ok, so i was about to take a shower (this is relevant due to the einstein quote "why do i always have my best ideas in the shower?" my best guess is because you're totally relaxed & able to be creative with your clear mind.) & an automotive idea popped into my mind and then kept on evolving as i contemplated it.
then i thought, holy crapola, that might actually work... and if it does, wow!
obviously i'm being vague on purpose because if there's a commercial application for it, i may just pursue it after some uber top secret trials & testing of a prototype or two.
i've actually dreamt up vivid "sketches" without actually touching pencil to paper of a few different ways my idea could become reality.
1) entirely mechanical. has some drawbacks, but it could work & would be extremely simple and inexpensive to produce.
2) electronic. probably the best way to make it as a stand alone device. still very simple and could be mass produced very inexpensively. this version could also be integrated into other dissimilar, but complementing, devices. i'm next to electronically retarded, but the circuit(s) required would be so simple that i could probably rig up a large scale working model with less than $10 worth of parts.
3) software based. due to what my idea is, rather than using other forms of input, certain data could be drawn from the car itself or other devices & then manipulated to perform the same tasks as a mechanical or electronic version.
i've only shared this idea with a couple close friends so far, and have only gotten feedback from one (which was positive) and i'm awaiting a reply from another who is a nerdgineer extraordinaire by trade who should be able to whip up an electronic prototype faster than it takes me to drop a deuce. well, ok, maybe not that fast... but the circuits required seem simple enough to my non electronics brain that it shouldn't take much.
frat-stration because, well, i knew i'd type quite a bit (frat) and it's likely a frustrating read because i haven't disclosed my idea yet. sorry!
my thoughts now are:
get a prototype of any kind made. test it myself to see if it works as intended. refine & improve v1.1x blah blah. test on friends cars w/ signed non disclosure agreement. potentially do a larger scale field test w/ signed nda's - but that could get very tricky to control as i'd have to trust that others out there aren't reverse engineering it or showing it to others prior to a potential real world market launch. cost benefit study to determine it's fair market value etc.
i just had to share this much as i really think i have a simple idea that could benefit massive numbers of drivers out there... and you know what they say, it's the simple but effective ideas that sell oodles & oodles of copies!
once again, sorry i don't want to disclose it right now... it's too easily replicated. also, it may be some massive flame bait for those who don't like the idea, as with anything it's not for everyone. but if i make one and prove to myself first that it does in fact work, then i'll be better prepared for the onslaught of flame-o-rama that's sure to ensue!
also, one other reason i posted this is that i tend to get jealous when there are "what tools have you invented" type of threads as i used to think all the good simple ideas had already been thought up and executed a million times over & i'll never think of anything in my life to contribute to such a thread... but then there i was about to hop in the shower a few days ago (i've showered several times since lol) and it hit me, an idea!
if anyone out there has any real world experience with the process of taking an idea like this and making it real, from any aspect of involvement, please feel free to post or IM as i'm feeling like a knowledge absorbing sponge right now and wouldn't mind learning all i can about possibly making this simple "flash of genius" (no, it's not a windshield wiper, and i've never seen the movie.) into a possible reality.
Has idea, won't tell us what it is, wants advice on said idea.
Quote, originally posted by LethaOne »
I like VWs because I tink they are prety kool cars eh kill aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.
Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »
Never mind the 20 speakers, the ****er's got interstellar hyperdrive and it's doing a burnout on the everloving space time continuum! TWIN TURBO WHAT BITCHES
Wouldn't it be somewhat smart to give us a general idea of what it is to make sure that someone hasn't already come up with it? I say this because I remember a friend of mine wondering why cars don't have massaging seats...
ok, I hate the cool story, bro thing but this one deserves it more than any thread I have seen!
Are you drunk? "I have any idea that I am going to make a thread for but not tell you anything about it except I am going to test it"
On related note, i had the best breakfast ever this morning. You wouldn't believe how great it was and it was even easy to make! But I am not going to tell you what it was or how to make it!
it would be a device to aid drivers with conserving fuel - sort of a hypermiler's aid that would complement the use of a live mpg readout on a fancy trip computer or aftermarket solution such as the scanguageII which i have mounted in my dash.
that's where the potential value of this device is, if it works, as it could potentially save many many times over it's cost in fuel reduction.
and no, it's not a friggin' turbonator or any such hunk of crap like that. it's an entirely different hunk of crap!
Sooo I'm assuming it's something that monitors fuel consumption and interacts with either the car or the driver to promote more efficient driving?
Quote, originally posted by LethaOne »
I like VWs because I tink they are prety kool cars eh kill aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.
Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »
Never mind the 20 speakers, the ****er's got interstellar hyperdrive and it's doing a burnout on the everloving space time continuum! TWIN TURBO WHAT BITCHES
Kind of like the Honda Insight's little orb graphic in the dash that changes color and size depending on fuel consumption?
Not gonna lie, if it was priced affordably I'd buy one for sure.
