Team:SMS Shenzhen/Implementation
The Demand
London, New York, Shenzhen...... Almost every metropolis suffers from improperly disposed chewing gum. This little "Black Plague" causes a global issue, a large amount of money cost for cleaning, heavy workload for cleaners and health effects for customers. The existing methods, like water, egg white and acetic acid, do not work well in our test, requiring a long period and lots of physical work. Moreover, we conducted a series of interviews with stakeholders. There is a common need for them, and that is an effective product to degrade those sticky pieces.
Target Users
The cleaners, the end-users we proposed, can alleviate their burden via our product.
A shovel and a bottle of water are the only things the cleaners use in most situations. Considering that cleaners usually have multiple tasks, sweeping up trash and cleaning other stains, our product is designed to be part of the toolbox of cleaners. The requirement for the product is to be user-friendly. Rather than creating an entirely new product, we should be adapting to the habits of cleaners and reducing the time it takes for them to learn to use new tools.
Furthermore, after interviewing stakeholders, we found a significant difference between the workflow for indoor and outdoor cleaning. Depend on their workflow. We design hardware and each with different target customers and usage scenarios. One hardware, the spray mop, is designed for indoor cleaning, and the other, the refined water cannon, is designed for outdoor cleaning.
How it Works
Our products serve cleaners in need. They will purchase modified spray mops or refined water cannon and mass-produced purified enzyme solutions. As replaceable consumables, purified enzyme solutions can be bought repeatedly. As tools for everyday use, both the spray mop and the refined water cannon can be used with or without chewing gum cleaning. A cleaner orders a "GUM OVER" cleaning product, following the User Manual. Within a few minutes, the sticky gum will be removed. To implement our project in the real world and make it easy to use, we shoot a video for customers showing how it works.
Although the product seems to work effectively for the customers, issues remain in the real world. The temperature should be considered in our project. This is the reason why we investigated ground temperature in Shenzhen. Meanwhile, the different materials of flooring should be taken into account when applying our product.
Concerning the safety aspects of the project, we will not release any bacteria in the environment, and the enzyme we used, LCP and CotA, are not pathogenic to humans. Furthermore, the enzyme will lose its function when exposed to high temperatures.