M

ass customization at some level has

become reality in virtually every
industry, from shoes to books to
automobiles. In certain markets,
products have become easy enough to build in
custom fashion: photo albums and books, busi-
ness cards, and banners have each developed
the tools to let anyone design and manufacture
(print) a small run of their own design at low
cost. Such designs are uniquely attractive,
meaning one individual wants the design and
full production run (your holiday photo album,
affordable, in glossy magazine quality).
Customers can design and order their prod-
ucts, often directly from the manufacturer,
which produces a unique product, on-demand,
and delivers it to the customer. Manufacturers
like Nike (with NIKEiD) and the Ford Motor
Co. can leverage existing supply chains and
manufacturing capabilities to deliver a greater,
though limited, number of affordable, custom-
ized products to their customers.
Tools and technologies used to create custom-
ized electronic devices are very new. Electronic
devices are ubiquitous today, but the design and
manufacture of a personal, custom-shaped, cell-
phone has been beyond the understanding of the
average customer. While some superficial cus-
tomization might be
within reach, design
from the ground up
certainly has not been.
Electronic designs
The configure
to order model pio-
neered by Dell is one
approach to mass
customization: Dell
customers can con-
figure many aspects
of their computers but
must work within the
framework that Dell
provides. Until now, this was the closest an elec-
tronics manufacturer had come to enabling mass
customization of electronic devices. The poten-
tial for customization that Dell provides, how-
ever, is limited because configure-to-order isnt
design-to-order. The customer can only select
from standard frameworks in choosing the model
and the components used: which processor, how
much memory, what size of hard disk, etc. Many
aspects of system design remain beyond custom-
er control and customization, from simple LED
indicators to the number of USB ports. Aftermar-
ket add-ons are possible, but not affordable, cus-
tomized embedded computers.
Dell imposes limits with its PC Configuration
Utility. The cost of designing and manufacturing
a custom motherboard for one customer would be
tremendous. To accomplish this, an OEM would
have to assign an electrical engineer to design
the necessary circuits, have a PCB specialist to
efficiently lay out the schematic, and contract a
manufacturer to produce the finished product.
In 3 months, the OEM would have the custom
motherboard ready to receive components and be
shipped, with a price tag reflecting time spent on
its singular design. The PCs produced have one of
the best supported, standard architectures, guaran-
teed to work out of the box. Embedded computer
users are almost guaranteed to incur another layer
of customization (and cost) in creating or adapting
software to run custom device hardware.
Expansion boards
Gumstix Inc., based in the Silicon Val-
ley, manufactures Linux-based computers-on-
module (COMs) slightly smaller than a stick of
gum. COMs, at the heart of embedded systems,
use expansion boards to break the COM into
standard connectors. Gumstix expansion board
designs are open-source so the engineer can
expand features by building on the COM frame-
work. This enables an OEM to design many
embedded devices at very low cost. Providing
essential computer functions on the COM elimi-
18 AUGUST 2013 CONTROL ENGINEERING www.controleng.com
Products sorted by decreasing sales
Your family
photo album
Harry Potter books
iPhone
P
r
o
d
u
c
t
s

s
a
l
e
s
UPDATE UPDATE
Dr. W. Gordon Kruberg,
Andrew Simpson
Online mass customization
for electronic design
technology
Geppetto software from Gumstix enables the long tail of electronic devices.
Users with basic computer knowledge can design every detail of a customized
board, without prior framework restrictions.
www.gumstix.com
http://geppetto.gumstix.com
Go Online
Figure 1 shows the long-tail effect applied to prod-
uct design. Products on the left offset development
costs by selling a large number of units. Lower vol-
ume products have either high development costs
or are lower cost items.
CTL1308_TechUpdate_V3msFINAL.indd 18 8/5/13 2:47 PM
CONTROL ENGINEERING AUGUST 2013 19
nates the most difficult part of designing a device. With open-
source hardware, users are free to build on existing designs and
create conventional customized boards with desired features.
Designing an expansion board requires knowledge of elec-
trical engineering and embedded systems design, even with the
schematics of an existing one as a guideline. After design and
layout of an expansion board, manufacturing requires logis-
tics management, especially electrical components within the
supply chain. Costs are associated with each step from design
to delivery. As a result, low-cost, mass customized electronic
devices have remained well out of reach.
Electronic design applications
Gumstix Geppetto is an electronic design application
(EDA) that allows a customer to leverage existing manufactur-
ing capabilities to customize electronic devices built around
COMs. The most difficult part of any embedded design process
is creating a functional design that meets specifications. EDAs
do exist that can automate some associated tasks, but users
must create schematics and breadboards using their knowledge
of electronics. For mass customization and manufacturing, a
powerful, flexible, and intuitive design tool is needed to sim-
plify as much of the electrical design process as possible.
The web application focuses on fulfillment of specifications
using drag-and-drop modules representing typical electronic
components and mechanical features. All low-level routing is
automatically completed behind the scenes. The software will
alert users to modules that have not been properly connected or
that are missing other modules required to ensure proper func-
tionality. Users with basic knowledge of computers can design
a customized device, free of the prior framework restrictions.
The software removes a lot of tedium related to electron-
ics design. The application targets electronics designers, from
OEM professionals to hobbyists for prototyping. Easy cus-
tomization removes the final barrier to mass customization
for electronic devices: Users no longer need to know exactly
how a computer works at its lowest levels to design one. The
software lifts the burden of supply chain management from
electronics designers. Completed designs can arrive in about
3 weeks, compared to the 3-month traditional board design.
Accessibility in design, rapid time to market, and affordability
make the long tail of electronic devices a reality. ce
- Dr. W. Gordon Kruberg is president and CEO, and Andrew
Simpson is content developer of Gumstix Inc.
Figure 2 shows the Gumstix Geppetto user interface (UI),
which demonstrates drag-and-drop board design and preview
features. Figures courtesy: Gumstix
CTL1308_TechUpdate_V3msFINAL.indd 19 8/5/13 2:47 PM