Podo Càmera by Chuntze Cheng is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award de Ferro in Disseny de Càmeres i Equipament Fotogràfic Competition Category.

FerroEquipament Fotogràfic· 2021

Podo Càmera

by Chuntze Cheng

Client: Podo Labs, Inc.

A' Design Award de Ferro Winner in Equipament Fotogràfic Category

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The Design

About Podo Càmera

Podo és una càmera compacta dissenyada per a la fotografia mans lliures. Podo mesura 30 mm per 30 mm per 45 mm i pesa 43 grams. Un coixinet de silicona nanoadhesiu situat a la part posterior de la tapa permet fixar la càmera a parets i altres superfícies, i retirar-la per a un ús repetit. La tapa gira sobre una ròtula, de manera que la càmera es pot orientar en gairebé qualsevol angle. Una aplicació mòbil es connecta per Bluetooth i ofereix una previsualització en directe, de manera que cada presa es pot configurar abans d'enregistrar-la. El sensor de 5 megapíxels i la lent de vidre gran angular permeten fer fotos, vídeos i seqüències de lapse de temps (time-lapse).

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Ferro

Podo Càmera és un guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Ferro, un reconeixement prestigiós concedit a bons dissenys que compleixen els requisits professionals i industrials esperats de creacions ben dissenyades. Els guanyadors de Ferro demostren una gran habilitat, una alta especialització, una comprensió experta i la capacitat creativa dels seus creadors. Es preveu que Podo Càmera sigui una creació molt apreciada, admirada i estimada que és pràctica i innovadora. Aquest disseny guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Ferro integra les millors pràctiques del sector i té característiques tècniques competents lligades al coneixement i al talent. Podo Càmera és respectat per la seva minuciositat i està pensat per oferir millores en la qualitat de vida que ajuden a fer del món un lloc millor.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Podo Camera is the world’s first stick & shoot camera that takes hands-free photos to the next level! Stick Podo Camera anywhere using its special nano-adhesive backing and control it with an app.
Dimensions & Packaging: Dimensions: 30 mm x 30 mm x 45 mm
Weight: 43 g
Sensor: 5 MP (2.2 μm pixels)
Video: 720p 30fps
Lens: 90° wide-angle, glass
Memory: 8 GB
8-LED ring
Bluetooth 4.2 LE + Classic
Accelerometer
Rechargeable battery (up to 1.5 hrs. video)
Tags: Camera, Selfie, Travel, Bluetooth, Video, Gadget, Photo, Time-lapse, Accessory, Mobile
Production Technology: Improved design process based on lessons learned from previous product iterations.
Injection molding with
Design Challenge: The ball-join mechanical design was challenging because it needed to allow 360-degree movement for the back flap and incorporate with the overall aesthetics. The form factor of the device was difficult to achieve. We had to minimize the device and keep the aesthetics friendly by applying curvatures on all surfaces while keeping heat dissipation, electronics, and a battery in mind. Material selections of the back flap and light pipe were time consuming because there were many iterations and trials to achieve the desired results. The Bluetooth live preview and image/video transfer speed were quite challenging because there was no off-the-shelf solution available on the marketplace. We had to write our own Bluetooth Host firmware stack in order to achieve easy connectivity and fast transfer speeds.
Research: UX research. To develop a handsfree pocket size camera with an intuitive user interface. Observational trials, survey, focus group studies, and simulations. Cameras, questionnaire, Solidworks, Microsoft Office, TracePro. Travel gurus, influencers, tech writers, target audiences. To define a way to improve the selfie-taking camera experience. We realized that people dislike selfie sticks due to their limitations, and also they are banned in many public locations. We push the selfie taking experience to the next level and open up more creative potential.
Inspiration: While working together on another project we often took pictures with the team. We got tired of someone always getting left out of photos and needing cables to transfer data from our colleague's DSLR. We wanted something much more versatile and easy to use, so we made it!

Podo represents our passion, our team’s grit, and our conviction that technology should be fun and simple.
Project Duration: The project started in June 2015 in San Francisco, USA and finished in January 2017. It was crowdfunded on Kickstarter, sold via online channels, and distributed in Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, and various popup retailers worldwide.
Operation Flow: Step 1: Charge for at least 1 hour.
Step 2: Install the Podo app for Android or iOS.
Step 3: Rotate back flap and remove protective film on sticky pad.
Step 4: Stick securely to a wall and use the app to shoot!
The app provides a live preview stream over Bluetooth so you can set up the shot from any angle. Podo is easy to place in various locations for time-lapse and security purposes.
Patents: Patented, Patent No. WO 2015/038646 A1, Edmond Lee and Jae Hoon Choi, Samuel Pullman, 2015, International Patent.
Trademark (2015) Podo Labs Inc.
Team Members: Chuntze Cheng
Edmond Lee
Jae Hoon Choi
Samuel Pullman
John Fitzpatrick