Client/ Industry

Biel-based electronics trading company expanded its portfolio at the end of the 90s in the direction of the increasingly popular public transport. The upcoming Expo 02, among others in Biel, was ideal for an initial installation.

The display system Iqube, a new type of bus stop passenger information system mainly intended for bus and tram in local transport, was launched at the end of the 90s as an alternative to the classic timetable.

In contrast to the systems known at the time and the classic timetable, the novelty was that the system always displayed the current time until the arrival of the next vehicle. This was independent of whether the vehicle was in a traffic jam or on its way according to the timetable.

Product development

The client himself did not have a mechanical development department and had to procure these services externally. The client's needs changed during the project and ranged from the development of simple housings to complex displays for up to 16 lines, where every free space had to be filled with electronics.

Our tasks also included the planning and procurement of production equipment such as gauges and Quality assurance equipment.

Our services

During almost the entire Iqube project, starting in 2000 until its completion in 2011, we were responsible for the mechanical development, consisting of solution finding, design and drawing preparation, strength calculations and mechanical testing.

The project team consisted most of the time of the project manager, who also did the hardware planning, the designer, the software development and our mechanical developer.

Our services were provided according to the client's needs. If the customer had no need, no costs were incurred.

Workflow / Skills

In a first step, Innovateam created simple 3D CAD models and could thus visualise the most important functions, check the space conditions for the electronics and point out critical points. The ideas and solutions were  discussed again and again in the project team and supplemented with new suggestions. The procedure was  not linear but was  based on the customer's needs. New findings were  incorporated and often leaded to a new iteration. Our goal was  to find a compact, cost-effective solution for the installation of the electronics that was  visually appealing and close to the specifications of the designer and the customer.

Benefit

In this project, Innovateam was  a kind of extended workbench for the customer. The customer could  benefit specifically and on a day-to-day basis from our knowledge in mechanical design without having to build up this knowledge himself.

We supplied  the customer with production documents such as drawings, parts lists and 3D data. For marketing, we produced corresponding drawings and renderings. Where necessary, the customer received the corresponding strength assessments and analyses, which he could  in turn submit to the end customer. In some part, we ordered prototypes on his behalf and delivered the finished product.