Note: This project was originally hosted at ruggedscents.com, but I realized that a fragrance website isn’t really the best place for heavy duty science info, so I moved the transmissometry discussion, source code, and schematics here.

Below is the original post:

Open source hardware saved Campfire #1

I know there are case studies of Open Source Software helping businesses with their day-to-day tasks, but how many case studies are there of Open Source Hardware helping a business solve problems?

Here is my example of how the Open Source Hardware community saved the launch of my company’s first product.

I’ve also included all the theory, technical schematics, and details towards the end.

Here is the video we did for Pumping Station: One and Element 14:

Transmissometer from Pumping Station: One on Vimeo.

How did I get here:

My idea for a campfire scented cologne won the business plan competition at barcamp Chicago 2010, and on May 10, 2011, nearly a year later, I’m ready to launch my product-RuggedScents’ Campfire. Unfortunately, less than four weeks to launch, I discovered a major process flaw: gigantic inconsistencies between the longevity of the fragrance’s smell on the user’s skin from batch to batch-some batches lasted three to four hours, some barely made it past 30 minutes!

<pictures, schematics, and video after the jump> Read the rest of this entry »