I-Corps: Shape-Morphing Objects - A Platform for Innovation

I-Corps：变形物体 - 创新平台

• 批准号: 1639142
• 负责人: Craig Lusk
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-05-15 至 2017-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1639142&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Shape; Morphing; Objects; Platform

This project's main idea is to assess the commercial potential of a variety of innovative shape-transforming structures. These shape-transforming objects go through changes in shape, such as shrinking and expanding, which would make the shape better at performing its function. Shape-changing structures may add value to existing products and may enable new ones. As an example, a shape-transforming car bumper may be better in car crashes. These bumpers would increase the durability of car, because damage would be immediately fixable by the driver, giving lower or no replacement costs. In the event of a small accident, using a shape-changing bumper could avoid having to replace the whole bumper. This would make the automotive industry more efficient due to fewer junked cars and parts. Furthermore, the lower cost, time, and effort of fixing a car would increase customer satisfaction. Another possibility may be shape-transforming architectural design of homes. In particular, changeable roof heights can be designed to adapt to seasonal changes. In the summer, roofs could expand to increase airflow; whereas, a lower ceiling would maximize heat efficiency during the winter. This project will help better understand how to adapt the proposed technologies to specific customer's needs and expectations. The project will involve at least 100 interviews with potential customers and partners. This I-Corps team will identify potential customers for the shape-morphing structures and learn in detail their specific needs and wants, so as to have an accurate understanding of the value proposition that the team can provide its customers. This activity will improve the team's understanding of delivery channels and how to cultivate customer relationships. The team will also learn how to approach potential customers, and to develop custom products that meet their specific needs. The I-Corps training will help the team ground their new technology in real-world challenges and opportunities. Because this team has both long and short term objectives, the team will follow a barbell approach in which they target 50% of resources and interviews towards the development of a single short-term product that seems to be low risk and could have immediate viability. Simultaneously, the team would invest 50% of its resources on interviews and customer discovery related to a diverse array of longer term, riskier and perhaps more profitable applications.

该项目的主要思想是评估各种创新形状变形结构的商业潜力。这些形状变换的物体会经历形状的变化，例如收缩和膨胀，这将使形状更好地发挥其功能。形状变化的结构可以为现有产品增加价值，并可以催生新产品。举个例子，变形的汽车保险杠在车祸中可能会更好。这些保险杠将提高汽车的耐用性，因为驾驶员可以立即修复损坏，从而降低或无需更换成本。如果发生小事故，使用变形保险杠可以避免更换整个保险杠。由于报废汽车和零部件的减少，这将使汽车行业更加高效。此外，修理汽车的成本、时间和精力的降低也会提高客户满意度。另一种可能性可能是改变房屋形状的建筑设计。特别是，可以设计可变的屋顶高度以适应季节变化。在夏天，屋顶可以扩大以增加气流；而较低的天花板可以最大限度地提高冬季的热效率。该项目将有助于更好地了解如何使提议的技术适应特定客户的需求和期望。该项目将涉及至少 100 次与潜在客户和合作伙伴的访谈。 I-Corps 团队将识别形状变形结构的潜在客户，并详细了解他们的具体需求和愿望，以便准确了解团队可以为客户提供的价值主张。这项活动将提高团队对交付渠道以及如何培养客户关系的理解。 该团队还将学习如何接触潜在客户，并开发满足其特定需求的定制产品。 I-Corps 培训将帮助团队将新技术应用于现实世界的挑战和机遇。由于该团队既有长期目标，也有短期目标，因此该团队将遵循杠铃方法，将 50% 的资源和访谈用于开发单一短期产品，该产品似乎风险较低，并且可以立即实现。同时，该团队将投入 50% 的资源用于与各种长期、风险更高且可能更有利可图的应用程序相关的访谈和客户发现。