Tergeo — Dong Hye Kim

Introduction

Product inspired by COVID-19 pandemic aims to seamlessly integrate the sanitization process into spaces. Design process for Tergeo was heavily influenced by translating the sense of ‘safety’ in a visual shape and its overall form. Front graphic was inspired by a shield and rounded edges make the device seem more user friendly.

Full business plan and market analysis were conducted with a team from UCLA School of Management. I was in charge of initiating the product strategy and visual language of not only the product itself, but also the brand and its marketing materials.

My Role: Design Lead

People Involved: Dong Hye Kim, Sarah Park, Pranshu Garg, Tian Ye, GeeYun Chae, Junyi Li, Tai Nguyen

Timeframe: 8 Weeks

Skills:
Product Development
Target Market Research
Business Plan Development
Market (TAM & TSM)
Design
CMF
Prototyping

Tools:
Adobe Illustrator (Layout)
Blender (Modeling & Visualization)
Keyshot (Material Visualization)
Rhinoceros (Refined Modeling)
SLA Printer (Prototyping)

Problem

Covid-19 has brought a wave of new policies required at all shops. These include the availability of sanitizer for the public, use of masks, and sanitizing surfaces after customer use. However, despite the mandatory sanitation order, most stores sanitize less than one would expect. Due to factors such as untrained employees, the sheer amount of customers in a store or the lack of fear towards Covid-19.

How can a small device sanitize different items and spaces effectively?

Goal

The goal of Tergeo is to help reduce the number of covid cases through adequate sanitation while reducing manual intervention. UV-C light is an upcoming, new technology that is not only efficient for sanitizing surfaces, but it is relatively cheap as well. A school that has a UV-C air sanitizing equipment had 13.3% infection rate compared to the 53.6% infection among the population. While this data does pertain to the 1930s - 1940s measles epidemic, that fact does not detract from the impact of this data. It still demonstrates an empirical relationship between UV sanitation methods and the reduction of transmission of disease - a fact that will not change with the passage of time.

Market Analysis

Our primary target market will be retail chain stores. Tergeo can be placed on high touched surfaces such as credit card readers, self-checkout zones, restroom door knobs, or even on elevation buttons to prevent further contamination of the virus. The workers in the retail stores will mostly be using this product on places that need frequent sanitizing. Their specific needs will be to ensure safety in the environment and to sanitize the frequently touched areas after every use. The wants will be having a convenient way to sanitize their work environment which there is a heavy foot traffic. By providing the sanitizing after the customer’s use is ensuring the safety for both the workers and the customers. Terego is a perfect solution for people who might have sensitive reactions to hand sanitizers or for the places where it is hard to wipe down frequently. If these products are placed around the chain stores, it will provide a positive experience for customers as they can see how sanitizing is automated in places that they touch.

Ideation

The preliminary early design sketches have been made with the same intentions mentioned in the previous section. While we considered making a product with a clip-like form factor in early stages, we decided to explore another sticker-like concept where a small product is able to attach to any flat surfaces. This would not only lower the complexity of the product, but also lower the manufacturing costs, allow more flexible uses as the shape is more adaptable to its potential settings, and make the packaging smaller in order to lower shipping costs. In terms of materials, the device will most likely be constructed out of thermoplastics to lower manufacturing costs and to make the product last longer with its durability. Thermoplastic would also allow us to completely seal the product, making it waterproof and weather-resistant, allowing the product to be used in outdoor settings. For example, they could also be installed to sanitize door handles on store’s doors. Preliminary visualization of the product and its parts are rendered as shown below.

Key Features

Necessary features identified from customer surveys and insights.

The Far-UVC light will be safe for external use even if the user comes in contact with the light for a short duration of the time. However, the device is not intended to be used on skin.

Our devices will utilize government approved sanitization methods for reliable results.

To save time, sanitizing modules will be embedded with sensors and batteries to activate on its own without the need of a worker.

Tergeo will be low effort and cost effective as it only requires the internal battery to be replaced twice a year.

Sketches

Solution

Within the eight-week timeframe my team was able to some up with a full business plan addressing 3Cs (Company, Competition, Customer), STP (Segment, Targeting, Positioning), and 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). And I was able to design and prototype a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) in a ten-day timeframe.