Camera Solutions

[M4CB]

Howdy Partners,

I work in an industry where there's a potentially untapped market for a specialty camera.

Essentially a camera must be able to transmit data, and have a reliable source of power in order to function. Most of the times you're able to run wiring to the cameras. Delivering power and receiving and transmitting data.

Unfortunately not only is distance an issue but power generation an issue as well. In addition to that, these cameras will have to be periodically moved from location to location. Meaning portability is an issue.

I know how to fix all of these problems due to my personal knowledge. Essentially, there are three basic "needs", or product pieces, for my idea. Each need is addressed already by an individual product already on the market, sometimes used independently, sometimes used interdependent with the others, but never really used for the specialty application in this untapped market.

There are products on the market already for each of these three basic needs.

I've contacted a camera distributor I had dealings with in the past. They say the have cameras that meet my specific hardware requirements.

At this point I've simply got to create a basic functional prototype to see if I can get the camera to function in this special environment (which the distributor confirmed it should be capable of doing), and then see if the camera can function properly for my customers other unique needs. Among all the other little details involved. This I can achieve with time and a little money (money I can get, time is appreciably more difficult to come by).

Once I have a working prototype I then run into the problem of the command of control. I don't like going through distributors for my products if I don't have to. Once I've proven the concept of design, should I be contacting the individual manufactures (bypassing the middleman distributors), in order to reduce my supply chain? Maybe the manufacturers would be willing to alter one of their designs to meet a more specific industry capable camera?

What's interesting here is that I'm really not creating new products, just bringing multiple different products used in various other markets together, tweaking them, adding some industry specific configurations, and then rebranding them for an untapped market. I can't see myself buying known name brand names equipment, programming them for my customers specific needs, sticking them in a box, and calling it my own. Shouldn't these various products have my logo? My brand?

I got most of the skills, the market is untapped. What do you all think?

 

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[M4CB]

Update: I've gotten all my basic design needs on paper. Perhaps unsurprisingly this project is far more complex than I initially though, lol. The technology is all out there, in various products. I'm now attempting to contact design engineers to help me create a design I can use to then contact manufacturers with. With some further research I've also found out that I'm not the first person to have my idea either. Darn-it. Fortunately everyone else hasn't done a really good job creating their products as they have very limited uses. In addition you have to research heavily to find them, meaning their marketing needs work. So even though there's competition, I'm not worried about it. Let the best product win.

 

[Beerbread]

It looks super ambitious, but I'm curious to see what you can come up with. Is what you're doing have to do with speeding up the work flow between tethering/wifi?

 

[M4CB]

It looks super ambitious, but I'm curious to see what you can come up with. Is what you're doing have to do with speeding up the work flow between tethering/wifi?

Nope, it's just a specialty camera with market specific specifications. Along with a few other pieces of software and hardware needed to make it function.

 

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[M4CB]

Update: Hard, this is hard. In my original post (deleted now). I stated that the execution of this idea could be fairly easy. It could, if I wasn't trying to make a profit, or if I were taking the easy route and compromising on finial quality and end user satisfaction. If I do that, and take the easy road, it won't be a productocracy, and there's no point in doing something half-assed. My Dad always said, do it right the first time.
The fact is, this idea is extremely difficult. There are so many different variables. Each one requiring a solution. Like links in a chain, I have to build each one at a time, some are worse than others. The solutions all exist in the market currently. It's just putting them all together into a profitable package that can be taken to market and priced so it can sell. While still honoring the commandment of control. That's going to be a bitch. Might take longer than a year, as the feature list is so long, but it really has to be to appeal to the specific market. Otherwise, it'll be too nich. It need the long feature list to justify the purchase.
I've got the basic idea written out at this point. It's taken me too long, and I've gotten too distracted along the way. My job takes so much time and energy. Most days I work 11-14 hours a day. Sometimes longer. I work for weeks on end, and then take a few days off to recover. I'll be switching jobs soon so I'll actually have most of the weekends off and be making 30% more to boot. I've set a deadline for myself. By December of next year I'll be working on distributing my alpha prototype to alpha testers. That's where I need to be to be satisfied.
I'll also quit my full time work (unless more direct funding is required, I'll do everything I can to avoid investors and outside funding) and work part time. I've cut my bills to a bare minimum and got rid of my unnecessary apartment (thanks Mom & Dad for letting me use your place when I come home from working). I'm focusing all possible effort on making this a reality. Daily action to a progressive whole. Next up, a bunch of uncomfortable cold calls to electrical engineers who specialize in cameras. As well as lots of specific research online. I'm not sure HOW each value skew I've identified will ultimately be solved, but the answers are all out there. I just need to find them, and put the puzzle together.