Peer Comments

This page lists all of the peer comments received on our prototypes through different stages of the project:

 

1st Round Prototypes:

Zach Booth:

I found the prototype of combining the drink and plate very interesting. I know that I have been at a food truck or a similar situation and it is always difficult to hold your drink and eat at the same time. Something to think about moving forward may be using materials food trucks already have. What I mean is adding as little as possible to your design since they will most likely end up in the trash. I am mainly trying to refer to using the same plates and cups the food trucks already use. I also found the trash compactor idea interesting. I have seen trash compactors at restaurants and I have noticed that the trash can inside the compactor does not even take up half of the volume of the entire system. The compacting system must take up a lot of space. Maybe focus on trying to make the compacting system small so that the actual trash can can be as large as possible.

 

Brian Bachir:

I really like Jason’s prototype 1 concept and I think it has a ton of uses for food truck companies. The biggest issue is going to be storage space, as a lot of food trucks will just hand out aluminum foil instead of a box. If you can design the box such that it collapses into flat cardboard and can be reassembled quickly, that would be huge.
Yu Song:
Overall, I think you did a good job at this stage. For Collin’s prototype, I think you can consider more on the clasps. My experience told me the normal clasp always makes hand hurt when carrying things. The tray one interests me most. This problem is very common. You can have design fit for all kinds of cans, bottles, cups. It might be challenging. Also, the weight of food might affect the balance of the tray.
Kelley Dugan:
The second prototype for dynamic storage (the one that can be converted into a travel box) seems like it would be very useful and easy to implement except for the issue of supporting the shelves. Maybe you could have a hinge with a rigid flap (that is held by the clasp) and then this flap unfolds to connect to the wall? Or triangle irons on both sides of the box that support the shelf and connect to the wall? It’s a tricky problem, trying to support shelving with minimal space, but I think it worth continuing to prototype and see how creative you can get. Also if you’re worried about how to make a shelf “smart” I would talk to Lily and Abell to clarify, but I don’t think you have to incorporate electronics just for the sake of it being a “smart” product. Responding to the environment/an input makes a product smart and you don’t necessarily need electronics.
Erin Clepper:
The dynamic shelving is an interesting and feasible concept. The clasp mechanism might be preferable over the sliding mechanism because a lower shelf unit can be removed without pulling off all the units above it. The sliding version would likely be more strongly secured to the wall, however. I also like the tray prototypes, and though the customer would have to hold a straw, I think prototype 1 is a good starting point for a solution. Holding the drink balances out the weight much better than hanging it on the side of the tray. A challenge will be designing the connection point to fit different can/bottle types securely.
Peter Weigand:
I like the first prototype for the drink holder because the drink is cantilevered in the second design, which could be difficult to support in one hand. The first design I think would be easier to hold.
Ryan Wilber:
The removable shelving unit is a good idea. Based on how they will sit on the walls the shelving units, in order to save space, should be removable and opened horizontally, in my opinion. I also think that food holder idea with the can in the middle is a very interesting design that could be easily expanded to other areas of use, such as amusement parks or concerts.
 Subra Mamillapalle:
I like one of Jason’s idea where the drink container is attached to the food tray. Jason already mentioned the use of sturdiness and need for disposable materials. Suggestion I want make is, why not make a food tray which already has a cavity for any drinks. whatever customer wants, that drink can be just poured into the cavity and as a result when the customer hold his tray/ plate he is also holding his drink container.
Nick Sears:
Jason! I love your idea for an all-in-one eating plate. I think it’s a very clever way in which you center the drink so as to prevent any moments on the food tray and additionally to use the drink as a support/handle. I personally think prototype 1 will take you further because of its simplicity. If I had to offer suggestions, I would say that you could keep the cupholder in the center but find a way to hold the tray on the side that was comfortable so that the drink wouldn’t have to be held into the tray. Additionally, this would remove the straw which I’m not sure how people would feel about it. Whether you take my advice or not, I think you’ve got the right idea!
George Phillips:
Jason I like this idea. I think this is not only something that a food truck service would find useful but also arenas could benefit from a product like this. I think one thing you should focus on is making sure that whatever you move forward with is disposable. If not then the food truck would have to trust customers will return their trays and all the trays would have to be cleaned. Given this I think Prototype #1 (with the drink in the middle) is a better option. The second design requires a locking/clasping mechanism on the side of the tray and I don’t know of a way to make something like that and have it be disposable. I also think having the drink on the bottom helps center the weight better. The drink on the side would create some stress on the tray that would lead to a need for thicker material which would probably drive up cost. Also how necessary is the can on the bottom? Like why not have the tray feature a separate compartment for liquids to be poured in and access that via a straw. I only bring this up because I’m struggling to find a way to connect the can to the tray with something that is disposable. Hope this helped, good luck!
Zach Zuercher:
All of your ideas solve pressing issues in the food truck industry. The fridge storage concepts seem to be pretty basic and I don’t think that is an area that you should explore further. I like the other three concepts, though. The dynamic shelving units could be a big hit, but a problem I see is that older food trucks will have to revamp their current storage systems to adapt to this new technology, which may be expensive. The food carrying concept is a very cool idea that can definitely be used in more markets than just food trucks. The second concept with the drink clasp on the side is intriguing. If the tray is reinforced properly and made from the correct material I think that it has huge potential. The last concept of the trash removal is the only area I could see you implementing some smart technology. Perhaps, a proximity sensor at the top of the bin that senses when it is full or just a simple button the user could press to start the compaction. Whichever concept out of those 3 you chose, I definitely think it’ll be possible to create a functional prototype by the end of the semester. Zach Zuercher (zuercher.21), Jan 30 at 12:04pm
Justin Taylor
I like the idea to combine a way to combine the drink and tray to eat off of. I would just be careful of the second prototype to have a straw too or else the food will fall of when the person goes to drink when their drink is not as full. My only other comment would be to try to find a way to make it “smart” if possible. Not sure how, but other than those things I’m a fan of the idea.
Adam Rukin:
I enjoyed analyzing Jason’s prototype because it addressed a unique problem many could face in their everyday routine. My suggestion is add an electronic component to the bottom of the soda holder to notify the person waiting for their food. Like many restaurants use buzzers, your prototype could help solve an additional problem for food trucks. When the user’s order is ready they can be notified directly by the product designed.
Kevin Grospitch:
I really liked the idea of the food + drink holder, but I was wondering how you were planning to incorporate smart technology into that?
Jordan Smith:
Jason, I think your idea is very interesting. Some things that I would consider moving forward on the idea with the drink in the center are the weight distribution of the plate on top and the ease of removing the plate so that you can take a drink. I would also give some thought to how the plate might look different to accommodate different foods/meals.