Quote, originally posted by LethaOne »
I like VWs because I tink they are prety kool cars eh kill aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.
Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »
Never mind the 20 speakers, the ****er's got interstellar hyperdrive and it's doing a burnout on the everloving space time continuum! TWIN TURBO WHAT BITCHES
It won't work. Someone else who's more experienced in the field already though of it and either (a) determined it was impractical/impossible, or (b) patented it. Either way, on the 0.0000001% chance that you actually have a novel and workable idea, you don't have the money to make it happen.
Quote, originally posted by John Lee Pettimore »
then kept on evolving as i contemplated it.
then i thought, holy crapola, that might actually work... and if it does, wow!
obviously i'm being vague on purpose because if there's a commercial application for it, i may just pursue it after some uber top secret trials & testing of a prototype or two.
i've actually dreamt up vivid "sketches" without actually touching pencil to paper of a few different ways my idea could become reality.
1) entirely mechanical. has some drawbacks, but it could work & would be extremely simple and inexpensive to produce.
2) electronic. probably the best way to make it as a stand alone device. still very simple and could be mass produced very inexpensively. this version could also be integrated into other dissimilar, but complementing, devices. i'm next to electronically retarded, but the circuit(s) required would be so simple that i could probably rig up a large scale working model with less than $10 worth of parts.
3) software based. due to what my idea is, rather than using other forms of input, certain data could be drawn from the car itself or other devices & then manipulated to perform the same tasks as a mechanical or electronic version.
i've only shared this idea with a couple close friends so far, and have only gotten feedback from one (which was positive) and i'm awaiting a reply from another who is a nerdgineer extraordinaire by trade who should be able to whip up an electronic prototype faster than it takes me to drop a deuce. well, ok, maybe not that fast... but the circuits required seem simple enough to my non electronics brain that it shouldn't take much.
frat-stration because, well, i knew i'd type quite a bit (frat) and it's likely a frustrating read because i haven't disclosed my idea yet. sorry!
my thoughts now are:
get a prototype of any kind made. test it myself to see if it works as intended. refine & improve v1.1x blah blah. test on friends cars w/ signed non disclosure agreement. potentially do a larger scale field test w/ signed nda's - but that could get very tricky to control as i'd have to trust that others out there aren't reverse engineering it or showing it to others prior to a potential real world market launch. cost benefit study to determine it's fair market value etc.
i just had to share this much as i really think i have a simple idea that could benefit massive numbers of drivers out there... and you know what they say, it's the simple but effective ideas that sell oodles & oodles of copies!
once again, sorry i don't want to disclose it right now... it's too easily replicated. also, it may be some massive flame bait for those who don't like the idea, as with anything it's not for everyone. but if i make one and prove to myself first that it does in fact work, then i'll be better prepared for the onslaught of flame-o-rama that's sure to ensue!
also, one other reason i posted this is that i tend to get jealous when there are "what tools have you invented" type of threads as i used to think all the good simple ideas had already been thought up and executed a million times over & i'll never think of anything in my life to contribute to such a thread... but then there i was about to hop in the shower a few days ago (i've showered several times since lol) and it hit me, an idea!
if anyone out there has any real world experience with the process of taking an idea like this and making it real, from any aspect of involvement, please feel free to post or IM as i'm feeling like a knowledge absorbing sponge right now and wouldn't mind learning all i can about possibly making this simple "flash of genius" (no, it's not a windshield wiper, and i've never seen the movie.) into a possible reality.
tl;dr
/reality check //no offense ///I "invented" overdrive transmissions and inline skates when I was a teenager. Subsequent disappointment ensued.
^ i realize... but it's still exciting just to have an original (to me) idea that may actually work & be useful!
Quote, originally posted by jettafan[atic »
]Kind of like the Honda Insight's little orb graphic in the dash that changes color and size depending on fuel consumption?
Not gonna lie, if it was priced affordably I'd buy one for sure.
never heard of that thing, but kinda something like that - only different & not based off of fuel consumption data.
my other thought besides "really" pursuing it is having some made super simple & cheaply so i could simply retail them online as the guy who made this thing that does that thing until some megacompany shuts me down and says i can't lol.
If I remember correctly from the Top Gear episode the Insight has a little orb in the center of the dash that is little and blue when you're driving very efficiently and gets bigger and turns to red when you drive less efficiently. It's not a gas gauge but just a neat way of showing you how well you're doing.
Quote, originally posted by LethaOne »
I like VWs because I tink they are prety kool cars eh kill aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.
Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »
Never mind the 20 speakers, the ****er's got interstellar hyperdrive and it's doing a burnout on the everloving space time continuum! TWIN TURBO WHAT BITCHES
no sir, but not ridiculously too far off the mark.
it's not any sort of visual gauge that relies on fuel consumption data to display something.
imo it's better in that it's far simpler, likely far less expensive to produce, and could be added onto ANY car - including the ford fusion hybrid - as it may actually complement the "leaves" and further assist the driver in their objective of minimizing fuel consumption.
