Not certain I'm in the correct forum, but hope I am.
I would like guidance on how to promote Arduino projects that may have potential for market success. In my case I have built a tank water level sensor that has undergone rigorous testing and will soon be installed.
That said, I have begun to wonder what would be involved in bringing this system to market. To be clear, I am not asking for guidance about my own project, but only about Arduino projects in general.
Thank you.
Compare to competing products.
Ease of use, reliability, use at various temperature ranges, use at harsh environments. What are the competing devices?
Research the market: how many people would buy one, for what price and why would they want to buy yours?
Can you make the device for less than what people are willing to pay?
Take a view at Wish.
What questions do you have?
Usually the real problem is advertising and promotion... Finding your potential customers and informing them that it's available.
If AC power or RF transmission is involved there are usually regulatory requirements and it's expensive to get approval.
I would not agree.
It can be very expensive to get approval.
How can the forum help you without the details of the sensor\project ?
So if you want help as to what is involved in making a profit from the project, perhaps provide the details.
And even more if NOT approved. I have one recent example. We had a customer, an engineer with an idea, with a design that went inside a house wiring metal box and was connected directly to 120 VAC.
The UL lab required a 400 unit production run. Each circuit board was serial numbered. When the complete assembly was completed, the lab send a list of serial numbers to be sent to them for testing. As I recall, the device was approved, but only went to the people who crowd sourced the development. No further devices were built.
Thank you to all who responded to my query. This was precisely the feedback I was hoping to get.
Background
After I learned that my water co-op had Wi-Fi installed at both water tank pump houses I offered my time and resources to try and develop a water level sensor for each tank based on Arduino at no charge to the water co-op.
Fast-forwarding
In truth, I had no idea what this project would entail to bring to life. However, it is now fully functional and provides an enclosure (shown below) whose LCD displays water tank level, in-tank temperature and humidity and LiPo back-up battery voltage.
Features:
I asked for and received a written and signed 'hold harmless' document to prevent the water board suing me after the fact. Bottom line is that my sensor will be the 'back up' sensor and not the main means of deteriming the water level. A pressure gauge at the tank bottom is now their water level gauge.
Bottom Line
I feel that this system is marketable as is for a few reasons: (1) It works, and (2) it is simple to install. The ultrasonic sensor and AM2302 temp/humidity sensor are mounted to a UHMD block (non rusting) that is mounted inside of the tank hatch using rare earth magnets.
If there appears to be a lot of bureaucratic obstacles then I will bow out. My goal with this project has always been to provide a solution to this problem which seems to exist in many of these environments. I was told that the board looked into a system such as this but the price tag was too steep for them - $5K, as I recall.
Lastly, I have gained a TON of knowledge developing this project. None of my success would have been possible without the help I have received in this and other forums.
Thank you!
Excellent questions. I will consider each.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comments.
I have done some research and think that I can provide these at a very competitive price, but what I do not know anything about is the legal and bureaucratic ramifications that I would face before I would be able to market this sensor.
Thanks.
Thank you for your comments.
You hit on something that I had overlooked: wi-fi! If a potential client does not have wi-fi installed then my system will not work.
Thank you.
