Podo 相机 by Chuntze Cheng is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 铁奖 in 相机与摄影器材设计 Competition Category.

铁摄影器材· 2021

Podo 相机

by Chuntze Cheng

Client: Podo Labs, Inc.

A' Design Award 铁奖 Winner in 摄影器材 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #118713

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Colors

The Design

About Podo 相机

Podo 是一款专为免手持摄影而设计的紧凑型相机。Podo 尺寸为 30 毫米 × 30 毫米 × 45 毫米，重 43 克。背部翻盖上的纳米粘性硅胶垫可将相机吸附于墙面及其他表面，并可取下反复使用。翻盖通过球形关节转动，因而相机几乎可以对准任意角度。配套移动应用通过蓝牙连接，提供实时预览功能，可在拍摄前完成每一次取景构图。500 万像素传感器与广角玻璃镜头支持照片、视频及延时摄影序列拍摄。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 铁奖

Podo 相机是 A' Design Award 铁奖得主，这是授予满足人们对设计精良的创作所期待的专业与工业要求的优良设计的声望认可。铁奖得主展现出其创作者的高超技艺、高度专业化、专家级的理解力和创造能力。预计Podo 相机将成为一件备受推崇、令人钦佩且被珍爱的创作，既实用又创新。这件赢得 A' Design Award 铁奖的设计整合了行业最佳实践，并拥有与专业知识和才华相结合的称职技术特性。Podo 相机因其严谨而受到尊重，旨在提供有助于让世界变得更美好的生活品质改善。

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