MGB226 Innovation Case Study - Assignment Solution

Introduction

Quitbit is a smartlighter with a built-in display that keeps a track of an individual’s regular smoking routine. It syncs with a mobile application, known as the ‘QuitBit app’ for the purpose of enabling the user to view his smoking history, cigarette reduction plans and lighter-usage reduction options. Hence, It provides a customized framework for the customer, where he is capable of setting his own targets/goals, view the smoking trends, observe his savings during this tenure and share his progress with his loved ones (Anon., 2019). Thereby, it authorizes the customers to take healthier decisions in their life. Quitbit proves as a useful innovative asset for all the individuals who are addicted to smoking and are looking for a viable solution to quit smoking. 

This innovation has been selected due to the wide impact it has on the society as a whole. Smoking is a hazardous habit that damages nearly all the organs within the human body and it is also the cause of a number of fatal diseases (Seymor, 2017). According to a 2015 Australian Burden of Disease study, around 20933 deaths were caused due to smoking (Winstanley, et al., 2019). This shows the extent of damage that smoking has caused. Hence, the introduction of the Quitbit innovation will prove as a favourable step towards this cause.  

Product Description

Quit-Bit is a latest technological innovation in the market that has been introduced by Ata Ghofrani and Kuji Nakano. Earlier in college, both these individuals were smoking addicts however they wanted to endeavor to reduce their smoke inhalation routine. Hence, in this quest, they started to desperately search for a health-tracking app that could enable them to curb their smoking habit. Their own ‘need’ enabled them to start devising product ideas that could satisfy their objective. Ghofrani and Nakano first thought of introducing a package of cigarettes that would track the amount of cigars consumed in a day, however they soon realized that introducing a self-customized lighter would be a more beneficial and appliance (Dolan, 2014). Technologies like e-cigarettes had been introduced prior to the launch of Quitbit, however they aimed to supplement smoking, which was completely contrary to Quitbit’s objective. This product was designed to enable smoking Addicts to eventually quit smoking and hence the innovation stood out in the smoking-prohibition category of products (Bischoff, 2014)

The QuitBit lighter is an extraordinary innovation that enables the user to mitigate the usage of lighter, thereby putting a control on smoking. The lighter functions via a heating coil system which is coherent to the lighting system in cars, thereby eliminating the need for gas/flames. The device has a rechargeable battery which can be charged via a Micro USB (Low, 2015). Every single charge covers around a 100 lights, enabling the on-board battery to last for around a week. Furthermore, the device’s smooth black body is an LED display that presents information such as the time since the last cigar was lighted, other messages and the battery life. It possesses the capability of automatically detecting the consumption of cigarettes by the user, without the need to manually input information (Arici, 2014). The lighter also contains an additional feature to ensure that it gathers correct information about the user’s cigarette routine instead of being misguided. It takes around 1.5 seconds to lighten up a cigar and the device only registers a cigar usage when this threshold is crossed, thereby eliminating all instances of the random usage of lighter (Dolan, 2014). 

Quitbit can easily sync with an android or an IOS device and can transfer all the light-up data via the Quitbit application. This app is designed to closely monitor the smoking behavior and it displays sensitive information for instance the time of the day the cigar was smoked, number of cigarettes smoked and the money and the years of your life that you can save if the usage was curbed (Low, 2015). These details have a psychological influence on the user and this enables him to better comprehend his smoking triggers. Moreover, the app allows the user to set his own goals and targets and regularly keep a track of them (Anon., 2019). 

The purchase of this device also gives the users, the access to the Quitbit portal. This portal has a community of fellow smokers who motivate each other and thereby this forum encourages the users to get rid of their smoking habits quickly (Low, 2015).