The team at Franklin Robotics asked us to bring our industrial design skills to their functional prototype and get the device ready for a crowdfunding campaign. We worked with their expert engineering team to develop a design that had a unique, friendly visual language and intuitive interaction while maintaining all of the technical requirements around mobility, sensing, and waterproofing.

Since the robot is operating a very small percentage of the time (it soaks up the sun to power up, and is only active when necessary) we needed to develop a design that felt like it belonged in the garden - more like a vessel or statue than a vehicle. We iterated around a few critical touchpoints with the technology: signaling the robot's status, the ergonomics of handling and deploying the robot, and understanding how the robot behaves. 

We researched the emerging garden technology space, gathered market data and developed user personas to direct design decisions that would speak to customers and build the Franklin Robotics brand. 

Franklin took Tertill to Kickstarter and pulled in over $500,000 in pre-orders. 

Trimble came to us to help them develop two key hardware elements of their CrewSight™ system: the jobsite access check-in interface, and mountable sensors for tracking workers and equipment assets for safety, compliance, and security.

We used an agile product development process to quickly test designs in-field with real users to deliver a product that meets real world demands.

For the hardware tag sensor, this meant a pilot deployment of over 1,000 units. 

For the jobsite check-in panel interface, we iterated rapidly, increasing the number of units produced for each revision (from 1 to 5, from 5 to 10, 10 to 25) before locking in a final UI.

Tens of thousands of units have been shipped to jobsites around the world, capable of holding up to the rigorous wear and tear of construction environments.

(Photos courtesy of Trimble Inc.)

When it comes to building robots, precision is of utmost importance. When it comes to surviving and scaling as a startup, speed is critical. 

CLEAR design lab has worked with RightHand Robotics to prototype and manufacture their components to tight tolerances to meet demanding deadlines for testing and customers. We work with RightHand Robotics in a highly collaborative way, providing design feedback and improving quality and consistency of final units, ensuring that each generation of product is better than the last, keeping them ahead of the curve and their customers happy. 

Based on the strength of their technology and early traction with users, RightHand Robotics raised over $ 11 million to date. 

You can learn more about what a continuous product development/agile manufacturing process looks like in this video from Formlabs

"Working with CLEAR design lab helps us to improve our manufacturing process because they have such an expertise in design for manufacturing, molding, and production of plastics. We can design the part functionally and then they can help us figure out the best way to manufacture it"  -Sarah Mendelowitz, RightHand Research Products Lead  

In a last minute product development crisis, the founders of Soofa came to us to translate their concept for their smart bench into a manufacturable form that stayed true to the original design intent.

Where both the original designer and factory engineers were at an impasse, we were able to step in and rebuild the plastic parts in SolidWorks for all the proper detailing, while working within the constraints of rotomolding.

The factory was able to produce the parts without issue, the form came out exactly the way the designer envisioned, and the benches can now be found in cities all over the world, including: L.A., Boston, and King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia.

From industrial design to final manufacturing detailing, we helped Farmhub launch their first real product to end users. Simple to install and use but durable enough to last through all conditions, the first generation Farmhub station made the technical world of weather clear and brought atmospheric insights down to earth. 

We were approached by WallJax to help them take their plug & play wireless charging technology and design a product with an elegant aesthetic and intuitive user experience.

We wanted to make wireless charging fit into people's lives in an almost invisible way by getting rid of cords entirely and using design language and finishes that complement your home rather than clash with it.