Aaron Siegel |
| 4/14/2026
Associate Professor of Teaching, Interactive Technologies
Iovine and Young Academy
Servers, Hosting, and Bandwidth
Performance/Memory
How CPU or memory intensive are the requirements for your backend? If you are driving some form of AI, you likely need a lot of computing power.
Storage
How much storage will be required to facilitate the desired functionality? Will each user continuen to accrue data or will data be expunged over time as it's no longer needed?
Data Transfer
How much data do you anticipate being uploaded and downloaded? How frequently will your API need to be accessed?
Subscriptions
Recurring Cost
What do you anticipate will be the recurring cost to provide the backend service necessary to network your objects?
Cost Increases Over Time
How will you compensate for increasing costs over time (energy, hosting, bandwidth, etc)?
Recurring Revenue Stream
Is there an alternative to subscriptions that would cover your recurring costs? Advertising? Data brokerage?
Longevity & Performance
Moving Parts
What kind of moving parts do you intend to include in your device? How long do you project them to last? What material will they be made from?
Electromechanical Components
What is the projected lifespan of the electromechanical components you have selected? How many times will you be able to turn on and off a motor?
Maintenance & Upgrades
Repairability
How easy will it be to replace components if they wear down or fail? Is this something that will require an expert to refurbish or can it be done by the consumer?
Modularity
How can you design your device so that the most fragile components can be more easily swapped out with replacement parts?
Community Support
Documentation
What kind of documentation will you be providing customers? Will it allow them the ability to troubleshoot any issues that arise? Will you give instructions on setup and operation of your device?
Licensing
Under what license would you like to release your hardware and software? Will this be tightly closed (think Apple) or will it be more open (think Linux or Arduino)?
Forums
Will there be an official location for customers to ask questions for support from either employees or fellow users to help resolve issues?
Environmental Impact
Recycle
What will be the end-of-life process for the various components in your object? Will it be able to be easily deconstructed into different materials?
Reduce
What are some techniques you could use to reduce the amount of materials you are using in your device?
Reuse
When your product has met its end-of-life, is there a way to reuse components for other products and purposes?