“In this age of connected products, ‘software’ is a very broad field involving layers upon layers of technology. Many firms can carve out a small niche in the software stack and build a very successful business. However, in order to be experts in the field, software teams must master the core concepts that span all areas of the software stack; the pillars on which all software technology is built. Master these common paradigms, and you can apply them to any layer of the stack. At IPS, we’ve trivialized the process of integrating new technologies by mastering the core concepts… adopting new software technology is the easy part.”
If you need cloud enablement, migration or development, our engineers can help, whether you’re moving legacy applications to the cloud or creating new ones.
Today, data security is more important than ever. Our GDPR and HIPAA experts are here to help you cover all the bases and ensure that your critical data, and your customers’, are secure.
Your data is important whether you’re mining it to form predictions, aggregating it to determine your business focus, or modeling it for computer vision. IPS can help you design these complex algorithms and give you a user-friendly interface for understanding their output.
Everyday we’re developing native mobile apps, web apps and even apps running embedded microcontrollers. We have expertise in modern tech like React, Angular and Node, as well as mature languages like C/C# and T-SQL.
“IPS’ Design team employs user-centered design (UCD) in all facets of the product development cycle. We know that creating apps is not just designing a screen. Through user research, surveying, and testing, iterative wireframing, mockups, and prototyping, we ensure that our products are not just operational but seamlessly usable and accessible to all. From designing workflows to spec’ing micro-interactions, our UI/UX designers are co-located with our software developers. The close proximity enables rapid-fire collaboration resulting in exciting, beautiful and holistic digital experiences.”
At the heart of every great experience is a rich understanding of the problem it is designed to solve. Through user and competitive research, field studies, interviews and real-world observations, IPS designers prioritize research as key to creating a unique, informed user experience. We generate storyboards, personas, user stories and more, delivering research reports that provide insight on recommended pathways to market and target audience success.
Whether building a simple mobile app or a complex suite of tools, every block begins with a blueprint. At IPS, we analyze and transform product requirements – from marketing to engineering – into visual and contextual hierarchies that makes sense for your user. Via content auditing, generation of user workflows, sitemaps, and the latest available tools, we deliver a robust and representative framework of how your product will be built. Complex schemas are reconstructed into elegant and easily understood solutions.
We have years of experience in creating beautiful visual interfaces that harmonize both digital and physical user experiences. From sketching and wireframing to generating full-fledged style guides and designs, these interfaces harmonize both digital and physical user experiences. Designers work collaboratively with and in close proximity to our cross-functional software teams to build comprehensive, cutting-edge designs.
Through agile workflow and iterative practices, our designs undergo rigorous testing to ensure we deliver experiences that are easy to learn, great to use and seamlessly efficient. We run the gamut on prototyping – from creation of low-fidelity prototypes for quick testing and ideation, to fully designed interactive prototypes with animations, media, and more. Through in-person and remote usability testing, we iteratively validate and improve design assumptions. This user-centric approach keeps goals and needs aligned between you and your targeted users and customers. Related Work
“Really great Mechanical Designs require careful attention to making the right tradeoffs. It’s easy to make a highly rugged design that is either too big, too expensive or can’t be manufactured reliably. The trick is to get the best balance of all these factors, so all are at the appropriate level to satisfy the product requirements. Running a mechanical development project effectively means identifying the best technologies to meet a product’s requirements, assessing them and then mitigating the risks of using such technologies. It’s important to determine how much bleeding edge technology a project can tolerate based on project budget, schedule and risk tolerance. We all want to incorporate next best tech into our products, but cost or schedule may be more important to client. Thankfully, often we can manage to add some really cool ideas into a design, making it truly better.”
If you need integrated mechanical designs that perform both simple and complex movements with the option of integrating IoT capabilities or complex control, our engineers can help. We have worked on a broad cross section of mechanical designs to produce desired results.
Does your product need to operate in the most challenging environments? Our team is well versed in producing comprehensive designs to meet the most demanding specifications. From 6-foot drop tests to IP67 sealing and Intrinsically Safe designs, we have met the challenges of highly rigorous specifications.
Challenging geometries and complex electronic packaging are a routine task for our experienced mechanical engineering team. We are well versed in integrating diverse technologies into tight packages, including wireless connectivity, rechargeable batteries and camera and sensor integrations. We are prepared to turn your vision into tangible parts that are designed for manufacturing repeatability and meet both your functional and cosmetic needs.
We are routinely asked to analyze mechanical systems for our customers. We partner with clients to assess their supplier capabilities for molding and manufacturing. We have engineers on staff to provide both stress/structural and thermal analysis. We are capable of championing test and evaluation plans at our customer’s request.
