Executive summary
Thermovission is a remote control that controls both the room temperature and the television. Thermovission is a new device that will provide comfort to customers by enabling them to easily control both the room temperature and television with a single remote control. Thermovission is taking advantage of the fact that although there are numerous universal remote controllers on the market that control multiple units of entertainment and central heating and cooling systems, there are none that control both the temperature and the television with a single controller. I believe that there is a demand for this type of remote and Thermovision will be the remote that will fulfil this need.
I have already produced a prototype for this type of remote and have proof that it is possible to network television remotes and thermostat remotes by integrating their software codes into a single remote that will control both set of devices. All Thermovission remotes will be pre-programmed at production so that all a customer has to do is enter the model numbers of their home devices to control both the room temperature and television with a single device.
The prototype for this remote is smaller than most remotes on the market. It is designed to be the most user friendly remote on the market, especially for the older demographic who I am
targeting. My remote is designed small and slim so that it can easily fit in a pocket or a packed counter. And, I have also taken measures to make sure that when it is misplaced, it can easily be found. I have designed Thermovission can be called by the telephone by dialing a unique but simple passcode that the customer easily be able to remember or set on their telephone. And to be more useful, can be used as a lighter that comes on if/when the light bulb goes off.
Thermovision is aimed at the 75 million retired or soon-to-retire Baby Boomer demographic. My target is Baby Boomers because studies show that older people are more affected by high heat during the summer and extreme cold during the winter. Every year, thousands of seniors die from weather related illnesses because of highly hot summer months and cold winter months. This is a major problem that will only increase as temperatures continue to increase in the summer and people continue to age more and increasingly live alone.
I have read research that informs me that as people get older, their bodies are less capable of regulating heat because they do not sweat as much as when they were younger. So, during the summer months, older people are more stress, dizzy, and are more prone to suffer from headaches, nausea, and getting heat strokes.
And during the winter months, older people more likely to get sick because like dealing with the summer heat, their bodies do not deal with the cold as well as when they were younger. Their bodies lose heat faster, so, they are at a greater risk of suffering from a heart attack, having kidney problems, liver damage, and other health problems as a result of the cold.
Currently, it is difficult to reach a balance for seniors because their bodies are more sensitive to the temperature and the current system isn’t quick enough to respond to the changing needs of the elderly room temperature. However, I think temperature equilibrium can be achieved
if the elderly have a product such as thermsovission because they can control the room themselves.
The added bonus of thermovission that it will increase the comfort of the customer by enabling him/her to also control the television with the same remote. So instead of being under a blanket in the winter or distressed because of the heat in the summer they can comfortably watch television in their homes.
Production
I have already contacted the biggest and one of the oldest EMS (electronics manufacturing services) company in the U.S, Jabil, to mass produce our devices. Jabil is headquartered in St. Petersburg FL and has over 90 plants in 23 countries, giving me the choice of choosing the site I want produce my product with the same reliability. Some sites are cheaper than others, such as sites in India and China, so I can plan ahead and save on production costs. But to save on shipping and lower length of time from production to the market, I plan to use the plants are in the US plants. at the same time, it is a benefit to work with a company with many plants around the country and the world because I can manufacture products at the closest site from where my customers lives and if I want to expand to other countries in the future, I can do so without worrying about manufacturing.
I am aiming for a production time of less than two months. My aim is to have a length of production of 3-6 six weeks. Being versatile and meeting customers’ needs as soon as possible will give me a competitive advantage against competitors that might surface. So I plane to start manufacturing with plants in the U.S. to cut costs on shipping and have a shorter time from production to the market.
My reason for working with Jabil is because of their experience. At 45 years old, Jabil has
tremendous experience of producing quality products, experience that could cut down on mistakes and delays I might face with a new manufacturing company. Jabil is behind the production of 250 best brands in the world such as apple and Disney. They can produce products at high speeds that can immediately reach the market without too much quality checking on my part. This increase our reliability to our customers. Because they have a history of manufacturing quality products, my remote will also be a quality product.
Because I will be using an EMS Company for mass production, my cost for staffing employees with the technical know-how is greatly cutlet since I will be using their staff. Jabil has over 170,0000 employees, many of whom are experts in the manufacturing of electronic devices.
The risks
Although I believe Thermovision will succeed, there are risks to investing in it. Some of these risks are, Thermovission is a narrow product with a very specific purpose product. Another risks is that there are already wireless remote controls on the market that control television and central heating and cooling systems, albeit individually, but people are already accustomed to such a system and might not see the use of Thermvision. Another risk is at 2 million dollars start up cost, Thermovission costs a bit much too produce and this will increase the retail price that might hinder customers from buying.
Legal disclaimer
Since this is only a peripheral device that enhances the functionality of the existing heating and cooling and home entertainment systems, there are no legal declaimers for its production. Since Thermovission will not be using great amounts of power that might disturb other devices such as
radio transmitters, we will not have any problems from FCC (Federal Communications Commission) either. And since we are not altering the software and hardware of the home systems, I will not have problems with them either. In fact I might even partner with them later if and when I want to add additional functionality on Thermovissions.
One of the legal issues I might face will be on the warranty if there are any faults in my devices. I will grant warranty as it will be required by law to replace or repair faulty products that are the fault of manufacturing.
The market
To go from our prototype to mass production, I will need 2 million dollars. This amount of money will produce half a million remotes. My estimate is that we will start to make profit in three years and get our investment back. Our initial target market is half a million Baby Boomer.
