Name: Avinash Shivakumar

Assignment #1

Idea #1: Squeegee for horses that can clean them and also help them change colors

For this idea, I looked at the situation from a third-person standpoint and decided not to use an anthropomorphic horse in my design considerations. Instead, I assumed a practical, natural horse for the product’s user. From this, I eventually settled on a sort of “car-wash” (a “horse-wash”, if you may) for horses by which they may press their respective hooves upon a button on the ground in order to activate the automated squeegee scrubber in the horse-wash frame. The horse would be expected to walk through the frame to utilize the squeegees and, at the end of the horse-wash, would receive an animal-safe coat of spray paint. It is possible to train and condition a horse to move through these motions with relative ease.

Idea #2: Pen for humans that can function as a lightsaber and a toothpick

For this idea, I don’t believe that it was ever specified that the pen needed to function as a writing utensil, so I went with a design that looks like a pen but cannot function strictly as one (this reminds me of a scene in the Spy Kids movie series where the kids are presented with a wristwatch that has numerous unbelievable and uncharacteristic capabilities but cannot actually tell the time). I also decided to model my design somewhat after the new sword-like lightsaber design shown in some of the previews for the 2015 Star Wars movie, where there are appendages on the sides of the hilt in addition to the beam of light that protrudes from the main shaft. I thought of including a ‘pen cap’ for protection but decided against it, concluding that it might just become an extraneous part due to the high material permeability of the lightsaber beam (i.e. the lightsaber beam would just burn through it anyway).

Idea #3: Chainsaw for pandas that can collect bamboo and help in the conquest for world domination

For this idea, I assumed that the users were anthropomorphic pandas. My design included a scooping mechanism by which the pandas would be able to harvest chunks of bamboo small enough to eat in one bite. Also, due to the fact that pandas’ immune systems are highly developed, I thought it would be interesting to give the pandas the power of biological warfare in their conquest for world domination. The pandas might be able to use some type of biohazard that they are immune to but humans are susceptible to in order to eradicate the human race and take over as the supreme species. Needless to say, if anthropomorphic pandas came into possession of biohazards, human beings may need to watch out.