Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................ 4
Innovation journey ..................................................................................................................... 5
Innovation phase model............................................................................................................. 8
TRIZ ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Concept .................................................................................................................................... 13
Platform driven product design ............................................................................................... 14
Technical view on the product ................................................................................................. 15
Technical view on the parts...................................................................................................... 16
Body ...................................................................................................................................... 16
Lights .................................................................................................................................... 17
Grip ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Technical aspects...................................................................................................................... 19
Innovation trajectory................................................................................................................ 20
Positioning in the market ......................................................................................................... 20
Innovative product ................................................................................................................... 21
Acceptance of the design ......................................................................................................... 21
Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 22
Attachments ............................................................................................................................. 23
Renders................................................................................................................................. 23
Technical drawings ............................................................................................................... 26
2
Mark Koenderink
S0139459
Frank Egberts
S0147419
3
Introduction
This is the report of the results of the project from the course Sources of Innovation. The
goal of this project is to use innovation methods to design a product using special light
effects made possible by LEDs. Solar cells may be used to power the product if it is operated
autonomously.
During the course a number of innovation theories were offered. Four of those had to be
chosen to help us developing the product.
The four innovation theories we chose are:
 Innovation journey
 Innovation phase model
 TRIZ
 Platform-driven product development
The main idea behind the product is to use lighting in a tree. By making is fully adjustable,
the user can simply lighten the tree, but he can also let the tree come alive by creating
special lighting effects. It is possible to put a modest flow of light in the tree which will give a
relaxing and natural effect. On the other hand the lighting can be used to express your
feelings or to make an area attractive.
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Innovation journey
In order to understand how the development of LED lights will continue in the future, it is
important to look how LEDs evolved. When LEDs were just invented there was no practical
use for them, it took several decades until a useable LED was invented that could emit
visible-spectrum light. After a few more years of development they were used as indication
lights and in alphanumerical displays like those in calculators. Because of the high costs at
the introduction, indication by LED was first only used in laboratory and electronics
equipment, later they were used in appliances like TVs radios and such as well. Because of
the possibility of getting different colors of light, traffic lights and signaling are also high
efficiency applications for LED lighting. The use of LEDs as indicator developed further and
because the improvement of the brightness brake and rear lights of cars could also use this
kind of lighting.
Besides indicating LEDs were also becoming usable as a light source which could replace
other light sources like the light bulb or street and architecture lighting. In LCD screens on
TVs and laptops LEDs are used for the backlight, this way the screens can be thinner and the
color comes out better. Because LEDs are energy-efficient and durable they are more often
used in flashlights, also they are used for the flash in cameras (especially in mobile phone
cameras). Infrared LEDs are used to light night vision cameras.
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LEDs are just starting to come into our homes, but they have been used for a longer time in
all sorts of places. Because of the possibility to have all sorts of different colored light with
RGB-LEDs, they are being used as decorative light.
Some characteristics that are unique to LEDs are:
 They make a spot light, so the light can be aimed very well.
 A small light source.
 They are break resistant, because they consist of no breakable materials
 The performance improves in the cold instead of not functioning.
 LEDs don’t have a warm up time, they are instantly on.
 LEDs are compatible with electronic controls and light levels and color can be
changed with them.
 LEDs intended for lighting do not emit infrared or ultraviolet radiation.
With this characteristics the way LED development will advance according to us is:
 More use of the possibilities of colored LEDs.
 Personalizing with light:
o Light your room to your own wishes.
o Create a certain atmosphere in your room.
o Adapt the light to your mood or a certain occasion.
 Dynamic light, It’s easy to adapt the brightness of LEDs.
 More mobile applications because LEDs are energy efficient.
 High power LEDs will replace very bright light sources as well, for example headlights
of cars and spot lights.
 Small light sources which can easily be implemented in products, even products
which are small itself.
Fields where the development of LEDs will have the highest effect:
 Game-industry
 Mobile phones
 Advertisement boards
 LED TVs
 Indication
 Home lighting
Lighting in the home is already starting to change to LEDs, like described earlier. The
possibilities of changing colors and dimming can create a whole other atmosphere in the
room. If the surroundings of the human are further examined, the garden seems a good
place to introduce a product using the characteristics of LEDs. Current garden lighting is
often used for decoration, but is really static and the color of those lights is often just white.
