4DESIGN

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Emotiv is a neuroinformatics company focused on providing electroencephalography (EEG) headsets to democratize brain research and brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. We have three products in the market and multiple others in development. I am the technical project manager in charge of delivery, managing all external contractors and manufacturers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 4DESIGN?

We have worked with 4DESIGN for more than nine years. They have been the industrial/mechanical design house that has supported us from concept to manufacturing on all of our current products in the market. Since we are a small team, they provide the skills and expertise that would be too difficult for us to recruit internally.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to develop a truly innovative step in our products.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have been working together for longer than I have been at the business. They have brought a wealth of experience. The team always delivers good work, are on time, and usually stick to the budget.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our leadership team worked with 4DESIGN to bring our initial product to market when times were very lean, first with our EEG headset product EPOC (and then EPOC +) and then with our BCI product INSIGHT. 

They highlighted the pain points in the products and suggested remedies to solve the issues as they came up. Full services have included support in concept development, industrial design, mechanical design, tooling assistance, tool trial and sample changes, add packaging design. They’ve also ensured that the products fit with the existing design scheme.

The next generation of products is going to be a step change and drastically increase our market size.

What was the team composition?

We work with 1–2 designers and have daily contact with the director who provides updates. The team size changes depending on the amount of work and delivery times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Their involvement made our projects a success, and we are still going strong 10 years later after our first product. Together we’ve developed EPOC +, INSIGHT, Flex, and two new products. There are always little hiccups during development, but they will bring them to our attention as soon as discovered.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We communicate through regular meetings face-to-face, calls, Skype, and email. They are not located far from our offices, so it is usual to speak at least once a week. The team has been effective in delivering our products and knowing what the challenges were.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everyone is very friendly and approachable. We get to speak to all of the team, and they are willing to spend the time required to assure that the right decisions are made.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could improve on estimations on timelines. But It’s also very difficult when we have such aggressive expectations. Not to mention, they are working on a development project where the jobs to get to the goal are not always known.