Why can't we ask Alexa to make our homes smell like our favorite scents? With LAYR, now you can. This smart scent diffuser is compatible with Alexa and Google Home; and it comes with a convenient mobile application to schedule different scents at different times.
I was brought on this project to source funding for manufacturing, coordinate mobile app designs/development, and to help with prototyping. Our team had some very skilled industrial designers that found a way to enable the device to hold up to 4 scent cartridges. Due to some late stage patent issues, we had to put this project on hold until we can identify a new scent delivery mechanism.
Most scent diffusers operate on oil and leave residue on your hands and around the devices. These diffusers also require manual input to control the only function of turning on and off.
Candles are a preferred solution to most, but still leaves something to be desired. Many of the people we interviewed complained about forgetting a candle was lit, and returned home/woke up to a lingering scent and a burnt out candle.
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Using pods of scent infused beads simplifies the delivery mechanism to just blowing air over the beads. The user experience is simplified to that of a Keurig; no more fumbling around with oil and water levels. The enables the device to hold up to four scents at once and switch between them.
By building a mobile app to schedule scents, users can fall asleep to one scent and wake up to another. This was an important feature for many people. Similarly, like the Nest, users can schedule scents to activate 30mins before they get home so they always arrive to a relaxing environment.
When you're finally in that perfect spot and too comfortable to move, you don't want to have to get up and walk across the room to light a candle. Now you can simply ask Alexa to set the mood you're feeling and we'll handle everything from there.
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The device itself can hold up to four pods of any scent, and utilizes a rotating mechanism to switch between them. This reduces device complexity to only needing 1 fan. RFID is used for cartridge and flavor detection so your app and Alexa know what options you have loaded.
We used 3D printers to prototype our device but would want to move to injection molding for commercial production. We were also able to source many of the functional components and RFID tags from suppliers. Overall unit cost to make would be between $15-$20, and sale would be ~$80.
The user experience starts with the unboxing. We wanted a minimal and clean user experience from the moment of purchase. It's also important to have information about the device on the packaging so users know what it is and how to use it.
Our hypotheses of scent scheduling, smart home integration, and the need for multiple pods were all validated by user testing. We benchmarked our product against competitors, and our user experience was the best overall. There were some areas for improvement, but we were very satisfied with the results.
We sold 3 devices to university students that wanted to improve their dorm room environment. The feedback we got from these users was crucial to understanding the lifespan of each pod, potency in different environments, and overall user experience.
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