Ok, this sounds pretty sketchy, it doesn't rely on fuel consumption data but it promotes efficient driving? And it's not a visual aid? So what data will it rely on to promote efficient driving? Does it make a noise that tells you when to shift? And where would it plug into? The OBD-II port? The more this goes on the less sense this makes and the less feasible it sounds.
Quote, originally posted by LethaOne »
I like VWs because I tink they are prety kool cars eh kill aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.
Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »
Never mind the 20 speakers, the ****er's got interstellar hyperdrive and it's doing a burnout on the everloving space time continuum! TWIN TURBO WHAT BITCHES
Okay John Lee, here goes. Let the haters hate, I will support innovation...
The real trick to introducing anything new and getting it built is to understand the financial implications of what you want to build.
Since what you want to build is essentially electrical, a module with a readout you have two primary cost components, the readout itself which might be easily made or sourced off the rack and the control board which is your IP. Then there is packaging, the case, buttons, switchgear.
Kicker with these is costs are driven by volume, which means if you can build a million of them they cost less per unit than if you build ten. Complicated boards in the hundred or thousands in units can be $60-120 apiece and that is unpackaged so you need to get costs down and features up in the design phase. But you have to be sure the unit will sell, and you have to built in some degree of upgradeability.
I would try to gather a reasonable set of requirements- IOW from potential customers what they might expect - these look like:
Unit shall be able to calculate fuel economy from user defined inputs or predefined entries; Unit shall be able to display in km/liter, l/100km, and mphr; etc.
And take the list to a control board contract manufacturer (Thomas' Register) with a simple NDA and see if they can give you a rough cut idea of how much content such a feature set is going to require- what size board layout, how many layers, how many components, and if the volumes are at x or y level what attach methods they might use, surface mount, etc. Aim for a prototyper with at least medium volume capability.
Once you get an idea of what the board might cost in volume and in prototype, now you can have someone also estimate the plastic housings, easier parts to source like buttons and screens. You generate a should cost in prototype and at volume.
This is what you need for your business plan, that is how much financing you need to build a unit to test it (proof of concept) and eventually how much you must price the unit and how many you need to sell in order to break even.
The business plan generally uses best case and worst case volume figures to determine best case and worst case cash flows by month. You will also need a capacity plan and an exit plan (that is, what do you do if you decide for some reason you need to exit the business, under what circumstances would you sell? etc.) But you cannot even get to this point which is the key point in the exercise without some kind of design review of likely costs.
That's your starting point. Marketing also matters. You need to also develop data on what customers are willing to pay and what possible substitutes (note do nothing is always a customer option, too) there might be on the market. There would need to be some determination of customer willingness to pay what you think you might need to charge. A brilliant capacity plan at fifty bucks a unit is not helpful is customers will only pay twenty five.
Go get'em.
Quote, originally posted by Dreek »
Working on and driving a 928 is like spinning the wheel at the Thunderdome. No good will come of it.
Quote, originally posted by VarianceVQ »
A near-new G35 or an older, busted Audi... Why don't you just ask me which one of my hands I would like to chop off?
I do have an educational background in manufacturing & production management/process improvement etc, so I do know a thing or ten about how things get produced.
However, I'd just like to point out that your assumption is that my idea is a lot more complex than it needs to be. It's much simpler & requires fewer less expensive components than you described, and IF it works as I predict it will provide a pretty quick ROI to it's buyers in the form of reduced fuel costs.
Can it do better than the shift indicators installed in cars (such as, e.g., the MkVI Golf)?
Maybe. A test will tell. But it definitely can do something different than shift lights. Heck, my 1985 Golf CL had a shift light in it.. but I don't think shift lights are very common items on most cars.
it would be a device to aid drivers with conserving fuel - sort of a hypermiler's aid that would complement the use of a live mpg readout on a fancy trip computer or aftermarket solution such as the scanguageII which i have mounted in my dash.
Like Ford's EcoDash that puts leaves on the display as your overall fuel economy improves with driving style?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Blue Oval got there last year.
Reliability is relative. Compared to a British roadster, all Volkswagens are reliable.
Passatworld Mrs 1.8T CarDomain Blog Bolt. Recaro recovery, bow headliners, Cabriolet fixin's and other misc hard and soft goods for VWs
it would be a device to aid drivers with conserving fuel - sort of a hypermiler's aid
You mean like a more advanced version of the doesn't-really-work 'live' MPG gauge on a BMW from decades ago. Which you ignore anyway because the noise is best at lower numbers.
I also HATE the new style in stop-start BMs that's always telling me to change up to 5th at 30MPH. NO.
It doesn't have any sort of MPG readout or indicator symbol (numbers or leaves etc) and nor is it any sort of shift light. It also doesn't rely on fuel consumption, velocity, or acceleration data at all in order to convert to the output signal this device would provide that would (hypothetically) assist that driver in driving more fuel efficiently.
lol I've only ever seen a few episodes of that. Do these clowns have some sort of hair brained money making idea that goes sideways in every single episode?
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