Geoscan needed to design a charging hub for the 801 series products, capable of simultaneously charging 4 batteries and a remote control via USB-C.

A power connector and charger operation indicators for each battery had to be provided. The enclosure should be made of plastic by injection molding.

The design of the hub had to harmonize with the aesthetics of the 801 product line and have a tower-like composition.

The customer mentioned that they wanted something simple and didn't expect to fall in love with the design (spoiler: they did), but it needed to be compact and easy to connect and remove batteries.

Analytics

Conducting competitive research and exploring unapproved design concepts developed by the Geoscan team.

We study the Geoscan 801 quadcopter and its battery to extract key design elements and incorporate them into the hub design.

Conceptual design

We develop 4 hub design concepts, differing in shaping and ventilation pattern.

1. Basic

Elevation above the battery, Basic ventilation pattern, Rounded vertical corners , Chamfered top contour

2. Monolithic

One-piece monolithic shape, Gradient ventilation pattern, Elevation above the battery pack

3. Faceted

Large chamfered corners, Straight rigid lines, Brutality

4. organic

Integrity and harmony of the shape of the charger and the battery, Minimalistic and smooth lines, Compactness, Convenience

Geoscan: evaluation of design concepts, appearance and ergonomics test using FDM-printed mock-ups.

Getting feedback on concepts: use the hull shape from the Organic concept and the ventilation pattern from the Monolith concept.

Detailed design

We work out the details of the hub, improve the mating of elements.

Working out the design of the ventilation pattern on the top and side planes of the hub.

Check intermediate results in VR space. Analyze appearance and details in different lighting conditions.

Geoscan: FDM printing to verify pattern and new USB port location.

Change the configuration of the parts. Adding a lowering on the walls connecting to the battery.

We arrive at the final design solution and optimize it for the required ventilation area.

Improve the shape and alignment of the charging indicators.

Geoscan: testing innovations on the layout using 3D printing.

We work out the shape of the rubber feet. The customer chooses the most stable solution

We hand over to the customer the final materials of the project: detailed presentation and 3d models of the design.

Result

The result is a design that combines a concise thoughtful form with pedantically crafted details.

The docking station looks aesthetically pleasing when it's not powering a battery, but its design is at its best when batteries are attached to it and the overall image gains compositional integrity.

Thanks to the smooth and protruding top surface with no sharp edges above the battery, the process of removing and inserting the battery for charging is convenient and intuitive.

The pattern not only repeats, but also develops Geoscan's graphic solutions used in other products.

Testimonial

Everything went perfectly. Rodion Usaev was able to propose and implement interesting solutions for the design of the charger in a short time. The task was quite complicated, as there was a set of design elements that had to be taken into account. The final design turned out to be organic and in line with the other products of the complex

- Sergey Gordeev, Leading Project Design Engineer