“Collaboration isn’t just important, it’s critical and necessary. While Industrial Design and/or UIUX Design is in the end, solely for the user and should always push the development team to work towards the most elegant and appropriate design solution on their behalf, we are still members of a development team and thus must also be pragmatists. A successful industrial design or UIUX design is not merely measured by appearance, but by the entirety of the user experience provided after all the pragmatic issues – from manufacturability to business profitability – have been satisfactorily resolved.”
Form follows function. Who is using this product? Identifying every individual that will encounter the product creates a better understanding of how the product will be used. We can offer insights on key users by generating interview questions, evaluating prototypes with controlled user testing, and developing diagrams/matrices that provide data specific to the ergonomics of your product.
In the early stages of a project it is important to capture the form and visual direction of the product. IPS provides brainstorm sessions with you so we can better understand the environment and market your product will live in. We visualize your product through a series of sketches, storyboards, quick CAD generation, lifestyle renderings, and rough or appearance quality mockups. The content that’s created can be used to generate material for reviews, shows and investor pitches.
While we do create some pretty nice sketches, we have the skills necessary to produce class A surfaces for anything we conceptualize. Any surface you can touch or interact with has curated input from the design team. The industrial design team controls and manages all A side surfaces specifying color, material and finish for all prototypes and production parts. We stay engaged throughout the project ensuring the integrity of the design intent is maintained through production.
IPS experience designers put user needs at the center of all our development decisions. Starting with research to understand the needs and objectives of target users, we go beyond physical human factors and create emotional connections through elegant design solutions. Strategic use of light, haptic feedback and sound delight users and leave a lasting impression.
“It is not uncommon for our staff members to wear multiple hats, with responsibilities across markets, technologies and Engineering disciplines. IPS Electrical Engineering exemplifies these traits by nurturing a culture where the team is challenged to step outside their comfort zone on a regular basis. We have found that this creates an environment that is not only rewarding to the staff, but also builds capability and technical competence at an accelerated rate. Satisfied clients lead to new projects and new opportunities. Our clients have an appreciation for well-developed project plans, with actionable milestones and accurate reporting cycles.”
With modern technology so focused on software, hardware design is sometimes taken for granted. However, at the heart of any robust product is a foundation of hardware that must be designed for functionality as well as growth. Hardware platforms have evolved to accept continual Over The Air (OTA) updates in order to take advantage of new features or enhanced functionality, while modern users have evolved to expect this as well. Our hardware engineers are closely coupled with the software team and are tuned for integrating hardware and software to create a sustainable system.IPS Electrical Engineers are all proficient in PCB design, serving Commercial, Industrial, Medical and Military markets, with expertise in the following :
IoT may be a buzzword these days, but everyday at IPS we are connecting clients products and devices to the cloud. From extremely low power sensor nodes to large remotely controlled and automated systems, let IPS help connect your device and provide the data, control, and insight you and your end customer need for those critical decisions. IPS is well versed and fluent in all methods of connectivity and communications, including Edge Node to Gateway/mobile communications, Mesh and Networked devices, cellular, Sub-Ghz, LoRA, SigFox, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
Our commitment extends beyond product design and we are happy to offer our clients “turn-key” delivery options. With local and overseas manufacturing relationships, we leverage our partners to provide a quick and seamless solution to our clients’ production needs. We are capable of managing small quick-turn delivery of prototypes as well as large full scale production. Our clients find value in having a trusted “one-stop” supplier to engage in product development, production, and sustaining support for the full life-cycle of their product.
Relationships are important to us. In addition to partnering with you, we leverage our vendor relationships to add value and expertise to make your product development successful. Below is a list of some of our hardware partnerships.
“A holistic approach, the seamless marriage of hardware and software, is critical for successful embedded system design. This approach, combined with our close working relationships with the other engineering teams at IPS, uniquely positions the Embedded Systems team to provide solutions designed with high technical accuracy and a faster time to market. The Embedded Systems team accomplishes this through our diverse group of talented individuals that are experienced in multiple disciplines (Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering/ Computer Science). This allows us to architect and develop embedded hardware and software with a wide range of capability, functionality, and complexity. IPS’ Embedded Systems team can help you make reality out of possibility.”
At the heart of any product today is an embedded microprocessor/microcontroller. From Ideation to Development and anywhere in between, the IPS Embedded Systems team can make your product real. We support and develop ’bare-metal’ and RTOS based designs of all complexity. As part of our holistic approach, IPS possesses a deep understanding of the Product Development Lifecycle and the Software Development Lifecycle within, being able to conduct the development or your product in both agile, waterfall and hybrid methodologies.
IoT may be a buzzword these days, but everyday at IPS we are connecting clients products and devices to the cloud. From extremely low power sensor nodes to large remotely controlled and automated systems, let IPS help connect your device and provide the data, control, and insight you and your end customer need for those critical decisions. IPS is well versed and fluent in all methods of connectivity and communications, including Edge Node to Gateway/mobile communications, Mesh and Networked devices, cellular, Sub-Ghz, LoRA, SigFox, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
We have expertise in sensor software algorithms, power management, and motor control software development. From development of control software for complex systems – hybrid vehicles, hyperspectral cameras, beverage dispensers, digital signage and displays – to low power solutions – cellular medical devices, and BLE sensor and tracking – our Embedded Systems team can implement the right sized schema and algorithms to provide the highest level of performance of your product.
