Hubble - Portable Magnetic Wearable Heating System

Overview

Hubble is a rechargeable, magnetically-attached wearable heating device designed to provide portable, targeted warmth for outdoor enthusiasts and cold-climate commuters. The project was developed as part of the Cornell M.Eng Systems Engineering capstone, with a 10-member cross-functional team spanning mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and marketing.

The project followed the full systems engineering lifecycle — beginning with stakeholder analysis and market research, progressing through concept generation and selection, and culminating in detailed SysML modeling, FMEA risk analysis, and physical prototyping. My contributions spanned two domains: I led the marketing workstream (brand identity, survey design, conjoint analysis, and business model development) and co-led the systems engineering modeling effort using CATIA Magic (use case diagrams, block definition diagrams, internal block diagrams, and AHP trade studies).

Originating Requirements

Ten originating requirements were established through stakeholder analysis and market research, each tracing back to identified user needs. Every requirement was paired with an abstract function name, known issues, and a proposed resolution — ensuring full traceability from stakeholder needs to engineering specifications.

Use Cases & Priority Classification

30 use cases were identified and classified by priority to capture all user interactions and system functions. These ranged from core heating operations and safety features to smart device integration and app connectivity. The priority classification directly informed the requirements weighting in the AHP and design trade-off decisions.

Concept Selection — Decision Matrix

Six product concepts were evaluated against seven weighted criteria using a decision matrix. Normalized scores were multiplied by user-dependency weights derived from survey data to produce final weighted scores. Concept A (Hubble MagnaHeat) scored highest with a total of 392, validating the magnetic clip-on heating pod design.

System Architecture & Subsystems

The system architecture was formally modeled in CATIA Magic using SysML, capturing requirements, structure, behavior, and interfaces across the full product system. The system was decomposed into 10 subsystems — each with defined interfaces, requirements, and failure modes.

Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

The Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to establish priority weights for the product requirements. Pairwise comparisons between safety, battery life, effectiveness, price, and design produced a consistent priority ranking that guided all downstream design decisions. Effectiveness emerged as the highest-weighted criterion at 40%, followed by safety at 30%.

Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA)

A comprehensive FMEA was conducted across all subsystems to identify, assess, and mitigate potential failure modes. Each failure was evaluated for severity, occurrence likelihood, and a Risk Priority Number (RPN). Corrective actions were defined for every identified failure mode, with the three highest-risk items driving key design mitigations.

Product Design

The design progressed through multiple prototype iterations, from early foam mockups to 3D-printed enclosures with integrated electronics. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) validated thermal performance, confirming the dual-zone heating configuration achieved target operating temperature within 90 seconds of activation while maintaining safe skin-contact surface temperatures.

Branding & Business Model

I led the complete brand identity development for Hubble — from naming and logo design to color palette selection and packaging concepts. The brand positioning emphasized warmth, portability, and modern design, targeting young professionals and outdoor enthusiasts. Conjoint analysis from the survey data validated pricing and feature bundle preferences, informing the go-to-market strategy.

A comprehensive Business Model Canvas was developed covering value propositions, customer segments, revenue streams, and key partnerships. The analysis identified a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model supplemented by outdoor retail partnerships as the optimal distribution strategy, with projected break-even within the first year of production.

Key Contributions

• Designed and analyzed a 219-response market survey using conjoint analysis and demographic segmentation to validate product-market fit
• Built complete SysML architecture in CATIA Magic — Use Case, BDD, IBD, Activity, and State Machine diagrams — serving as the engineering backbone for cross-team coordination
• Conducted FMEA with 10 failure modes identified and mitigated, and QFD matrix linking customer needs to engineering parameters
• Developed full brand identity (naming, logo, color palette, packaging) and Business Model Canvas with financial projections
• Managed cross-functional coordination between mechanical, electrical, and marketing sub-teams across a 10-member team over 6 months

Tools & Methods

• CATIA Magic — SysML modeling with Use Case, BDD, IBD, Activity, and State Machine diagrams
• FMEA / QFD / AHP — risk analysis, requirements traceability, and weighted decision making
• SolidWorks & FEA — mechanical design, 3D prototyping, and thermal simulation
• Qualtrics & Conjoint Analysis — 219-response survey, feature preference modeling, pricing strategy
• Adobe Creative Suite — brand identity, logo design, color palette, and packaging concepts
• Business Model Canvas — value propositions, customer segments, revenue streams, go-to-market strategy