Entrepreneurial students dive into product design and development
A subway commuter digs through his backpack to find his iPad. A college student lugs a bag of dirty clothes to the laundry room in her dorm. A rushed Starbucks customer tears open a paper sugar packet.This semester, 11 teams of MIT and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) students — all enrolled in a course called “Product Design and Development” — sought to ameliorate these challenging everyday moments. As the culmination of the course, on Saturday, May 12, these teams presented their products to a panel of product development professionals. Convenient carriersWhile more and more people are choosing iPads and other tablets for their portable size, it’s not always convenient or safe to use them in public. One team — sponsored by outdoor outfitter Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) — came up with a backpack that holds a tablet in a zippered, padded compartment designed so that users can remove...