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Case Studies

Hewlett Packard

Under the auspices of no project is too large or too small, ... so long as it is part of building a relationship … is our work for Hewlett Packard.

STG was brought in to work with the HP printer development team to create a new system for developing and debugging ink printers, and which could also be used for testing and validation in the manufacturing environment. The tool (FlexTool) became part of HP’s move to a new internal language (Lidlware) and has been used throughout HP.

Through the course of 4 years and numerous upgrades and branches, STG created the HP FlexTool product that is used throughout the world for HP facilities developing inkjet solutions. The product has three tiers:

  • Development for firmware engineers who require the largest amount of nuanced or spewed data
  • Development for mechanical engineers who require functional development and testing
  • Development for test engineers who wish to test up to 16 printers synchronously or asynchronously.

The user can set watchpoints and breakpoints and can change code on the fly.

This project development was an effort of almost $5M and led to more than 15 other projects for HP.

Enhanced Visitor Experience (EVE)

The project to support the Arts.

Most zoos and museums have audio enhancements in which the visitor can pay for a headset and travel the exhibits with a built-in tour guide.

But the EVE takes it further, allowing an experience customized to the user. The mobile-accessible audio, video and textual material is actuated by a near-field button, and the experience allows the novice or the expert to be brought fully into the tailored experience.

And EVE allows a constant revenue stream for the venue. The free download includes basic enhancements but a subscription window of a defined time allows the user to be integrated fully with the visitor experience.

“STG made this into a shared experience. My ideas were the basis of the product, and from there STG took a team approach, incorporating their abilities and my vision. The sum of the parts proved greater than what I had hoped and the journey to get there proved as enjoyable as it was beneficial”, Warren Franklin, President, EVE.

Gelatin Shot Maker

The project that everyone loves.

We were approached by a client to take over a project that didn’t work. A very large consulting company had created a product that was 85% functional. The system worked but seemingly only when you tilted your head ... just so.

So we became the developers for the next generation Jell-O shot machine. The ultimate goal:

  • Fill a reservoir with alcohol
  • Add a Keurig-type pod with gelatin and flavoring
  • Press a button on the screen
  • Eight minutes later you have twenty fully chilled and ready to eat Jell-O shots.

It had to work and it had to be reliable, and it had to produce to a quality that would be the envy of any bartender.

The product included hardware design, embedded development, UI/UX, IOT and a data portal to know the production and consumables at any given time, and to know of issues even before the client might infer. For our work we won a Small Business Innovation Award from the Portland Business Journal. Quoting from the article, “We’ve done these incredible biomed technical projects, but I wasn’t a hero to my son until I did Jell-O shots”.