to have many sensors so that the results deduced from the collected data could be more accurate.
Still in regard to sensors, should these sensors communicate with one another, compare results and then share them accordingly? From our discussions, we got to appreciate that the internet of things is not just about the connection of things but takes into consideration the kind of data collected
When designing a product, it is extremely important that you focus on the end user so that you do not just develop something technically smart but “not smart” when it comes to the user side. When designing, it is important to understand all things the humans want with a focus on the kind of community you are setting it up for. If you do not focus on the end sure, the adoption of your solution will be hard.
2. The various ways of rapidly prototyping
The participants got to appreciate the various ways in which they can rapidly prototype. Some of these ways include paper prototypes and 3D printing. The teams were tasked to come up with a perfect prototype that they believe is the best for their idea. Also, with this prototype, it will enable to identify systems, hardware’s requirements and process flows.
3. The need for a workflow during active development.
The workflow of teams was also emphasized as one of the key factors in achieving success. Just like any other technical project that is targeting users, it is important to have a data and user flow which will guide the entire development process.