 

Patrick Beal:

Hey Nate, really like the idea behind the trash compactor. I used to work in a little frozen yogurt shop (still much bigger than a food truck) and trash was a big problem for us because it took up so much space. We basically were forced to have a designated room for trash before we could set it out on the curb or take it to the dumpster. The trash compactor seems like a legitimate resource to reduce this wasted space. I like your first prototype more than the second because it mechanically seems plausible with a pneumatic compaction device. My only concern is that the device’s wall that is supporting the compaction must be pretty strong. Maybe this can be placed in the corner of the truck and reinforced by the corner? Another thought that comes to mind is this…what if you had a large trash can outside of the truck and had a ‘doggie door’ that allowed the workers to throw the trash into the bin from the inside of the truck? This may remove all of the wasted space that the trash currently takes up within the truck. Just food for thought

2nd Round Prototypes:

Nick Sears:

Collin! Sweet prototype,I really like how compact it is before being assembled. If you go this route, I would make sure that it is indeed easy to assemble; other than that, it seems like an awesome idea that you could get pretty creative with.

 

Amanda Leong:

The modular storage system will definitely be useful for food trucks. You might want to look into products from IKEA for some ideas, and review some existing solutions in the market. The drink and food tray idea is just brilliant but disposal will become a problem since food trucks might handout thousands of them in a day. Also think about how to store these trays. You can also look into origami, to see if you can find any folding techniques. As for smart fridge storage system. You introduced poka-yoke, this will be very helpful if you have different sized containers, that way you will not have to worry about wrong placement of ingredients by the user resulting in wrong sensing levels. Great ides team!

 

NOTE: Comments from class were to look into storage ideas from airlines and ambulances into how to compactly store their items.