原创 High-performance, low-cost products: Engineer's dilemma

The upside is that I am repeatedly astonished at the performance and functionality that is packed into consumer products, and at an amazingly low price. The downside is that I fear this never-ending wave of providing so much more for so much less has been a major contributor to the low professional stature of engineers of all disciplines in the public's mind.

The latest example I saw of a product with an impressive ratio of specifications and features to price was the Kidizoom Camera Connect from VTech Electronics. These may be low-to-modest by today's standards for non-kid products, but they would have been considered pretty good just a few years ago for adult products as well. A few key specs of this camera, which has a suggested retail price under $50, include:
- 1.3 Mpixel  (probably not with the finest image-color rendition or low-light sensitivity)

- 1.8" color LCD screen

- 128 Mbyte memory (about 800 photos)

- dual optical viewfinder (for using both eyes at once, like binoculars)

- all sorts of software-based features: 4× optical zoom, animated and special video effects including backgrounds and borders

- audio capability

- very easy to use, no fancy menus, just basic buttons

- uses 4 standard AA batteries, widely available and easily replaced (no need for charger circuitry)

- plus a solid, rugged case—after all, this is a toy for children

It sounds like an "OK" product thus far, but not great. But then I wondered, what happens when you want to upload the pictures or run out of memory for storage? The product has that covered as well, via a USB port (with support software for PC or Mac) and a slot for a microSD memory card.

Given the suggested retail price and typical markups at the vendor and the retailer, the BOM (bill of materials) cost is probably between $12 and $25. That's what amazed me; this is a surprisingly decent camera for kids, and amateur hobbyists or experimenters, for modest cost. While the folks at GoPro don’t have to worry, it's still an impressive product.

Seeing all this for such a low BOM and retail price, all I could think was that, once again, engineers have done too good a job. Think about the billions spent on process technology, IC fabs, other components and material R&D, circuit design, specialty plastics, tooling and molding machines, and more that it took to get to this point.

Unfortunately, the general public equates low price and high performance with the perception that it must have all been easy to do, yet we know it was not. Further, if it is so easy, those who do it — engineers, scientists, countless associated people and disciplines — really aren't that smart or working that hard, either.

In some ways, I admire the "it's so hard to create" aura that musicians, actors, and athletes have allowed and even guided the media to create around them. By showing how hard some – certainly not all – of their work is, and their perceived dedication to their professions, they also create the sense that they are special. For technical professionals, that type of glow is absent, and it's you're "just an engineer" even though the creativity and difficulty may be among the most challenging out there.

I'm not sure what can or should be done to counter this image issue. I do know that when you create amazing products and technologies on a routine basis, and make it look so easy, soon these achievements are viewed as ordinary and the people who make them happen are judged to be ordinary as well. Maybe we need a publication and PR effort such as "STEM Celebrity" which would profile leaders and innovators in science, technology, engineering, and math instead of Hollywood celebrities whose every sneeze or appearance is apparently of interest.

 
Do you have any ideas on how the public perception and stature of engineers and scientists can be enhanced? Or is a case of "not going to happen" because celebrity-chasing is just so much more fun and easy?