Bear-Proofing Garbage Bins

Working in teams of 6, we developed a functional prototype and a business plan for a new product. This included over 100 interviews with real-world stakeholders, IP reviews, company financial planning, and culminated in a product demo and an investor pitch.

Our group focused on the problem of bears breaking into residential garbage cans. This is a big problem; over 500 bears are killed in British Columbia each year due to human interaction. We designed a garbage bin docking station that would secure the bins upright to prevent bears from breaking in.

I helped heavily with customer interviews, speaking personally with residents, bear conservation societies, and representatives from over 10 municipalities. From these interviews, I distilled technical product requirements that directly influenced the mechanical design of our product. Although we ultimately decided not to pursue this idea further than the course, it was hugely successful; we had multiple municipalities asking us if they could pilot our product, and we even gave our prototype to a North Vancouver resident who was excited to install and use it on his house!