Pepsi Vending Machine App
Mission Statement:
We are changing the vending machine experience from a last minute purchase, to an informed, convenient consumer option. Utilizing current technological trends, we plan to develop a product that informs and connects consumers to the web of vending machines around them.
The Pepsi Team
Spring 2017
Kenneth Barton
Mechanical Engineer,
Junior
Megan Banh
Mechanical Engineer, Junior
Connor Freeman
Mechanical Engineer, Junior
Richard Soto
Mechanical Engineer, Junior
Tushar Malik
Mechanical Engineer, Senior
The Beginning
Project Background
PepsiCo was founded in 1965 with the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Currently, it's a global food and beverage leader, with products being sold in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. While PepsiCo has already developed very high-tech vending machines that mix drinks or have large LED screens, they are very expensive to produce. In ME 110: Introduction to Product Design, which I took in Spring 2017, our project proposal was to redefine the vending machine experience, while also considering manufacturing costs, human factors and technology and trends. Our team consisted of the members listed above. As a team, we had professional guidance from the teaching staff, and Richard Velasquez, our industry sponsor from PepsiCo. Richard Velasquez provided us with data from the vending machine industry, which revealed that college campuses were one of the biggests market segments for their products. Thus, to fulfill the PepsiCo’s project proposal, we decided to solely focus on the college campus. Narrowing in on college campuses allowed us to gain more specific user insight that would not be achievable if we took a broader basis.
Initial research and data collection
Testing the Waters
Before diving straight into designing, the team began by scheduling a meeting with our industry sponsor. From this meeting, we received very useful background information about the vending machine industry and the desired scope of the project.
After meeting with the sponsor to understand what PepsiCo was looking for out of a project, the team began conducting user interviews. Since we decided to focus on college campuses, we interviewed our friends and faculty to discover the most critical user needs. Two of the peers I interviewed were my roommate and another Mechanical Engineering Student. I asked questions about competitors, inconveniences, perks, and aesthetic questions about the vending machines. Some key insight that I was able to extract from my interviews were related to the contents of the machine. My classmate said he only purchases cold coffee in the heart of campus, typically because he is up late studying and needs something to keep him awake. A similar argument was made by my roommate who uses the vending machine at the gym more than anywhere else. He said he buys a protein bar at the vending machine because he wants to feel good after finishing his workout. The biggest issues my two interviewees ran into with the machines were not in the interaction with the mechanical components, but rather in not knowing what was in the machine or how they can influence that decision. Our final project prototype actually addresses both of these user needs directly because of my interviews and key insight analysis.
After the user interviews, the team sat down and prioritized what the top user needs were based off of their interviews and personal experience.
USER NEEDS:
Locate Vending Machines
Healthy Options
Change of Enticement
Change of Content
Multiple Payment Options
Scratch'EM Up
Concept Generation
After we identified the top 5 user needs, we each broke off to sketch 20 concepts that could fulfill one or all of the user needs. Some of my best sketches are shown on the left.
As a team, we developed a total of 120 concepts. We picked the top five concepts by using the method of concept screen and scoring.
Build 2 Destroy
low, medium fidelity prototypes
We made low and medium fidelity prototypes after the concept generation to help communicate our ideas with 3D models. We rapidly made cardboard figures of the “Coffee2GoGo” and the “Vend and Blend” concepts. I personally constructed the “Coffee2GoGo” low fidelity prototype and even included the proximity rink that pours the coffee so it is hot when you pick it up. The low fidelity prototypes were mostly to help communicate our ideas to our classmates, but it also helped explain them to our own team members. Our team also created a medium fidelity prototype to mirror the effects of the movie theatre popcorn spinner. This product had the functionality we wanted to test on consumers, but not the autonomous feature we would include in the final product.
Fork in the Road
Two Main Concept Ideas
The two main final product routes we had narrowed it down to were polar opposites in prototype forms.
One idea was to modulerize the current vending machine. Building in house add-ons would minimize production costs and the mass orders of vending machines would require minimal changes to their design specs. These modular add-ons would change the uniform look of vending machines and help encourage consumers to use these "unique" machines and functionalities. An example of these add-ons would be a movie theater vending machine. The machine would sell all the classic candies, while also spinning, salting, and buttering your popcorn on the side. You could also view the previews of your specific theater to encourage use from movie goers (my concept drawing is posted in the above section).
The second prototype route, the one we finalized, was to create an iOS application that interconnected all the vending machines and provided useful information to all consumers with smartphones or internet access. Vending machines currently don't have a "virtual menu" that you can look up when you're in need of a drink or snack unlike other restaurants. Our app would have the ability to locate all the different, nearby machines to the user as well as provide an order ahead feature. This would save the consumer time and allow them to pay with multiple different payment methods.
We chose the second prototype style because we went back out into society and performed more user interviews tailored to both routes. We got an overwhelming response from consumers and peers that the app would be much more useful in their daily lives.
Vend2GoGo
Final iOS Product
The final app contains a loading screen with the Pepsi logo and a map centered around your current location displaying nearby vending machines. A pop-up window appears when one of the vending machine icons is tapped, displaying more information about that particular vending machine, like its name and most common items. If the ‘FULL VM’ button is tapped, then the next screen displays all of the items contained in that vending machine, with the number of each item current in stock. If a user clicks on a specific item, its nutrition facts will appear. On this screen, users also have the option of ordering an item ahead and voting on which items they would like to see in that vending machine. In the settings page, users can update their notification settings, their payment options, view their QR code, and their reward points. The next page illustrates some screenshots of how the app looks and its functionalities.Our product has the potential of moving forward through app refinement, continued user research, and beta testing of the voting system. Ideally, if the app was implemented in everyday life, it could do powerful things for PepsiCo and distribution companies. Currently distribution companies have a rigid schedule of what machines to restock each day. If the distributors knew which machines required attention and which ones were already stocked, they would be able to calculate a more efficient and cost friendly delivery track. The voting feature would provide valuable information to suppliers and informing them what the customers wanted more or less of, minimizing waste and profit.
Penny For Your Thoughts
Final Reflection
Throughout the entire semester, ME 110 taught me skills that will directly translate to my working life. Ranging from group projects to individual design journals, I walked away from every class feeling like a stronger student, group partner, and engineer. Before I took the class, I did not realize how much effort and research needed to be done to make a product. The user interviews and how/why ladders were two of my favorite activities that are vital to the design process, even if they don't get the final spotlight. Often in design we get caught up in our own needs and desires, but ME 110 enabled me to understand how vital the user's experience is to the success of a product. This is a lesson that has stuck with me, and I know I will apply in future projects.