The adaptability of LEDs will provide an opportunity for products in this area. Some
characteristics of LED lighting make them better than current light sources, like the higher
durability, better shock resistance, better resistance against cold temperatures and the low
energy use. With that lower energy use, usage of solar panels will be more viable as well.
The collage on the next page shows many different uses of LED lighting.
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7
Innovation phase model
Introduction
Everywhere around you is lighting used to enlighten your world. In buildings, there is no
room without some source of lighting. Lighting isn’t only used in buildings, it is is also used
for safety, like street lighting and the headlights of a car.
Lighting in the garden is also available, but not in such a wide range as it is for lighting inside
a building. What we noticed is that the mood lighting inside a building is rising, like the
ambilight television and even for PCs, but this is only for inside the house.
Our product will bring the mood lighting even outside the house, and so your mood
lightened world will be expanded.
This is the mind map we used to come up with the field in which we would choose our
product (bright red is a direction we chose, light red is optional):
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When we had chosen the garden as our field for our product we made another mind map to
come up with the place our product would be used:
There are a lot of standard lights for in the garden, but they are all for lighting grass, the
bushes, a pond or the house. There are barely lights for trees. We will try to make some
lighting for in a tree to fill this gap in the market. This will also create a whole new dimension
of mood-lighting into your garden.
Description of the idea of the product
The product will be some lighting, which will be placed inside a tree. This way the tree can be
lightened from the inside, which gives a whole new look to the tree. By making the lighting
dynamic, some new special effects will become possible.
What problems does it solve
By creating more dynamic light effect in your own garden, the garden will not be a boring
place, especially in the wintertime when it becomes dark. The garden lighting of today are all
fixed. By making it more dynamic the garden will become a more pleasant en beautiful place
to sit in the evening.
9
The market
This product can be sold to everybody with a tree in his garden. If people want to make
their garden more dynamic, they should buy this product.
If the product becomes a success, the dynamic lighting can also be used for dynamic lighting
in the pond or bushes.
Segmentation
Which subareas and different products can be developed.
The product will be built from the following components:
 LED lights
 Some kind of motor to move the lights
 Solar panels to get power, or maybe we need to use a plug in a socket
 Sensors to measure when it is dark enough to turn on the lights
 Some kind of method to communicate to other devices
With these components there can also be made some similar products, like dynamic lighting
in a pond or on bushes. The basics of the product will all be the same.
Stakeholders:
To get a clear view of the stakeholders, all the stakeholders are listed below:
 Electrician
o Make sure the lighting works
o Motor and sensor control
 Industrial designer
o To make sure it is water proof and things like that
o Make the product look attractive, to sell it better
 Gardenlighting-producer
o To make sure it can be build, and can be made efficiently
 Gardenshop
o To sell the product
Bottlenecks
A product could stop functioning. There are a few possibilities why the product could fail:
 The solar panel gets dirty, so it collects less light which results in less available
energy.
 The wiring could fail, as example due to cut through the cable. Depending on the kind
of signal or power through the cable, the product may stop functioning and the
cables needs to be replaced.
 The motor could break down, so the lights cannot move anymore.
 The sensor could break down or get dirty, which results in a “blind” lighting which
cannot know when to turn on and off.
 The LED lights could get dirty, or even break down, which results in no light at all.
Cleaning or a protective cap could help to solve this.
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TRIZ
TRIZ is a quick method to think about all kind of
solutions for a specific problem. If there is a part of
the design that has some negative effects, you can
compare the positive effects en negative effects.
By using TRIZ a solution can be found to eliminate
the negative effects without eliminating the positive
effect.
During the design process we found some negative effects, which we wanted to eliminate.
We have used TRIZ to find a solution to these problems. Unfortunately some of the results
are conflicting with the other results. In the end we needed a compromise between them to
get a design that works, but with as less negative effects as possible.
