2012 Galleries
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Galleries // 2012 Spark:Product // Dropcam Camera
Dropcam Camera
Winner - Gold
Competition: Spark:Product
Designer: Mr. Dan Harden & Whipsaw Design Team - President/CEO
Design Type: Consumer Electronics
Team Member: Dan Harden Dropcam HD is a good example of holistic design. Every criteria for good design is met here. It solves a problem in a clever way, it works well, looks good, is well made, conserves material and energy, incorporates state of the art technology, and it's a snap to use. Integrated form and function is perhaps Dropcam's greatest design attribute. Its form is derived from its 3-axis adjustable function which informs users exactly how to adjust it. Nothing extraneous was added and its purpose is clear. The aluminum vertical paddle tilts 180 degrees; the lens assembly turns 360 degrees inside the paddle hole, and the base swivels 360 degrees in its wall mount bracket. The compact round camera module contains all the electronics, and it is nestled into the paddle/ base mount which provides all the aiming adjustment. The camera can snap out of the base assembly so it can be used for special cases, for example attaching it to a firefighter’s helmet so his captain can monitor the blaze, or attaching it to a baby’s crib. - Good materials, used sparingly. Dropcam is an aluminum structure with a polycarbonate camera housing snapped into it. The aluminum profiles are thin yet strong. The materials look great and it will last forever. - Night vision: The round camera not only allows you to turn it within its mount, but twelve infrared led illuminators surround the lens in a ring (under the slightly translucent housing). These infrared led's in this formation evenly illuminate any scene, even a burglar lurking in the pitch dark of the night. - Amazing technology in a tiny package: The camera is HD quality and wirelessly records to the Cloud so you can view video anywhere at any time, real time or recorded, and your hard drive doesn’t get filled up. - Low cost. Dropcam's efficient use of materials and overall simplicity means that it costs less than competitors. - Super Reviews: - “Dropcam HD is the height of elegance.” – John Biggs – techcrunch.com, “...shockingly easy to setup. It's actually comical how easy it is.” – Darren Murph - Engadget.com, “Dropcam is a breakthrough in this category, ingeniously designed", Julio Ojeda-Zapata – Twin Cities Pioneer Press.