Fish-I Case Study - Commercialising an idea

This study looks at the refining and development of an idea throughout the early stages of an entrepreneurial venture.

Leona Dean and Zoe Robson, were both first year students at London South Bank University (LSBU), studying Engineering Product Design, when they were set an assignment which could be a life changing event for them, they were asked to produce a produt architect assignment to product a camera for a niche market.

This led Leona to think about her own experiences working on dive boats and with underwater photography and filming. She had an understanding of the problems associated with under water cameras. Immediately her train of thought led her to consider the gap in the market for the amateur photographer, who either doesn’t want to buy lots of professional gear, or spend the necessary time and energy needed to become accomplished at using it, basically the sort of scuba diver that just wants a few snap shots of their holiday dive. The ease of the diver wasn’t the only consideration for Leona, she had noticed in the past that people with a lot of equipment often caused irreparable damage to the reefs, and could also be a danger to themselves and others, as the extra gear inhibits diving. Then the idea came to her, a tiny camera mounted within a dive mask.

Divers have to buy a mask anyway, and so this camera adds no more bulk to your luggage if you’re flying off for a diving holiday, and its not cumbersome when you are actually diving, as its mounted between your eyes, what you see is the picture you’ll get, you can take a picture as soon as the opportunity arises. It is so easy to use that you can concentrate on your diving and not spend your time working out how to use complicated photography equipment. There is also the element of instant gratification as it is instantly downloadable the moment you are on dry land.

Zoe instantly grasped the appeal of the Camera as she had done a little diving in the past. As a novice, she couldn’t have imagined thinking about taking photographs along with all the other things that she was trying to do with basic diving. However, with a camera like this she could see the appeal to even inexperienced divers such as herself.

So how did Leona and Zoe become partners in this venture? They had both come from quite different backgrounds to LSBU. Leona had been working for a Can Operator for ten years, she had been attracted to LSBU as she felt they had a high focus on producing prototypes, with wonderful workshops and facilities. On completion of her chosen course Leona wanted to have the practical skills to produce what she was designing, and felt that this course would provide that.

Zoe had been a graphic designer for 3 years, and before that had done a product design degree at St Martins, this had been highly creative course and improved her ability to think imaginatively. Her designs there had always been engineer based, which at that point meant, she didn’t have the necessary skills to embody. She went to LSBU to satisfy her desire to realise some of her ideas. She also predicted that the network that studying at LSBU would give her access to, could be very useful when it came to trying to establish her career and finding a job.

It was at the open day that Zoe and Leona met for the first time, they decided to go for a drink and since their first meeting have now became firm friends.

Their thinking has now expanded in terms of application for the Camera, adapting it for any kind of adventure sport or activity, such as skiing, horse riding, surfing, snowboarding or hang gliding, to name but a few, basically any activity where you need to be hands free, and either have to or can wear goggles, could be enhanced by such a product. The camera can be operated remotely if you need to have your hands on handlebars or a rope or other kind of attachment.

Apart from it’s potential for adaptation to particular sports, Zoe and Leona are considering how it could be used in the medical sector, especially for people going on rescue missions. A medic could have their hands free, with a video link to a specialist who could advise them on how to administer surgery. As the ideas are coming in at a rapid rate, all Zoe and Leona need now are investors who could provide the capital to help them realise the multiple uses for this product, to help with research and Intellectual Property protection which is vital for any product going to the market place.

With the help of friends the original research they did for the underwater camera was relatively inexpensive. They have some friends who are camera engineers and work in television, they provided both technical advice and practical assistance. Initially they put together two prototypes. For one they took a simple USB camera, took it apart, added a remote control, waterproofed it and the remote control and then tested it to see if it worked. They wanted to test for any potential complications, how would the power source and lens react? Could there be something else they hadn’t anticipated.

Another important consideration was what sort of pictures would a low grade camera take underwater? Underwater is an entirely different environment, not only could there be problems with light refraction but everything is magnified by about 25%. However some of the pictures from this first prototype were good.

Next they took a similar sort of camera and again waterproofed it, and attached it to the top of a mask, the purpose of this was to examine how the view finder would work, if at all, and of course how easy it would be to use.

For this test run they went to a slate quarry in North Wales, as it was April the visibility was fantastic. They filmed this part of their research, so that they could include it in their presentation. Their friends helped here again, taking Sony PD 150’s for the water and filming the whole thing for them so that they didn’t have to concern themselves with this.

The video presentation was for the Carbonate innovation competition, they felt that illustrating the research process would add colour and interest for the judges bringing the whole thing alive. The resulting photographs were of a good quality.

