Summary: The
Arion Clothing Ironing System is an innovative and entertaining way to iron
your clothes. Designed by Nigel Roddy, a product designer from Ireland, this
automated ironing system uses a porous airbag, made from a Nylon/Elastane
weave, which combines pressure, heat, and moisture to get even the most
stubborn wrinkles out and to quickly dry clothes, even straight out of a
washing machine, in less than 15 minutes.
Relative Advantage:
This product provides a relative advantage over the usual drying and ironing
method. For one, it combines two processes (drying and then ironing) into just
one, very simple method. Also, it allows one to do other things while his or
her clothes are being ironed. Roddy aims this product at students and young
professionals and I think that is perfect because we are the groups of people
that are least likely to want to put in the time to iron our clothes,
especially with our wants to have everything happen as quickly as possible
nowadays. Since it is still a concept product, I was not able to locate a
price, but it definitely eliminates having to buy an iron board as well as an
iron and that also saves some room since it is so compact. Furthermore, This is
also safer to use than an iron because one cannot get burned from using this
product, and it is safe for children to be around. Ironing tables can collapse
or if one were to put an iron down and walk away a permanent burn can be placed
on or through the clothing, but that is not the case with this product. Also,
an article of clothing with an intricate design or beading doesn’t have to be
threatened by the heat of an iron that could ruin the entire design of the
clothing.
Complexity: From
the pictures I found, this ironing system seems fairly basic to use. The airbag
is attached to the fan and whatever needs drying is simply placed over the
airbag. When it expands, it fills every inch of the garment and does all the
work for the user. The only trouble I would be concerned about would be
attaching the garment or the airbag correctly as to avoid the garment or
airbag, or both, flying off once the air is turned on. I can also imagine some
difficulty with exceptionally heavy items of clothing (wet jeans, or
sweatshirts), or clothing made out of delicate materials. It turns on with the
push of a button and, unlike ironing, it requires no special techniques to get
certain wrinkles out of creases or to prevent making new creases. When the
product is not in use it collapse very easily with minimal storage space
required, while an entire ironing board needs to be set up correctly so it
doesn’t fall, and then later folded up correctly to minimize the amount of
space taken up.
Trialability:
Since this is not a product available on the market yet, the ability to try it
out is still limited. I can imagine that as soon as it is released into
home/department/hardware stores there will be an ability to try it out. Most
products like this come with some kind of limited warranty that I believe would
also work well as a trial period. The eventual ability to try this out will
definitely increase its rate of adoption because once people see how quick and
easy it works, they will be more likely to try it out for themselves.
Observability:
The observability of this product is limited to those who are using it or are
in the area where one is being used. Just a random person walking down the
street will not know that the item of clothing somebody is wearing has been
ironed using this special machine or not. I think probably word of mouth,
seeing the excitement from users, and commercials would be the most effective
way of spreading observability of this product because otherwise it cannot
really be observed.
Compatibility: The
Arion is compatible with today’s fast-paced and multitasking society because it
is much quicker than conventional ironing and allows for people to tend to
other tasks at the same time. Not only is it great for students and young
professionals but nowadays women, who are traditionally associated with
housework, are extremely busy juggling work as well as being a mom and a wife,
so this helps immensely for the woman who doesn’t have a lot of time to spare.
However, a downside I see is that it has to be attached to a power outlet.
While clothing irons can be portable nowadays, this one can’t. It may limit the
freedom of where these chores can be done.
Adaptability: This
product can definitely be customized to fit the user’s need. Besides the fact
that it can be used on virtually every item of clothing, one can remove the
airbag component and use the fan as an aerator for sneakers, or anything else
that needs to be dried. It can be used as a space heater or cooler as well. At
first glance it reminds me of those inflatable wavers that businesses use as
advertisement, so when not in use for drying it can be used to advertise some
small things or as a product of entertainment.
Will it be adopted? I believe that this product will be adopted
because of its positive twist on ironing as well as the versatility to be used
for so many other things. It is great for today’s “on-the-go” lifestyle and
appeals to society’s need for the next better, faster, gadget. The only
downside I see is the potential hardships of setting up and possibly perfecting
the use of this product. Also, if it had the ability to be portable I think it
would raise the adoption rate exponentially.
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