Podo Cámara by Chuntze Cheng is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award de Hierro in Diseño de Equipos de Fotografía Competition Category.

HierroEquipos de Fotografía· 2021

Podo Cámara

by Chuntze Cheng

Client: Podo Labs, Inc.

A' Design Award de Hierro Winner in Equipos de Fotografía Category

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The Design

About Podo Cámara

Podo es una cámara compacta diseñada para la fotografía con manos libres. Podo mide 30 mm por 30 mm por 45 mm y pesa 43 gramos. Una almohadilla de silicona nanoadhesiva situada en la solapa trasera permite fijar la cámara a paredes y otras superficies, así como retirarla para volver a utilizarla repetidamente. La solapa gira sobre una rótula esférica, de modo que la cámara puede orientarse en casi cualquier ángulo. Una aplicación móvil se conecta mediante Bluetooth y ofrece una vista previa en directo, de manera que cada toma puede componerse antes de grabar. El sensor de 5 megapíxeles y el objetivo gran angular de cristal permiten realizar fotografías, vídeos y secuencias en time-lapse.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Hierro

Podo Cámara ha ganado el A' Design Award de Hierro, un reconocimiento prestigioso concedido a buenos diseños que cumplen los requisitos profesionales e industriales que se esperan de creaciones bien diseñadas. Los ganadores de Hierro demuestran gran habilidad, alta especialización, comprensión experta y capacidad creativa de sus creadores. Se espera que Podo Cámara sea una creación muy apreciada, admirada y querida, práctica e innovadora. Este diseño ganador del A' Design Award de Hierro integra las mejores prácticas del sector y tiene características técnicas competentes unidas a conocimiento práctico y talento. Podo Cámara es respetado por su minuciosidad y está concebido para aportar mejoras en la calidad de vida que ayudan a hacer del mundo un lugar mejor.

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