Design, manufacturing and analysis of smart furniture

Abstract

In this article, we present a hands-on example to create a commercially relevant product using mainly local resources. Therefore, we wish to inspire young entrepreneurs to use local infrastructure for product development. In Qatar, strong institutional support comes from the angle of administration and intellectual property. However, the assistance needed in solving practical problems seems to be limited at first glance. When it comes to hardcore prototyping, entrepreneurs sometimes rely on personal networking that may be insufficient. In an ongoing project in HBKU CSE (Hamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Science and Engineering), we were challenged with the task of developing a line of garden furniture that could accommodate sensors for monitoring plant vegetation. This article describes our experience with this process. We believe that this work may become an important reference for startupers who are experiencing similar manufacturing challenges, and serves as a didactic piece to familiarize students with the basic structural elements of scientific articles using minimal terminology.