A Descriptive Paper Detailing the Product of ‘The Matchmaker Project’
Craig M. Gilkey
Student ID D005
CS 411W Lab Call Number 29333
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Meeting Singles At Social Functions Is Going Wireless.
By Craig Gilkey, Staff Writer. Written 18Dec2004
Dating experts agree that for long lasting relationships to succeed,
compatibility needs to be the primary component (Mason, Sullivan, 2003).
However, most singles would contend that it’s tough trying to find someone with
the same interests without having to enlist some help. This ‘help’ often comes in
the form of a meeting others through a trusted friend or though an online Internet
dating service. But neither of these two methods come in handy at group
functions like singles cruises or at Moose Lodge get-togethers. At large group
functions, a friend’s knowledge about all the individuals present isn’t very deep.
Often friends aren’t even too sure who is single. An Internet dating service like
Match.com might be utilized by only a handful of people at a particular group
function. And this handful of Match.com users might not contain anyone with
whom you are ‘compatible.’ This leaves singles with an unanswered question:
how can I find compatible people while I’m at my favorite get-together?
Enter the MatchMaker device (MatchMaker Group, 2004). A product
designed for singles that travel or frequently attend social gatherings like singles’
cruises. The MatchMaker is a lightweight, small device capable of matching up
individuals with similar interests. A user answers a multiple-choice questionnaire
concerning his or her interests, and this information is stored as the device’s
‘user survey.’ The device broadcasts its own user survey and works in tandem
with other MatchMaker devices to determine which user’s surveys are
compatible. The surveys are relayed from device to device via a wireless,
electronic signal each one broadcasts. After receiving another user’s survey, the
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device uses a program to determine if the two profiles are ‘compatible.’ Once
compatibility is determined, the device transmits a picture image to the other
device along with a picture request from the other device. The vibration device in
each device activates, and each user sees a picture image and profile in the
Liquid Crystal Display screen.
But what does a consumer get when he or she purchases a Matchmaker
device? The device is packaged in a 2 inch deep white cardboard box. The box’s
front panel sports the MatchMaker logo: “The MatchMaker… Get connected to
the right relationship.” The box contains the MatchMaker device, two double AA
batteries, a male to male Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector cord, a Compact
Disc (CD), and a small book labeled ‘User’s Manual.’ The bottom of the box
details what’s required by the user to utilize the device. Consumers who invest in
a MatchMaker device should be particularly aware of these requirements. The
device requires a computer possessing the following features: a Compact Disc
Read Only Memory drive (CD ROM drive), Windows 98, 2000, or XP Operating
System, and an available Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. A USB port serves as
a means of transmitting data between a computer and the MatchMaker device.
The device is equipped with its own Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on the side
panel opposite the antennae. To link up the computer to the device, a user would
insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive of his or her own computer, plug in the USB
male-to-male connector cord (provided in the packaging) into both the
MatchMaker device and the user’s own computer, and follow the instructions
provided by the application started by the CD. The application program consists
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of 45 multiple choice questions about the user and a session to download a
picture image. The MatchMaker device is not concerned about how the user gets
the picture image into the user’s own computer. Scanning a picture via a scanner
is the best and easiest method by far. The MatchMaker device prefers to utilize
pictures stored as bit maps (Windows abbreviates the file type as ‘bmp’), but any
time of image will work. After downloading the picture, the user is prompted to
register the product via the internet by entering his or her name, email address
and the serial number on the back of the MatchMaker device. Once
programmed, the user can take a closer look at the device itself.
The exterior features of the MatchMaker device help define the device as
being both ‘portable’ and ‘easy to use.’ The device is small and lightweight. It
weighs just less than 1 pound, and fits easily into a pocket or onto a belt (thanks
to a molded plastic clip-hinge on the side). A small, hard-rubber antennae juts out
from the top, and a push button rubber keypad sits underneath a color Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD).There are four simple buttons on the keypad: an Up/Down
selector, a green lettered ‘OK’ button, a red lettered ‘Power/End’ button, and a
blue lettered ‘Clear’ button. The Up/Down selector serves as a means of
choosing options that appear on the LCD screen. The ‘OK’ button allows the user
to select and confirm an option, while the ‘Clear’ button returns the user to
whatever option he or she was previously at. The ‘Power’ button simply activates
or deactivates the device, depending on whether it is on or off. To notify the user
of a compatibility match, the device incorporates a small, vibrating device inside
the plastic body. The vibration is nearly noiseless, and is similar to the same type
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used by pagers and cellular phones. The device’s close resemblance to a cellular
phone (especially from the above mentioned features) is no coincidence. The
MatchMaker Group designed the device’s appearance to prevent users from
feeling awkward about carrying around a new ‘gadget.’ In the fall of 2003, the
MatchMaker Group performed a test trial of 350 devices on a 7-day cruise
aboard the Carnival Sensation. Upon receiving the device, from most individuals
in the test group responded, “Is this a cellular phone?”
The Matchmaker device isn’t as adept at compatibility matching as
Internet based dating services like Match.com. In particular, Match.com
empowers their compatibility-based matching through two means: acquiring a
large database of customers and by introducing professional psychological
opinion into the process (Sullivan, 2003). The MatchMaker Group confesses that
their process to build a ‘compatibility determining’ program involved much simpler
methods. The first method involved gathering results from 1,000 surveys posted
in the fall of 2003 during the test trial on the Sensation. The second method was
constructed by taking six existing compatibility based matching services (like
Match.com) and determining what categories were most frequently used to
determine compatibility. The resulting conglomerate of ranked categories was
combined with the survey results to build two things: both the MatchMaker ‘user
survey’ and a method of comparing the surveys. As mentioned before, the
MatchMaker device doesn’t have the compatibility matching depth of Match.com
or E-harmony. But the MatchMaker device’s portability still helps distinguish itself
from Internet based dating services.
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The MatchMaker is covered under a 90 day warranty. If the device does
not function at any time within 90 days of purchase, Matchmaker will send the
user a new device upon receipt of the original damaged one, and reimburse the
user for shipping charges. Damage occurring from negligence is not covered.
The MatchMaker Group defines ‘negligence’ as any damage caused by the user
or through improper use. However, if you are concerned about the likelihood of
breaking this device, rest easy. The MatchMaker Research Team devoted three
months of shock testing to the design prototype. As a result, the hard-plastic
molded body has edges covered with hard rubber to prevent breakage from
dropping or other accidents.
The MatchMaker device is powered by two double ‘AA’ size alkaline
batteries. The batteries are housed inside the device, and are accessible through
a hinge operated latching cover. The total power provided by these two batteries
is around at 3.0 Volts. The device operates for 1.5 hours under ‘constant use’.
According to the User Manual, ‘constant use’ is defined as a period when the
device sends or receives 1 transmission per second. The device will operate for
24 hours if it receives no signals at all.
As mentioned before, the MatchMaker device transmits and receives
electronic signals as a means to transfer user surveys and picture images. The
transmission process is a fairly simple one (see Figure 1 on the following page).
To transmit data (either a user survey or a picture image), a computer processor
transforms the selected data into a bit stream (a series of ones and zeros). This
bit stream is then transmitted as electronic pulses, which are sent at specific
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intervals of time (known as bits per second). A receiving MatchMaker device
takes the received series of electronic pulses and converts it back into a bit
stream. The received bit stream is then reformed into either an integer
representation of the user survey, or forms an image which can be shown on the
liquid crystal display. To guarantee a reliable means of fast data transfer, the
FIGURE 1
A simplified plan of how
Bluetooth Technology
transmits and receives in its
own wireless environment.
(Top Left) The left and right
arrows indicate the
transmission range (10
meters) and the number of bits
transmitted per second (433.9
thousand/second).
(Top and Bottom Right) The
Piconet diagram illustrates
how between two devices
(nodes), one becomes the
master, while the other
becomes the slave. Similar to
other wireless networks, a
Bluetooth network can utilize
up to 255 devices (nodes).
(SBIR: Hundstad, 2003)
MatchMaker device utilizes a form of wireless transmission known as Bluetooth
technology to transfer both user surveys and picture images.
Bluetooth technology was initially developed by Sony Ericsson to serve as
a high rate of bit transfer for cellular phones. ‘Bluetooth technology’ actually
refers to a small, compact, wireless transmitter/receiver which is contained inside
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the MatchMaker device. Thanks to its high rate of data transfer, Bluetooth
technology is ideal for transmitting both user surveys and pictures back and forth
between MatchMaker devices. At a setting 2.5 Mega Watts, the transmission
range between two MatchMaker devices is set at 10 meters, while the transfer
rate is 433.9 Kilobits per second. What does this compare to in everyday use? A
typical phone line modem retrieves data for a computer at a rate of 56 Kilobits
per second. At this speed, a 3 inch by 6 inch picture would typically be
transferred in 1.3 seconds. The higher transmission rate of Bluetooth technology
would transfer the same picture in 0.2 seconds. For this reason (to ensure rapid
transmission), Bluetooth technology was chosen to be used in the MatchMaker
device.
