Rationale (Group Design)

Producible (Overall Design)

While the end result, a dune buggy to be used for dune research, will be an extremely useful tool for researchers and scientists, the capabilities for producing large amounts of this product is very limited and in a way almost unnecessary.  The design will be constructed using standard parts from a Vex Robotics Kit as well as other products such as a video camera.  But nothing in this design consists of a new product or component created specifically for the design.  Because the actual construction of the vehicle will vary from user to user, it does not make sense to have many various components that will only appeal to certain users.  Some users will want to have certain features that other users may not find useful for their purposes.  Being that as it is, the design already has a part that is left for customization on the users part.  Basically, my partner and I are creating more of an idea rather than an actual product to be mass produced as sold exactly as it is.  There are too many options for functions that the vehicle could carry out and the design is made so that it will be able to accommodate all of these options.  The design is very basic and can be thought of more as a starter kit to be built and customized by the user.  In theory, if this design were to be sold, the design would come with just the necessary parts to have a vehicle that can move forward, backward, left and right.  Other parts that are able to be attached to the design and perform various functions would be sold by the same manufacturer; however, they would not come with the basic starter kit. 

While our design will be able to perform various functions (live video, photography, plant samples), they are not an integral part to the overall design and will be able to be easily taken off. 

Profitable (Overall Design)

As mentioned before, if the design was sold, it would come as a starter kit.  Very few things would be different than what our team will receive to start building.  From there, the user will be able to customize the vehicle with a variety of supplemental parts and components.  The profitability of this design is purely dependent on how many people are going to want to purchase it.  It is more likely that this design will appeal only to a very select group of scientists than it is that it would be a feasible idea to mass produce this design. 

Differentiated (Overall Design)

Nothing on the market currently resembles this design.  Many different products are available to perform individual functions that this design will be able to perform, but nothing exists that has the capability to combine different functions into an automated vehicle that will not greatly impact the environment on which it travels.  In that way, this design is truly unique.  The uniqueness and functionality of this design should be enough to make this design appeal greatly to those that would use it.