A few TRIZ methods are shown below:
 Placing a product in a tree
o Positive:
Keep it in place (TRIZ nr 13: Stability)
o Negative:
Damaging the tree (TRIZ nr 31: Harmful side effects)
o Results: TRIZ techniques nr 15, 35, 22, 2:
 Use of a flexible neck
 Flip flop mobile Phone design
 Don’t connect it with a tree: let it float like an helicopter of hang it by a
cable
 Wiring of the product
o Positive:
Amount of power (TRIZ nr 21: Power)
o Negative:
Harder to change and the danger to stumble
(TRIZ nr 31: Harmful side effects)
o Results: TRIZ techniques nr 26, 35, 10:
 Fix the cables to a wall
 Make the cables very flexible
 Place the cables under the ground
 Don’t use cables: wireless systems
 Special light effects: moving the light beam
o Positive:
Durability of product (TRIZ nr 15: Durability of moving object)
o Negative:
Reliability (TRIZ nr 27: Reliability)
o Results: TRIZ techniques nr 11, 2, 13:
 Move the light beam by moving a mirror instead of the lights
 Use different (fixed) lights to suggest a moving light beam
11
 Product hanging in a tree by two cables
o Positive:
Wide space for lighting (TRIZ nr 18 & 12: Illumination & Shape)
o Negative:
Product will swing (TRIZ nr 13: Reliability)
o Results: TRIZ techniques nr 32, 3, 27 & 33, 1, 18, 4:
 Make the product asymmetrical
 Fix the product to it’s environment
 Using solar panels in a tree
o Positive:
No wiring (TRIZ nr 33 & 35: Convenience of use & adaptability)
o Negative:
Not enough power available (TRIZ nr 21: Power)
o Results: TRIZ techniques nr 35, 34, 2, 10 & 19, 1 , 29
 Move the source of power
 Eject the source of power after use
Although we have used TRIZ many times, only a few times the result was actually useable.
After using TRIZ we decided a few major properties of the product:
 The power source can be a solar panel, but this had to be placed outside the tree.
Wiring will be necessary. We doubted the amount of power that the solar panels will
give, especially in the winter. A more reliable source of power will be by using a plug
in a socket. This ensures the product will always get enough power.
 To make sure the product will survive all kinds of weather, we will need to fix the
product to the tree.
By placing the product on one of the lower branches of the tree, we solve a few
problems at once:
o The user can easily place the product. He does not need to reach branches
that are very high, but he can use the lowest branches.
o The wiring van be twisted around the tree trunk. This way the tree will not be
damaged and the product can quickly taken out of the tree.
o The lights in the tree can be aimed, so the user can determine which parts of
the tree will be lightened. This is most easily done when the product is placed
at the bottom of the tree.
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Concept
The final concept contains LEDs in four colors, white, red, green and blue. These LEDs are
placed in 3 lamps that can be aimed in different directions in order to shine the light in all
parts of the tree. The color of light can be changed by the user, this is done via a remote
control that is connected to the light via Bluetooth. With the remote not only the color of
light can be changed, but also the intensity. The light can be set to operate autonomously as
well, it can measure light intensity and adapt the intensity of its own light to it. This means
that it won’t be burning in daylight but when It becomes dark it will fade in with the
upcoming darkness.
To make the light dynamic a mode can be set in which the light slowly fades in and out, the
speed of this will again be controllable by the user. A wave pattern is also possible, with this
mode the LEDs will not dim together but in such way that waves appear from the light. Again
the speed of this can be set by the user. To prevent the light from burning in the middle of
the night, a timer can be set to let the light work on set times.
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Platform driven product design
The LED light used in the tree can be adapted in such a way that the light has other uses than
lighting a tree. Some parts of the design are specifically for the use in the tree, like the grip
mechanism, but some parts are just for emitting light or directing it. These parts placed in
another context with some adapted parts create a new product which can be sold next to
the tree lighting.
The different parts of the current tree light are:
 LEDs
 Wiring
 Cap to direct the light
 Transparent cap to protect the LEDs from weather influences
 Casing
 Junction between the lamp and the casing
 Grip
 Printed circuit board
 Transformer
The parts that will be the same for other lights are the LEDs, the wiring, the circuit board and
the transformer. The other parts should also be present, but not in the same form. The grip
now used to attach the product to the tree can be replaced by another way to fix the light,
like a pin in the ground or just a foot.
Some products that could be derived from the tree light are:
 Grass lighting, to create light effect across the ground of the garden.
 Terrace lighting, also for practical uses like light reading.
 Indirect lighting on the walls, bushes or fences to create a certain atmosphere.
 Spot light for the lighting of statues.
 Lighting for the pond.
