20 Jan 10 I Want A Prototype!

Thanks to Ryan Wolfinbarger of Catalyst PDG and Larry O’Cull of Priio for the chocolate chip cookies and for presenting “I Want A Prototype!” during the January INpact meeting. Here is some of the information they presented:

“PROTO Types”

PROOF OF CONCEPT

Creates a mock-up from already existing components
Provides technical feasibility
Provide a forecast for how much time and money is needed to completely design

FORM MODEL

This is a form study of the physical shape
Fashioned physically out of foam, clay, resin, etc.
Used in presentation to gather funding
Because form is very subjective it can often require a large number of tweaks to get it right

FUNCTIONAL MODEL

This is a physical item that actually works as intended
Often aesthetics may be set aside to get to functionality sooner
Provides usage data

INTERACTIVE FUNCTIONAL MODEL

A whole new level of prototyping (college, as opposed to elementary school)
Additional IP involved (e.g. electronics and software) creates a longer lead time and higher cost to develop
A potential stage of client discomfort because other proto-types are not as work intensive
For many non-FDA devices, this is the final stage before production

CLINICAL USE MODEL

This is the highest level of prototyping, requiring much time and detailed documentation
With properly submitted paperwork, the FDA says, “you can now touch an animal (maybe a human) with it, for collecting use and performance data”
This is an actual first level of production in a limited number

Here are a couple videos: