Wireless Headphones

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Wireless Headphones

• The Art and Science of Engineering Design

Kaitlin Halady Shilpa Sarkar
Carolina Jaramillo Román
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What is the problem?

• Todays headphones arent giving users a 100
  enjoyable, perfect music experience
• Wireless headphones are too expensive for the
  average college student

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What will solve the problem?

• Reasonably priced
• High quality
• Comfortable
• Give consumer unrestricted
• range of motion
• Water-resistant

4
Why wireless?

• Problems with wire
• Knots and tangles
• Limits range of motion
• Potential safety hazard
• Constant re-adjustment

• Reasoning
• Direction of market
• Competitors
• Latest products

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The Survey General Info

• 89 students at Stanford University

• 100 use headphones

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The Survey Brands

• Other brands Panasonic, Sennheiser, Audio
  Technica, Samsung, Creative, Grado, Beyerdynamic,
  Etymotic, Koss, Uknown, Skull candy, V-moda,
  JVC-Gummy)

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The Survey Type of Headphone
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The Survey Headphone Usage
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The Survey Hours of use per day

• lt1 17
• 1-2 44
• 3-5 18
• 5 2

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Survey Important Factors
Most Important Important Less Important Least Important
Price 33.7 25.8 27 13.5
Comfort 40.4 28.1 25.8 5.6
Style 5.6 7.9 24.7 61.8
Sound quality 20.2 38.2 22.5 19.1
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The Survey Have your headphones ever felt
uncomfortable?

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If a pair of 60 to 80 wireless ear buds was on
the market, would you purchase them?
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Objective Tree
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Detailed Design

• Inner-ear bud
• Adjustable over-ear piece
• User Interface
• Charger/Adapter
• Materials
• Colors
• Retail
• Scheduling

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The Headphones

• Left headphone
• 100 mAh battery, four hours playing time
• Charging plug
• Lights to signal power and bluetooth signal
• Right headphone
• Circuit board
• Bluetooth chip/antenna
• Controls for the two wheels (track and volume
  changing/power)
• Switches, capacitors, resisters, and other
  technical components that make headphones
  possible

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Canalphones

• Directly into the ear canal
• Natural seal
• Traditional type
• Sleeves
• foam

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Adjustable Behind-ear piece

• Rigid backbone
• Adjust vertically to fit different size ears
• Rotate up to a 90 degree angle from earbud for
  maximum comfort

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User Interface

• Wheels (Right)
• Volume
• lt100 decibels
• Track (toggle)
• LED Light (Left)
• Bluetooth
• Power

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Materials

• Plastic
• Paint
• Foam
• Plastidip
• Soft elastomer

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Colors

• Pink
• Blue
• Black
• White

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Technical Components
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The Charger

• Portable
• 1000 mAh battery ( 15 hours hours of playback
  time)
• Plug to charge headphones in case
• USB port on the outside with a wire that plugs in
  to an electrical outlet
• When plugged into a wall it is a standard charger
• When unplugged it is a compact carrying case that
  can supply power to the headphones

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The Adapter

• Takes the analog signal from the iPod and
  converts it to digital so it can be sent
  wirelessly to the users headphones
• Plugs into the iPod
• Bluetooth chip in a circuit board
• Runs off of the iPod battery.

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Morph Chart
Means 1 2 3 4
Feature/function
Transmit music wirelessly Bluetooth RF transmitter (FM) Infrared transmitter (WiFi)
Compatibility One brand of mp3 player Multiple brands
Shape Earbuds Earbuds with over-ear piece Canalphones (in-ear) Supra-aural headphones
Material of headphone Silicone rubber Elastomate Foam
Water resistance material Plastidip Polypropylene Mylar
Power for headphones Charger (plugs into outlet) Container with charger Docking Station
User interface Buttons on headphones Be controlled by mp3 player Mix some buttons on headphones, others mp3
Battery Goes in both headphones Goes in one headphone
Storage Carrying case Charging carrying case Magnetized
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Alternative Designs

• Connecting Wire
• Aural Headphones vs. Earbud
• Compatibility
• User Interface Placement/Type
• Over-the-ear Piece

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Budget

• (Headphones Adaptor Charger) 17.50
• 17.50 x 3.5 61.25
• 17.50 x 4 70.00
• Retail price somewhere between 60 and 70

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Piece Estimated Cost (Dollars)
Headphone
Battery (100 mAh) .50
Bluetooth (includes digital-to-analog converter) 4.00
Material (Foam, Plastic, TPE) 1.00
Packaging .75
Chip to charge battery 1.00
Other components (switches, LEDs, resisters, capacitors, etc.) 1.75
Plasti-Dip . 50
Charger-case
Plastics 1.00
AC power adapter 1.50
Adapter
Plastic Casing .50
Bluetooth 4.00
Circuit Board/Electronics 1.00
TOTAL 17.50
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Retail

• X 4, X 3.5
• Selling
• Shipping
• Middlemen
• Store
• Online

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Scheduling

• (for hypothetical release of product)
• 0 wks - Design start
• 4 wks - Industrial Design
• 4 wks - Mechanical Design
• 6 wks - Tooling design and fabrication
• Less than 12 wks for electrical design, so this
  is not critical path to this point.
• 14 weeks, 1st milestone - First prototype
• 8 weeks to get from first to final prototypes
• 4 weeks to get FCC certification
• 26 weeks, then mass production would start

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The Competition Jaybird JB-100

• Released Fall 2007
• Online Market
• 180.00 (with adapter)

• Cons
• High Price
• No User Interface
• Wire between headphones
• Volume too low/No bass
• Only available online
• Doesnt fit all ear sizes

• Pros
• In-ear Bluetooth headset
• Noise canceling
• Water/sweat resistant
• Comes with charging dock and mesh case

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The Competition Sennheiser MXW1

• Release May 2008
• In Store Market
• 599.00

• Pros
• Twist and Fit System
• Kleer Technology
• Higher Battery Life
• Received Editors Choice Award in 2008 at
  Consumer Electronic Tradeshow

• Cons
• High Price
• New technology
• No current customer reviews

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What will the future bring?

• Market movement to wireless
• Evolving design
• Compatibility
• New technology (Kleer)
• Cheaper costs for technical components