Executive Summary
Client A, committed to elevating motorcycling safety and experience, encountered a significant challenge with the lens focus issue in their innovative smart motorcycle helmet. This issue was a threat to performance and the brand’s reputation.
Key Findings
- Client A faced a critical production issue with a smart motorcycle helmet camera lens focus.
- Initial assumptions pointed towards focus process deficiencies as it was very manual.
- Advanced diagnostic testing revealed that lens quality, not the process, was at fault.
Client Profile
Client A is at the forefront of motorcycle helmet innovation. Their mission is to ensure a safer, and more exhilarating motorcycling experience across diverse conditions and styles of riding. Operating within the competitive tech-enhanced sporting goods industry, they cater to a wide range of riders, from casual enthusiasts to professional motorcyclists.
Despite their extensive testing efforts, Client A encountered an unexpected issue with the image uniformity of their smart helmet’s lens produced by a trusted factory partner. Due to the small volumes, the factory had to focus and glue the lenses manually.
Our Client’s Challenges
The key challenge was attributed to a persistent focusing problem with the helmet’s lens. The issue was interrupting the production schedule and jeopardizing the promised quality of the final product. With an impending product launch, timely resolution was paramount to uphold the company’s commitment to rider safety and market competitiveness.
Client A’s internal team initially believed the issue originated from the focus, glue, and cure processes during manufacturing, but this assumption did not lead to an effective solution, prompting the need for a methodical analysis of all parts without assumptions about the root cause.
In addition, Client A’s factory partner had purchased a large quantity of these lenses under advisement from their factory partner. Another challenge is that the existing factory partner has expertise in security and police body cams but was new to the concept of capturing video for enjoyment and sharing. Security cameras capture a video for proof, but action cameras capture the moment because users enjoy all the details even in the far corners of the video.
Our Solutions
Recognizing the factory didn’t want to find or share the root cause due to the existing lens inventory, our team was brought in to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the manufacturing processes and components in question. Our team reviewed the focus process, the glue and UV curing process, and materials and found minor deficiencies. We partnered with a specialist auto-focus lens company, leveraging their technical expertise to build a test PCBA and use their equipment to auto-focus and collect data on 50 lenses.
This collaboration allowed us to hone in on the root cause of the problem. Surprisingly, it was not the focus or gluing methods, but the lens quality itself that led to the defects. The lenses did not meet the necessary standards for clarity and focus required for a seamless smart helmet interface.
Upon this discovery, we facilitated an immediate pivot in production, sourcing higher-quality lenses that satisfied the rigorous demands of both smart technology and real-world applications for motorcyclists.
Results
The impact of the corrective measures was swift and significant:
- Enhanced Product Quality: The shift to higher-grade lenses promptly improved the camera’s image quality.
- On-Schedule Delivery: Addressing the lens quality issue expedited production processes, bringing the project back on track to meet its launch deadlines.
- Customer Satisfaction: The upgrade not only resolved the immediate production hurdles but also gave them the root cause of the issue.
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