Innovation-Direct: Case Study No: 36

Client: Enjoy Birds More Limited

Product Description: 

Internet linked Bird Box with video camera, enabling users to watch nesting birds, and share footage and images with an on-line web community.  Major innovative aspects of the product include i) optical system for daytime colour pictures and infra red at night, ii) economic use of battery power and iii) housing the electronics and optics in a quick release housing which can be moved to another box, should the birds decide to nest elsewhere.

Critical Issue: 

Designing a quick release housing for the electronics and optics that positioned and protected its payload, allowed users to maintain it and importantly enabled the electronics/optics to be moved from one bird box to another with a minimum of disruption to the resident birds.

What we did:

Innovation-Direct, working with Peter Bubb of Enjoy Birds More, produced conceptual designs of the products electronics/optics housings and also developed a brief for a suitable wooden bird box.  A balance was struck with the design between the needs of the technology, the user and importantly the birds.  Proto-type housings were produced from which soft tooling was produced to generate testable models.  Methods of manufacture were also explored in conjunction with Plastics West Midlands. 

Outcome:

Enjoy Birds More were able to combine this development with the electronics development, and launch this ground-breaking product.  Sales are moving ahead and the project was short listed in the 2004 Lord Stafford awards, as well as being featured on BBC TV and in the press. 

For more information contact: S Ward at Innovation Direct on 02476 574294 or Peter Bubb at Enjoy Birds More on 01675 442656 or at peter.bubb@enjoybirdsmore.co.uk or visit www.enjoybirdsmore.co.uk.

 

Issued: September 05