Prototyping is an important part of the product design process, it is used by designers to test and get feedback about the use and response regarding a new product or concept. Here I present a few tools used to prototype electronics and gadgets.
Arduino
Arduino is based on open-source hardware and software, it’s easy to use and cheaper than other non-open-source platforms. The Arduino programming language is based on Wiring, a programming environment started at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy and farther developed at the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia.
You can basically prototype everything with Arduino.
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An Arduino prototype using LCD display to blink a message. Picture by mbiddulph
The Open Softwear book is the result of a research combining Arduino and the fashion industry. As the authors say, this book could be useful for students and professionals trying to enter the field of physical computing from the softwear perspective. The book is available for free here: http://softwear.cc/
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Bug Labs
Bug Labs is another open-source system like Arduino but composed by several modules that don’t need to be soldered. With them, it is easy to create mashups to prototype future electronic device designs. There is a LCD module, another one for audio, another one for motion sensing and more.
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Picture from Bug Labs |
Shapeways
If you don’t have access to any 3D printing facility you might want to give Shapeways a try, a 3D printing service that delivers in a few days the 3D parts you upload. The website has its own community, thing that it could be helpful in some cases, for example if you are looking for other designers’ opinion. It also has a 3D parts database that you could use for your prototypes.
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A user uploaded a 3D model of a USB memory stick to get it printed a few days later. Pictures from user psau3 at Shapeways
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