Consumer

Smart Coffee Grinder

GIR identified an opportunity to develop a portable, web-connected coffee grinder for connoisseurs, and engaged SGW Designworks to develop fully functional prototypes of the product.

Client:

Voltaire

Services provided:

Electronics and Embedded Systems

Product Design

Prototyping

Mechanical Engineering

Date:

2016

project summary

Fully functional prototypes for the Voltaire Cloud-Connected Coffee Grinder were built and provided to GIR for sales presentations and development of a Kickstarter campaign.

Challenge

Product Vision

GIR has set the standard for innovation — which is seen in the quality and functionality of its line of kitchen utensils.

In addition to its existing products, the consumer goods company had a vision for a battery-powered, web-connected (IoT) coffee grinder for connoisseurs, but had not yet developed a design for the system.

GIR recognized from the beginning that they would need to work with a product development company to develop functional prototypes for the product, and engaged SGW Designworks.

The project would require the development of a small, efficient drive train to manage the high torque needed for grinding, as well as the development of an intuitive user interface with a rotary encoder. The device would need to incorporate cloud connectivity and freshness detection in the late stages of development, which made this a classic IoT device development effort.

delivery

Final Outcome

SGW Designworks took the product from concept through development, and eventually to manufacturing handoff.

The project required mechanical design, electronics development, firmware engineering, and iOS app prototyping — including a lot of iteration and testing from our mechanical team as well as our IoT development and embedded systems group.

Multiple prototype and testing cycles led to the optimal design and feature set, and these prototypes were used for a successful Kickstarter campaign prior to commercialization. In August of 2016, the Voltaire successfully reached the Kickstarter funding threshold, allowing the ramp-up of a final design for manufacture and design optimization.

In the coming years, GIR hired SGW Designworks as their product design firm on other projects, including the innovative GIR Tongs.