General Idea

The Ikea PS Wall Rack is a super versatile way to collect and organise things around you: It works as a clothing rack, but also in the kitchen, bathroom, basically wherever you want things within reach on the wall. One big advantage of PS is the wide variety of hanger modules like hangers, plates, even mirrors!

Our idea is to make PS even more versatile by adding the concept of “Smart Hangers”

Elements

The standard cylindrical hangers are replaced with "digitally enhanced" ones that are able to sense the weight of the added object. They also have a way to send visual cues, for example an LED inside them that makes the slightly translucent hanger light up. They exchange their data to a small base station or similar that can be attached to the PS or put somewhere near it, which contains a small WiFi enabled logic board.

In addition to this the user has an app on his or her mobile phone that is managing the connected PS racks and hangers.

Challenge Spec

Please see the example use case below for a concrete example of the expected functionality of the system.

Right now we’re considering that a base station for this is an integral piece of the solution - you’re welcome to propose alternatives (One thought we have here is to also explore options to just have the hook/hangers connect directly to the user's WIFI network using something like a Photon based approach). It seems like the technology to connect from the hook to the base station, might exceed just having the hooks register themselves directly to the app (or a web service that Ikea runs for the hooks). E.g. like Sonos speakers don't really have a base station that "consolidates" them, they register up to Sonos and the app then talks to them (basically). Well in that case there is a bridge unit, but that's just to get the speakers from their dedicated wifi network to your home network.)

The base station would:

-be network enabled in some appropriate fashion to connect to the smart hangers
-be battery powered or connected to a wall socket. 
-for setup purposes it should initiate its own WiFi network where the user can tap into with their device to do the initial setup. 
-execute the scenarios defined by the user (see example use case), querying services and sending triggers to the hangers. 

Each hanger has the following requirements: 

-connects to the base station (or other network) in an unobtrusive way. Wireless is preferred, although other options might also be explored. 
-the power source must be identified, whether battery, hooking into power on the rack or any other approach you think makes sense
-an indicator (preferably LED in our spec but we’re open to exploration) of the state and to show notifications (e.g. “It’s raining!”)
-some kind of load sensor to measure weight. Max weight would be 5kg. Accuracy should be +/- 50g.
-dimensions: Cylindrical shape with 10.5cm length and 2.5cm in diameter

Goals:

The following questions should be answered within the challenge: 
-What kind of hardware would you use if you take the base station approach and why? Describe the technical layout and the space your setup would need. 
-What kind of hardware would you use for the hangers and why? Describe the technical layout and the space your setup would need. You can aim for aesthetic or technical design as the main focus but either way this should function.
-How would the hangers communicate (with or without a base station) If you see multiple viable options, please describe pros and cons and recommend your preferred one. 
-What are the top 3 risks you see with the project in technical terms? 

Out of scope:

-mass production related issues - this is entirely a prototype
-the mobile app piece (there will be a follow up challenge for this)
-mass production related issues - this is entirely a prototype
-the mobile app piece (there will be a follow up challenge for this)
-software and service architecture (there will be a follow up challenge for this)

Example Use Case 

Say hi to Jennifer, she just bought a PS with a set of "smart hangers" for it. :)

Setup phase

She slides the hanger modules into the rack and connects the base station to a power socket. She then installs the "Ikea Smart PS" app on her mobile phone. The base station created a WiFi that Jennifer connects to with her phone, which is used to configure the station. The app welcomes her and guides her through the setup process. First, she enters her regular WiFi that is connected to the internet. Then she either creates an Ikea Smart Home account or logs in with her existing one. Finally the base station discovers the smart hangers and registers them, so they are added to Jennifer’s Ikea Smart Home account.

Scenario selection

Jennifer wants to use her PS as a coat hanger next to her door. On it, she has a coat, a light summer jacket and a rain coat. Her idea: She wants to be notified what to take based on the current weather data. First she logs into her Smart Home Account on her phone to register the individual clothes in the "Item" section:

She choses an empty smart hanger within the app.
She hangs up an item there.
The app shows her a confirmation that an item has been placed plus the weight of it.
She can name the item to store it.

She does this for all three items. Assuming that all items have a different weight, PS can recognise the items even if they are on different hangers later.

She then goes into the "Scenario" section to tell PS what to do:

She choses a "Weather" based scenario.
She adds or confirms her location to let the system know where to look.
The app offers a number of weather based rules to choose from. She defines ranges of temperature and time ("Between 10 and 15 degrees in the next 8 hours") and events ("Rain in the next 4 hours") and assigns items to them.
She chooses an action ("Notify me when I approach my PS")
She saves the scenario and the PS hangers flash as confirmation

Usage

When Jennifer approaches the door next time (passing the PS smart rack), her phone (the Ikea Smart Home app) will send her a notification about the weather status and a recommended item to wear. Additionally the hanger with the matching item will light up, so she doesn't even need to take out her phone.

Final Submission Guidelines

Deliverables:

Written information in text/word/pdf format
Sketches of the hook (and base-station if designed in)
High level diagrams of proposed communication methodology
The end goal is that from your submission the client should be able to put together a functioning prototype

Scoring:

30% Creativity and convenience of approach

 - How practical is it to use? (Convenience for the customer during installation / setup and usage)
 - How innovative / creative is the approach? (Delight through cleverness of the solution)

30% Assessment of feasibility of implementation

 - How practical is it to implement? (Convenience in production and later development / operation)
 - The quality of your research and the details provided.

40% Subjective view of the solutions provided

 - Clarity and presentation - how well is your solution presented and how easy is it to understand?
 - Completeness - have you addressed all the requirements and points?

The scorecard in this challenge is irrelevant - the guidelines above will be used for scoring.