What is the Ilane? 
iLane is a voice control product that works with any smart phone. Developed before smartphone makers integrated voice command solutions, the iLane broke new ground. The initial market for smartphones was for business executives. Initially designed as a hands-free productivity tool, the iLane still leads in features such as voice control of menus and commands for an improved hand-free driving experience. By reading emails and text messages allowed, as well as enabling voice control over the phone and data applications, the iLane enable safe, behind the wheel productivity.

Team Work - Enabling everyone's best contributions
Advanta has a very experienced and creative team. That being said, we certainly don't have all the answers, nor all the specialties covered. We believe some humility can go a long way to fostering genuine collaboration amongst product development team members. Everyone has a part to play. Almost without exception, we have the great privilege of learning something new from each of our clients. They are visionaries who have specific expertise to bring to market as a product. Other experts such as electronics designers, software developers, manufacturers, fluid dynamics and stress specialists (CFD and FEA) all enable us to create better products for our clients.

In the iLane instance, Advanta saw the need for an acoustics specialist and encouraged this addition to the team. As a voice activated product, quality sound output is a key user experience factor. Sound quality may seem like a softer part of product excellence, but it is greatly dependent on the design of the physical features around the product. The input of the acoustic specialist made the product better.

Over the years, Advanta has developed the ability to collaborate well with all participants in a product development program. We foster communication, which directly influences product quality and just as importantly, can enable the reduction in total costs to manufacture the product

For the iLane, IMS had objectives, Sanmina wanted smooth manufacturing, acoustics was striving for optimal sound output, and the mechanical designer wanted production efficient parts. Advanta was able to contribute to the communication, which took the mix of wants from every camp, to create an optimized product.

Building Trust, One Deliverable at a Time
Each major Advanta project is initiated with a Project Definition phase that sets out the goals of the program. Taking the time to understand our client's objectives, and who the product is for, pays many dividends.

IMS had some earlier concepts done before engaging with Advanta. When we presented our concepts, the unanimous decision of the senior executives was to go with what Advanta had generated. It was an exhilarating moment which validated the preparation steps undertaken. This also gave IMS the confidence to continue with Advanta as an industrial design resource to complete the development of the iLane.

We believe we were successful in the iLane case because we took the time to understand the context of the new product; understand the aspirations of the client for the product, and uncover the constraints and criteria surrounding the development.

What is in Your Portfolio?
It is not uncommon for a prospective client to want to see a product "just like theirs" in our portfolio. At Advanta, we are generalists who collaborate successfully. We take a methodical approach, and have experienced and seasoned creative and technical teams. Taking our experience in product development and manufacturing connections, and marrying these to our client's specific domain expertise is a recipe that continues to yield quality results for our clients and us.
How can we harness our design expertise to help package your expertise and launch your next product?

Building Trust, One Deliverable at a Time
With a small, detailed product like the iLane, sketches are great for quick initial development. However, to best communicate the precise design ideas, photorealistic renderings from 3D computer models greatly aid in communications. 

These computer rendering can go a long way to communicate a precise visual details in a design idea; however, nothing replaces the experience of interacting with a concept in the real, touching, feeling world. As soon as is practical, Advanta likes to get design concepts into a physical form that clients can interact with. Even quick, crude models go a long way to showing exactly how big, or how heavy something is. We've also learned the hard way that skipping this step early may lead to some rework later on!

Touching the idea
Great products shouldn't only be driven by how good they look. More fundamental questions are: how do people interact with the product, and how does this interaction influence design refinement? We don't waste time and resources guessing. Once we have a sense of how the electronics may be placed in the product, we create quick mockups for us and clients to evaluate. Often these models are simple pieces of foam or wood. However a lot can be learned from them. Can the device be easily grasped? Does that button placement feel right? Does the size work with small hands and big hands? Is the display angle readable? Intuition can be strong, but it can also be wrong! Getting to a physical representation early in the process can save a lot of cost and heart ache.

Prototyping
 Advanta uses Solidworks to accurately model all the components of a design in 3D. These models can be rendered as photo-like images, or used to create rapid prototypes. Once initial foam models are complete, or perhaps instead of them, rapid prototyping comes into play. Many prototyping technologies are available to us. From the original stereolithography, to FDM, to Objet to high-speed CNC machining, each method has a particular strength. Every project has different challenges and requirements. Advanta will choose which of these prototyping methods best suits the objectives.

Iconic details make for strong branding 
Audio products typically communicate the idea of a speaker through an array of perforated holes, or with a metal grill. Our minds have a pre-conceived idea of what a speaker should look like. For quality audio, a speaker doesn't necessarily have be that way. With the iLane primarily an audio product, it this standard approach could have been an obvious approach. Instead Advanta turned a possible visual liability into an iconic detail. Using Ilane logo as a crest, we decided to hide the speaker behind a levitated design feature. To achieve the look and the finesse required, we worked with first with the audio consultant to optimize the performance and output of sound. The next step was getting the quality details in the crest we were looking for. Northern engraving worked with our design files to develop the perfect nameplate. With their assistance and in collaboration with the client, we explored a great number of options, colors, shapes and finishes. The end result is a stamped crest that has a metallic finish in relief. The speaker is protected, the sound quality is excellent, and visually, the crest adds a unique touch for a consumer product that fits into an automotive environment.

The nameplate is built out of aluminum and has a total of three different surface finishes to give it an appearance of outstanding quality. The crest is installed onto a custom injection molded plastic part with high-performance transfer tape. This subassembly is mounted over the speaker cavity, concealing it while contributing to the overall volume and quality of the device sound output.

Design Intent – ensuring the vision makes it through to execution 
Once a design concept has been proposed and agreed upon, the concept is in place, but the work is only partly done. A key remaining design task is to Shepard the intended look and feel – the design intent – through the many compromises that come up as the product gets ready for manufacture.

Accommodating changes in components, or well-intentioned (but potentially less than beautiful) cost savings efforts, can compromise the integrity of a design. Through careful up-front planning and open communication, the complete vision for the product can make it through to production. For the iLane, a third party completed the mechanical design. To assist with this hand-off, Advanta provided complete 3D models of all parts, with a well-defined surface model and and technical guidance notes. Regular design reviews, which Advanta attended, afforded the opportunity to make minor adjustments as the detail design was finalized. The completed product reflects the initial vision of the concept.