Wired for sound
by Rodney Magazinovic
UniSA graduate and industrial design lecturer Dan McLean has helped design a sound system that will make the portable digital media player a fixture in the home as well as the pocket.
With Apple’s iPod the clear market leader of portable digital media players - more than 88 million units have been sold - it was only a matter of time before rival Microsoft launched its own device, releasing Zune in September 2006.
Wanting to be able to market Zune to consumers as a dedicated sound system for both portable and home use, Microsoft looked to Adelaide business VAF Research to develop a connected entertainment space that would allow the Zune to be easily docked and used like a conventional home stereo system, without compromising sound quality.
VAF Research was founded in 1978 by Philip Vafiadis and is renowned for developing high performance speaker systems. VAF’s research unit comprises a team of skilled specialists developing a range of technologies as a foundation for new acoustic and digital audiovisual products. It was VAF’s reputation for innovation that led to an invitation from Microsoft to become an accessory partner and develop the connected entertainment space for the Zune.
Having worked with VAF Research on a previous project, McLean collaborated with Vafiadis to develop the casing design to house the audio componentry of the system, a task made all the more challenging by a short deadline.
"A standard design assignment like this would be ready to be taken to market in six months," he said. "However we had only 19 weeks to meet that goal. Thankfully the knowledge and experience of Philip Vafiades and the team at VAF Research allowed the whole process to be streamlined, enabling it to be market ready in record time."
With the design and engineering taking place in Adelaide, McLean also had to oversee the production and packaging side of the process which involved numerous trips to China. The unit is now currently in mass production.
While the Zune and associated accessories are only available in the USA right now, it is expected that a European and Australian launch will take place later this year.
McLean, who graduated from UniSA in 1999, says his solid grounding in industrial design was an important part of being able to tackle a project such as this.
"From my international experience, I have found that the skills learnt in the degree cover all facets of the design process, whereas some of the overseas people I have worked with only have the necessary skills in one or two of these areas."
It’s a sentiment shared by Peter Schumacher, UniSA’s program director for industrial design.
"Dan is one of the many graduates from the industrial design program who are now applying the broad base of skills they developed during their studies as part of their employment in leading companies all over the world."