The Art and Science of Engineering Design

Wireless Headphones
Kaitlin Halady
Shilpa Sarkar
Carolina Jaramillo Romn

What is the problem?

Todays headphones arent giving users
a 100% enjoyable, perfect music
experience
Wireless headphones are too expensive
for the average college student

What will solve the problem?

Reasonably priced
High quality
Comfortable
Give consumer unrestricted
range of motion
Water-resistant

Why wireless?
Problems with wire
Knots and tangles
Limits range of motion
Potential safety hazard
Constant re-adjustment

Reasoning
Direction of market
Competitors
Latest products

The Survey: General Info

89 students at Stanford University

100% use
headphones

The Survey: Brands

Apple
Sony
Bose
Philips
Sure
*Other brands
* Other brands: Panasonic, Sennheiser, Audio Technica, Samsung, Creative, Grado, Beyerdynamic, Etymotic, Koss,
Uknown, Skull candy, V-moda, JVC-Gummy)

The Survey: Type of Headphone

Non-earbuds
Earbuds
Did not say

20

40

60

80

Wireless
Did not respond
Wired

The Survey: Headphone Usage

Work out
Listen to music
Study/read
Biking
Transport(on plane,
walk)
Sleeping
Watch movie
Other

The Survey: Hours of use per day

<1: 17
1-2: 44
3-5: 18
5+: 2

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Less than 1 Between 1 Between 3 More than
hour
to 2 Hours to 5 hours
5 hours

Survey: Important Factors

Most
Important Less
Least
Important
Important Important
Price

33.7 %

25.8 %

27 %

13.5 %

Comfort 40.4 %

28.1 %

25.8 %

5.6 %

Style

5.6 %

7.9%

24.7 %

61.8%

Sound
quality

20.2 %

38.2%

22.5 %

19.1 %

The Survey: Have your headphones ever

felt uncomfortable?
80
70
60

Shape
Fall out/ Headache
Wire

50
40
30
20
10
0
Comfortable
Uncomfortable

If a pair of $60 to $80 wireless ear buds was on

the market, would you purchase them?
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

No
Yes

Objective Tree
Objective Tree
Wireless Headphones
Comfort
Shape

Versatility
Wireless

Compatibility
with Mac

Durable

Marketability
Water Resistant

Portable

Style

Price

Container

Colors

$60 - $80
(mid-range)

Detailed Design
Inner-ear bud
Adjustable over-ear piece
User Interface
Charger/Adapter
Materials
Colors
Retail
Scheduling

The Headphones
Left headphone:
100 mAh battery, four hours playing time
Charging plug
Lights to signal power and bluetooth signal
Right headphone:
Circuit board
Bluetooth chip/antenna
Controls for the two wheels (track and volume
changing/power)
Switches, capacitors, resisters, and other technical
components that make headphones possible

Canalphones
Directly into the ear canal
Natural seal

Traditional type
Sleeves
foam

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Adjustable Behind-ear piece

Rigid backbone
Adjust vertically to fit different size ears
Rotate up to a 90 degree angle from earbud for
maximum comfort

User Interface
Wheels (Right)
Volume
<100 decibels

Track (toggle)

LED Light (Left)

Bluetooth
Power

Materials
Plastic
Paint
Foam
Plastidip
Soft elastomer

Colors
Pink
Blue
Black
White

Technical Components

The Charger
Portable
1000 mAh battery ( ~ 15 hours hours of playback time)
Plug to charge headphones in case
USB port on the outside with a wire that plugs in to an
electrical outlet
When plugged into a wall it is a standard charger
When unplugged it is a compact carrying case that can
supply power to the headphones

The Adapter
Takes the analog signal from
the iPod and converts it to
digital so it can be sent
wirelessly to the users
headphones
Plugs into the iPod
Bluetooth chip in a circuit board
Runs off of the iPod battery.

Morph Chart
Means

Feature/function
Transmit music wirelessly

Bluetooth

RF transmitter (FM)

Infrared transmitter
(WiFi)

Compatibility

One brand of mp3

player

Multiple brands

Shape

Earbuds

Earbuds with over-ear

piece

Canalphones (inear)

Material of headphone

Silicone rubber

Elastomate

Foam

Water resistance material

Plastidip

Polypropylene

Mylar

Power for headphones

Charger (plugs
into outlet)

Container with charger

Docking Station

User interface

Buttons on
headphones

Be controlled by mp3
player

Mix: some buttons

on headphones,
others mp3

Battery

Goes in both
headphones

Goes in one
headphone

Storage

Carrying case

Charging carrying
case

Magnetized

Supra-aural
headphones

Alternative Designs
Connecting Wire
Aural Headphones vs. Earbud
Compatibility
User Interface Placement/Type
Over-the-ear Piece

Budget
(Headphones + Adaptor + Charger)= $17.50
17.50 x 3.5 = ~ $61.25
17.50 x 4 = ~ $70.00
Retail price somewhere between $60 and $70

Piece

Estimated Cost (Dollars)

Headphone
Battery (100 mAh)

~ .50

Bluetooth (includes digital-to-analog converter)

4.00

Material (Foam, Plastic, TPE)

1.00

Packaging

.75

Chip to charge battery

1.00

Other components (switches, LEDs, resisters,

capacitors, etc.)

1.75

Plasti-Dip

~ . 50

Charger-case
Plastics

1.00

AC power adapter

1.50

Adapter
Plastic Casing

.50

Bluetooth

4.00

Circuit Board/Electronics

1.00

TOTAL

17.50

Retail
X 4, X 3.5
Selling
Shipping

Middlemen
Store
Online

Scheduling
(for hypothetical release of product)
0 wks - Design start
+ 4 wks - Industrial Design
+ 4 wks - Mechanical Design
+ 6 wks - Tooling design and fabrication
Less than 12 wks for electrical design, so this is not critical path
to this point.
= 14 weeks, 1st milestone - First prototype
+ 8 weeks to get from first to final prototypes
+ 4 weeks to get FCC certification
= 26 weeks, then mass production would start

The Competition: Jaybird JB-100

Released Fall 2007
Online Market
$180.00 (with adapter)

Pros
In-ear Bluetooth headset
Noise canceling
Water/sweat resistant
Comes with charging dock
and mesh case

Cons
High Price
No User Interface
Wire between headphones
Volume too low/No bass
Only available online
Doesnt fit all ear sizes

The Competition: Sennheiser MXW1

Release May 2008
In Store Market
$599.00

Pros
Twist and Fit System
Kleer Technology
Higher Battery Life
Received Editors Choice Award
in 2008 at Consumer Electronic
Tradeshow
Cons
High Price
New technology
No current customer reviews

What will the future bring?

Market movement to wireless
Evolving design
Compatibility
New technology (Kleer)
Cheaper costs for technical components