Carbonate say of themselves: “Carbonate seeks to generate renewable sources of qualified ideas with the aim of taking a small selection of exciting ideas to market each year. For individuals with an idea, companies looking to exploit Intellectual Property, and Venture Capitalists wishing to invest in an innovative idea, Carbonate provides a channel and a methodology in which to turn ideas into business.” For more information visist www.carbonate.co.uk . They also say of the competition: “The aim of the competition is to stimulate a new generation of idea creators and to give students a better chance of commercialising their ideas, be properly remunerated and gain personal recognition. The Carbonate competition started in November 2004 where briefs were distributed to Universities across the UK with a product design or engineering design related course.” They also mention Zoe and Leona: “The overall winners were Leona Dean and Zoe Robson, from Southbank University who collaborated on an idea for a novel facemask for diving and snorkelling that will open an entirely new market for this category of activity. Leona and Zoe will now have the chance to commercialise their idea by leveraging Carbonate’s contacts, professional guidance and commercial experience.” They also sought both endorsements and feedback from a Cameraman, diver engineer and inventor (who is also a keen diver), they gave them their professional opinion on the product. One individual had worked for the Fire Brigade and suggested that it could be used by the services when they have to dive underwater to look for bodies, and wreckages for example. He even thought that with the edition of a heat sensor it could be a valuable way of saving lives. Also, a keen sailor suggested that it would be useful if a boat or yacht had incurred any damage, when somebody went over the side to do an assessment they could just send the images back to people on board, they would then have a good idea of materials and tools that would have to be sent down to facilitate a repair.

Carbonate provided some good pointers for the presentation, research direction and project management. For instance they wanted to know what the user need would be, the root to market for the product, Intellectual Property protection and what patents were in place, and of course how technically feasible it would be to manufacture. This opened up the perspective of the project and gave them a realistic broader view of the product. They were also awarded £300 development money from Carbonate.

After this experience Leona and Zoe were constantly referring back to the brief and examining if they were addressing it sufficiently in every step they took. Leona and Zoe accredit entering the Carbonate competition and following up the feedback they had from that as being key to shaping the way they developed the product and project. It also ensured that they didn’t neglect to apply for patents for their product.

Zoe and Leona did a search at www.patent.gov.uk by using the free espacnet facility, but they felt that they didn’t have the necessary experience, and didn’t want to miss any information that could be valuable they also commissioned a search at the British Library. The key words they used were ‘camera’, ‘mask’ and ‘underwater’.

They spent a day at the library, having given them the key words, their unique points and how the invention separates itself from other innovations that may or may not be available. Zoe wrote a paragraph, in the simplest language possible and the staff took it from there. This service cost them £130, for payment they used some of the money they had received from Carbonate.

There were four patents that may have shown a prior art, which could possibly have prevented Zoe and Leona being granted a patent. On discovering this they sought the advice of a lawyer at LSBU. They felt that seeking the advice of an expert in the field was crucial at this point.

They had already filed their patent application with some help from a Patent Attorney, they drafted the application he then read it and refined it, and so it was filed. At this point Zoe and Leona are aware that as the product develops they will need to keep evaluating their Intellectual Property protection, to make sure that any patent filed protects any changes they may have made, this is vital when a product is still being developed and researched.

In return for the help and support Zoe and Leona have received from LSBU, they own 10% of the business and Zoe and Leona retain 90% and can make all integral decisions. This means that LSBU provide them with legal assistance, from drafting to advice, and cover many more costs besides including the costs of patenting. Any profit then made through licensing, commercialisation or selling the Intellectual Property will be split 10% to LSBU and 90% to Leona and Zoe. The LSBU recognises that the design area has historically produced some very innovative ideas, and if they feel that an idea has a future they are more than happy to provide support. Especially, in ensuring that a design has the Intellectual Property protection that it needs. The support is fairly short term unless a product begins to show commercialisation, as the costs associated with a patent increase the longer it is maintained.

Carbonate are assisting with the commercialising, they have provided a list of clients with a view to Zoe and Leona pitching to them. In conjunction with that they are looking at brands that may be interested in the manufacture of the camera. A brand that has no technical background, for instance a sunglasses manufacturer such as Oakley, may want to see further technical advancements and possibly for Zoe and Leona to oversee the manufacture of for example 10,000 units; but a brand like Nike who have their own in house development team might be more interested in evolving it to suit their own product criteria.

Once they know the route to market, Leona and Zoe can consider how they will brand the product, if they are looking at producing it themselves they will need a name, and possibly need to register the name as trade mark. However, should a company such as Nike or other well known brand decide to licence then they will probably want to sell the product under their own brand name.

If they need to develop the camera further Carbonate have said that they will support them.