Relationships are important to us. In addition to partnering with you, we leverage our vendor relationships to add value and expertise to make your product development successful. Below is a list of some of our silicon design partners.
“The key to successfully architecting a complex system is understanding the big picture while being keenly aware of the critical details. From initial introduction, we understand clients’ needs and collaborate to develop an approach that optimizes the project’s requirements, risks, budget, schedule, and product roadmap. As we develop end-to-end architectures, we clearly communicate the rationale that drives key decisions, providing the necessary technical details to ensure alignment with our clients’ vision of the product and the development process.”
We have the expertise to architect a complex, end-to-end system that spans custom hardware and software, cloud/network connectivity, backend processing and end user applications. IPS has the detailed understanding of all the elements in the chain to develop an optimal solution. Platform development takes it a step further with solutions that span several product offerings and generations by leveraging architectures that are sustainable, flexible, scalable and extensible.
Our team has a solid background in medical device development and understands the full development lifecycle – from capturing user needs through verification and validation. While performing within the FDA cGMP and Design Control Guidance, we ensure we are well versed in our clients’ QMS and their implementation of ISO 13485 and ISO 14971 to facilitate outputs from our team and client, allowing us to integrate seamlessly into the QMS.
We have the expertise needed to develop algorithms and simulate solutions for complex signal processing challenges. Algorithm capabilities include adaptive capabilities, machine learning and low power optimization. Algorithms are tailored to the situation’s unique requirements; whether running on battery-powered IoT edge device or on a cloud backend or a user application, we develop the optimal algorithm for the overall system.
IPS maintains technical oversight on complex, multi-disciplinary development projects to ensure that all components are being developed in alignment with the requirements and architecture. Throughout the development lifecycle, as features may be added or market needs become clearer, the impact to the overall system and its elements is evaluated so the necessary tradeoffs and course corrections are made without discontinuity across disciplines. As the keeper of the requirements, we ensure the final product meets requirements through final testing and validation.
“The Manufacturing Services team, an outgrowth of our experience delivering and managing finished products, encompasses all elements of the supply chain management, manufacturing and quality assurance disciplines. In just the past six months, our team has manufactured and released two fully realized products, including developing new packaging, handling logistics direct to customers, and delivered support contracts and warranty services. One of the key factors in our success has been our collaborative, team-based culture. Another success factor has been IPS’s vast and multivariate experience and understanding of what it takes to get a product into production. From smart pill bottles to innovative self-playing pianos, IPS has shepherded hundreds of products into the production cycle for our customers in US, Asia, and Mexico factories. As we now take “cradle to grave” ownership of that production lifecycle, our team offers a unique, high-value advantage over the competition. Our new parent company, Forward Industries, has a successful reputation as a supplier to top tier medical technology companies. We are building upon that expertise by finding suppliers who are best in class for their commodity and leverage their Quality Management Systems to ensure the highest quality product for delivery to our customers. Additionally, our team is well enabled to provide full life cycle management including value engineering and management of component obsolescence.”
“While everyone understands why risk management is critical to the product development process and supports its application in principle, the reality of execution is challenging. Yet early and consistent integration of risk management greatly improves the product development process, enabling a product manufacturer to reduce the product development timeline with a higher-quality product. It’s important to arrive at just the right combination of technical depth, multi-discipline perspective, document preparation, and sheer tenacity to execute a streamlined, efficient risk management effort.”
A critical component of the overall risk management process is development of the risk management plan. This typically occurs at the leading edge of product development, concurrent with development of product requirements. The IPS team can lend their expertise to guide selection of the elements of the risk management plan, such as assessment methods and cadence, acceptance criteria, and milestones, packaging that plan into a formal document.
The core element of risk management is risk assessment. The IPS team is well-versed in the various methods used for risk assessment, including failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA), hazard analysis, fault tree analysis, event tree analysis, and root cause analysis. The IPS team is also expert in management of the resultant risk assessment database, assuring traceability and completeness.
At each iteration of risk assessment, value is gained by applying mitigation strategies to the most significant risks. The IPS team has extensive experience in risk mitigation strategies for a wide variety of risk classes and will guide the product development team toward the most effective strategies for the application. Crucial to the risk management process is documentation of risk assessment and resultant mitigation strategy, captured as formal risk management reports.
The risk management approach used by the IPS team is rooted in ISO 14971, Application of Risk Management to Medical Devices. In addition, the ISO 31000 family of standards is utilized as guidance for application of risk assessment techniques.