Consumer Smartphone Accessory

An early-stage technology business approached SGW Designworks for help developing a device that allows an iPhone or iPod Touch to be used as an expressive musical instrument.

Client:

TripleThink USA: AUUG Motion Synth

Services provided:

Mechanical Engineering

Manufacturing Setup

Prototyping

Date:

project summary

SGW Designworks worked with Triplethink USA from the conceptual phase through design engineering and manufacturing hand-off on the AUUG Motion Synth.

AUUG Motion Synth smartphone accessory project photo

Challenge

Product Vision

The device would need to be designed with a comfortable hand grip, and with a look and feel appropriate for live performances.

Specific project challenges included a requirement to accommodate new as well as legacy i-devices with varying geometry. Small initial order volume (for Kickstarter fulfillment) also meant an initial manufacturing package needed to be optimized to limit tooling expenditure.

delivery

Final Outcome

The AUUG Motion Synth attaches to your iPhone or iPod touch and creates sound by tracking your movements through its app.

In three months, SGW Designworks provided an initial manufacturing and design engineering package for the product. Multiple prototype and testing cycles led to its optimal design and feature set, which consists of an aluminum grip with an elastic strap, as well as the app and cloud-based platform. The AUUG Motion Synth encases an iPhone or iPhone touch in a way that leaves the fingers free to interact with the screen, and can wirelessly control software on a PC or non-wireless music hardware with a MIDI cable.

The product’s Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded in 2013. The AUUG Motion Synth was featured in an Apple iPhone TV ad and was showcased on Shark Tank Australia by founder Joshua Young. AUUG secured a deal with Investor Andrew Banks, giving him a ten percent stake for a $50,000 investment.

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Capabilities used on this project

Sheet Metal and Weldment Design

Concept Sketching

Iterative Prototyping

Mock Models

Project testimonial

What the client said.

“Along our development journey, we assembled a fantastic and diverse fulfillment team, including design and coding partners from the USA and Australia. [For] industrial design, we [worked] with SGW Designworks, a specialist team made famous in the Eric Ries' bestseller The Lean Startup for their capacity to expertly select from a diverse range of manufacturing techniques to rapidly implement, test, and deliver high-quality products.”

Joshua Young

Founder, AUUG

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