Entire modules could as well be re-used like the light module, the LED with its caps around it,
because the lighting part will be used for the same application anyway. The casing and fix
module will probably have to be redesigned for its use though. Or maybe the shape of the
lamp module can be changed while still using the tree grip, to give the product a whole other
appearance and thus another target group.
In the future the product can be expanded by adding certain parts or modules, an example
of this is a communication device so several lights can communicate with each other to
combine their lighting and create a larger effect. If several different kinds of light products
are used in the garden, they can make some lights work together to attach parts of the
garden to each other. The terrace could be more gradually fading into the rest of the yard,
which makes the garden look like a whole.
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Technical view on the product
In this chapter, the way the product is being build will be explained using some explanation
of the part and a technical drawing. First we need to look at the total product, to show how
all the parts are connected to each other.
The product is build up by three parts. There is a body, two holding-harms (to get some grip
on the tree) and three light-parts.
The product will be placed with bottom of the body against the tree. Next the user needs to
tighten the holding-arms. The product is now tightened to the tree. The lights can be
adjusted by turning then. This is possible thank to a ball and socket joint between the lights
and the body.
15
Technical view on the parts
Body
The body needs a few components to work correct. First of all we need power. The power
supply will be connected by the plug (A). This could be an adapter to the socket, but is could
also be a solar cell with an battery.
Inside the body, a PCB (B) is placed. This PCB controls the lights. These lights will be
connected by the socket (C). Some cables from the lights come inside the body trough this
socket. These cables needs to be connected with the PCB by some connectors (D).
Finally the PCB needs information about the illumination of the environment. This will be
done by a sensor, placed in the top of the body (E).
There are even some small spikes on the bottom, to make sure the body does stay on its
place.
16
Lights
The lights are connected to the body trough a ball and socket joint. These movable lights are
made from a hollow shape end the bottom of the ball has a hole in it. This allows wiring to
get from the lights to the body, without making the wires visible. In the top of this part the
LEDs are placed. The LEDs are hold together by placing all the 80 LEDs on a plate. On this
plate all the LEDs are connected to wires and these wires go through the hollow tube to the
body. To seal the lights, a plastic cap is put on top of this part. It allows the lights to go
through, but it keeps the rain outside.
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Grip
To keep the product in the tree, some grip is needed. There are a lot of ways to keep the
body in the tree, but we wanted to make a universal system for large trees and also small
trees. Eventually we decided to make this system of two holding-arms on the body. The user
can make the arms longer or shorter by placing or removing some parts of the arm.
The arm needs to be strong. This is realized by a screw, which squeezes the parts together,
so they cannot move anymore. When the user wants to get the product out of the tree, all
he needs to do is twist the screw with a screwdriver. It is an innovative way to keep the
product secure in practically every tree.
To provide extra grip, an extra rubber cap is placed on the
last part. It does also end the chain of repeated parts, it
keeps the hole of the last part cleaner and it even does
look nicer.
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Technical aspects
75 multicolored LEDs… turned out to be not realistic
The first idea was to put around 75 multicolored LEDs in the product. Unfortunately, it
turned out that these LEDs cost around $1.50 (+- € 1). These high costs made us calculate
how many LEDs we actually need.
A halogen lamp gives about the right amount of light. A halogen lamp gives about 20 lumen
per watt, so assuming a 40 watt halogen lamp it produces 800 lumen of light.
The multicolored led gives between the 800 and 4000 mcd of light. Converting this to lumen
(width an angle of 60 degrees) it gives about 2 lumen.
To achieve the same amount of light with the multicolored LEDs as the halogen lamp, we
would need about 400 LEDs… With a price of $1.50 per piece, this is not a realistic solution.
How many lumen do we want to achieve?
To lighten the tree enough, we looked at an similar light source. A TL tube. An article shows
that there was made an florescent tube out of LEDs, which produced about 1500 lumen.
Based on this, we assume we will need about 1500 lumen to lighten the tree correctly
How many lumen will a standard LED produce, anno 2009?
In May 2005 it was managed to produce a single LED that produced 200 lumen. In January
2006 a LED was made that produced 420 lumen and in February 2007 a single LED reached
the 1000 lumen. These are just somse extreme cases.
IN 2005, a standard LED produced about 2,4 lumen. In comparison with the trend of
development of the extreme LEDs, we assume also a 500% rise for standard LEDs. This
means, a single LED will produce about 12 lumen.