Although the capability of a large user network is there, restrictions in
MatchMaker device memory limit a network size a fraction of the potential
Bluetooth enabled network. Bluetooth allows up to 255 devices to link up onto the
same wireless network. Each device interacts with the other in a one to one,
master slave configuration. This means that the device receiving the bit stream
(the master) is capable of requesting the photo image from the other device (the
slave). In theory, up to 255 MatchMaker devices could transmit user surveys
simultaneously in one 10 meter area. However, the User Manual notes that the
memory allocation of each MatchMaker device is limited to a much smaller
capacity. Each device can only store up to 25 user surveys and 25 pictures at
one time. This would be fine, except for one detail. During product testing,
MatchMaker devices were clocked at being able to complete a ‘total process’ in
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0.3 seconds (MatchMaker Group, 2003). A ‘total process’ was determined as the
time it took one device to receive, process, and calculate compatibility on an
incoming survey. Although this seems fast, this delay produces a limitation for
the MatchMaker device. If the MatchMaker device is saturated with User Surveys
(i.e. it receives 25 instantaneously), the device will be forced to kick out any
incoming surveys until it can process the initial store in memory. This becomes a
real problem in rooms where there are more than 25 MatchMaker Devices
present. In such conditions, it is highly probable that two users who are perfectly
compatible might miss each other completely.
Further hindrances originating from Bluetooth technology exist as well.
Obviously, the MatchMaker device requires the presence of at least one other
MatchMaker device. According to the User’s Manual, the device will not transmit
through walls and has problems reaching around corners. To get the best
possible signal, the user should utilize the device inside of a large room (where
few obstructions are present).
Critics contend that sending surveys and pictures back and forth via a
wireless media is quite vulnerable to hacking. ‘Hacking’ is a term defining a
security intrusion onto a network by an individual who gains access without
receiving permission or utilizing established protocols. In this case, the ‘network’
consists of whatever MatchMaker devices are attempting to communicate with
one another. As a precaution against intrusion, the MatchMaker devices employ
64-bit encryption. This serves as a means of thwarting an unwanted hacker from
gaining access to information being transmitted back and forth. As a small
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addition of privacy, the MatchMaker device recommends that users only include
their first name in their user survey. Also, there is no available slot in the user
survey for providing a phone number. The MatchMaker Group includes a
disclaimer with the device. This disclaimer cedes the MatchMaker group from
any legal responsibility for ‘the actions others might take by using photos or
information gleaned from transmitted data.’
Some concerns have also been raised about how long the product intends
to stay on the market. The MatchMaker group has just received their final grant
from the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, and hopes to
have the product available to the general public by the summer of 2005 (the
SBIR program is a federally funded program which allows corporations to submit
technologically innovative ideas that will impact society in a positive way). Until
then, the only means of getting one of these devices is by sailing on either a
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) or a Carnival Cruise Line ship. These two cruise
lines purchased a substantial quantity of the MatchMaker devices, and rent them
out to customers for $39 (U.S. dollars). Of course, the customers have to return
the devices at the end of the cruise. Following the test trial in September, initial
responses to this device (on board the two cruise lines) were ecstatic. All 450
MatchMaker devices aboard the NCL Majesty were rented out before the ship
got underway for a 7-day cruise in October. As a result, NCL purchased another
25,000 of these units in November. Best Buy also has the first non-cruise line bid
in for 100,000 of the devices. Initial sales price for the device is expected to be
$129.99 (U.S. Dollars). Plans are in the works to sell the device in Mexico and
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Canada by December of 2005 as well. Resale of the device, like most gadgets, is
questionable at best. The MatchMaker Group acknowledges this, but contends,
‘no one tries to cell their old cellular phones on E-bay, either.’
Although the device has some limitations, it does appear to be the only
affordable gadget on the market to provide compatibility, picture images and
portability under $200.00. Other Bluetooth technology phones, like the Sprint
PCS Treo, do nearly the same functions and work as cellular phones, too.
However, the base price (without a service plan) for the Treo is $389.00. Until the
price comes down on phones like the Treo, the MatchMaker is the only
affordable, no service plan model which meets the needs of singles today.
Compatibility based Internet dating services like E-Harmony are about to get a
new, portable competitor: the MatchMaker.
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Sources Cited:
Mason, Anthony (2003). Cyber Courtships Catching On. Retrieved from CBS
News.com October 23rd , 2003 at
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/09/eveningnews/main577356.sh
tml
MatchMaker Group SBIR (2003). Retrieved on February 17th, 2004 at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/matchmakerODU/files/
Saltzstein, W. (2003) Bluetooth: the Future of Wireless Medical Technology?
Retrieved October 15th, 2003 from Device Link.com at
http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/02/02/001.html
Sullivan, B. (2003). Online Dating: Everybody’s Doing It. Retrieved from
MSNBC.com on September 30th, 2003 from
http://www.msnbc.com/news/806278.asp?0dm=B17GB&cp1=1
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