To reach the required 1500 lumen, we will need (1500 / 12 =) 125 LEDs. After a quick search
on the internet is turned out that 100 LEDs with a fixed color cost about a single euro. For
this single euro we get a lot more light than with a single multicolored LED.
Calculation of some technical details
We will need to change our design a bit to fit all these 125 LEDs in it, but first we will
calculate some technical aspects. Assuming the product will contain 125 LEDs:
30 mA for each led, results in 3.75 A for 125 LEDs ( 5V ).
This means that an adapter will use 230 V met 81,5 mA from the socket.
This also means the maximum wattage is 5*3.75=18.75 W.
To make the LEDs in a nice shape of a hexagon, there needed 19 groups of 4 LEDs.
Fortunately it did fit perfectly with the design, so only the LEDs were changed.
19
Innovation trajectory
Nowadays not much lighting in the garden uses LED lighting, especially no colored LED
lighting. Because of the good characteristics of LEDs for outdoor lighting (durable, schock
proof and energy efficient) probably they will be used more and more. While the lighting
now can be set by the users preference and somewhat automatic with a light sensor, in the
future the light will act even smarter. The color of light could be dependant of the colors the
product detects.
If the development of LEDs persists and they become even more energy efficient and
brighter, less LEDs have to be used in the lights, so the light can become even smaller. For
tree lighting this could mean even easier attachment of the light to the tree.
However the use of solar panels isn’t viable in the current product, if the solar panels
increase in efficiency they perhaps could be used in the future. So they can power the light
even with just a low amount of sun activity. Maybe the shape of solar panels will develop as
well so it is easier to implement it in the product, like a foldable solar panel which could be
better placed around the tree.
Positioning in the market
The product will be placed in the garden, so it will be concurring with other light products
used in the garden. However, this product uses LED lighting which isn’t widely used in the
garden yet. That’s why the use of LEDs is emphasized in marketing, as well as the possibility
to color the light to create special effects. Because of these special utilities the product will
first be more attractive to people who are interested in technological advanced products
and are willing to buy such products. So the tree light will be positioned as a new product
which brings something new to the market of garden lighting. If LED lighting is more
accepted by the general consumer, the aim will also be at the broader public.
20
Innovative product
This product adds something new in the garden, the placement of a light source in the tree
gives a whole other perspective. A whole new plane for the placement of light sources is
created and this provides new opportunities for the decoration and personalization of the
garden. The tree in which the light is placed will come out from the rest of the garden and
changes the look of the complete area. The movement of the light makes the garden look
more dynamic. Because of wind the leaves and branches of the tree will be in constant
motion, this also helps with the dynamic feel of the light in the tree.
During the year the tree changes quite a lot with leaves changing colors, which gives a
different effect on the lighting, and leaves falling off. The décor of the light is ever changing,
which is a interesting concept.
The personalization possibilities of the light also make the product innovative, people can
experiment with colored light in the garden and create a atmosphere that fits their mood or
a certain occasion. Because the product is relatively easy to move, the user is able to change
the lighting in his garden even more. Users will never be bored with always the same light
circumstances in their garden.
The product can be used in other trees outside of the garden as well, a bar owner may
attract people to his bar by placing the light in a tree near his bar so it gets the attention. The
dynamic lighting makes it look like there’s something going on and people will check it out.
More examples like this can be thought of, placing it in a tree in the park to create a nice
atmosphere there.
Acceptance of the design
Some people would think colored light wouldn’t fit in their garden because it doesn’t look
natural. The colors of the light can be adjusted by the users self, so they have it all in their
own hands. Some colors will work better than others on the green leaves in the summer, the
user would have to find out his favored colors which work best in his garden. To help the
user, some preset colors could be programmed into the lights which correspond to certain
colors of leaves (green, yellow, red).
Of course if the user doesn’t like to set up the lights a white light can be used which works
on every color of leaves.
21
Sources
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/led_advantage.pdf
http://elexp.com/opt_rgbc.htm
http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/led.htm#calculate
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led#Optische_eigenschappen
http://www.olino.org/articles/2009/09/25/ipled-smd120cm-15w-pw
http://www.sign.nl/Nieuwsbericht-voluit/1321/113954/Led-TL-met-meer-dan-100-lumenper-watt.html?publicationdate=True
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candela_%28eenheid%29
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Attachments
Renders
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Technical
drawings
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