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Can you improve liquid laundry detergent dispensers?
Challenge Type: math & sciences
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$1,600
top 50%
85
submissions
DONE
70 months ago

When most people wash their clothes, they reach for a bottle of liquid laundry detergent. More than 2 billion bottles of liquid detergent were purchased in 2016. However, competition from detergent tablets has slowed the liquid detergent category's growth. Three big issues tend to frustrate users of liquid detergent: inconvenience, having to guess the right amount of detergent to use, and messiness.

We want your help improving the current detergent dispenser options. Today, consumers can choose between a pour spout and a push-button spigot. Both can be messy, heavy and awkward, and they require two hands for operating. Come up with an idea that makes getting liquid detergent into the wash better and you'll make life easier for millions of people. Top solutions will strongly approach the element of customization, from customizing the right amount for a load to uniquely "cocktailing" the perfect mix of detergent + other performance additives for a particular laundry outcome.

Deliverables

Tell us how you would improve the liquid detergent dispenser. Specifically:

  1. Design a dispenser that addresses the problems, discussed above, inherent in spout and spigot dispensers. Describe the design in detail. 
  2. What benefits does your dispenser have when compared to current dispenser options?
  3. How does your idea allow a user to create a unique, customized "cocktail" of ingredients?
  4. Would your design fit onto bottles exactly as current dispensers do? Would it make sense to change the bottle too? If so, how and why?
  5. Include visuals that illustrate your design. You can include anything from a sketch to CAD rendering, but we want to see your own work.

We want responses that think deeply, with specific answers. Go past the broad and obvious.

    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Reward Tiers
Top 10%
will share $1,000
Next 15%
will share $400
Next 25%
will share $200
Actual individual rewards will be based on the total number of eligible solutions.
Leaderboard
$111.10 TJ Fritts University of Tennessee
$111.10 Matthew Klitsch Penn Foster
$111.10 Samantha Thompson Brock University
$111.10 Daniel Gurung Delhi University
$111.10 Matthew Gaiser Queen's University
$111.10 Jorge Mario Vega Iglesias Universidad Santo tomas
$111.10 Dr. Janelle Christine Simmons Liberty University
$111.10 Amihai Freed Norwalk Community College
$111.10 Andres Velasquez University of Central Florida
$30.80 Matt Ohlson University of Virginia
$30.80 Joshua Y. Ansong UMaT
$30.80 Erin Hanscom Ithaca College
$30.80 Anne Reesink
$30.80 Isaac Barnett Ofori University of Mines and Technology, Ghana
$30.80 Alejandro Chacon Universidad Rafael Landivar
$30.80 Latoya Jones State University of New York at Purchase
$30.80 Valerie Summerville Baldy View Occupational Programs
$30.80 Ansh Tayal National Institute of Technology Trichy
$30.80 Faheem Vellore University of Arkansas - Little Rock
$30.80 Akshit Gupta NMIMS, Mumbai
$30.80 Sumana Mahata UCSD
$30.80 Francis Daniel Santia Harvard University
$9.50 Dyllan Hancott Yorkville University
$9.50 Gunvir Kalra Queen's University
$9.50 Sharicia Mason Jacobs University Bremen
$9.50 Yasmin Molune Assumption University
$9.50 Krishna Kadiyala University of Texas at Dallas
$9.50 Brooke Boynton University of Central Florida
$9.50 Darshan Gabani University of Florida
$9.50 Victor Rodrigues University of Central Florida
$9.50 Kayleigh Cooper University of Worcester
$9.50 Marcia Young Texas Tech University
$9.50 Jaela Gibson harrison
$9.50 Aniket Avhad University Of Mumbai
$9.50 Chika Arakawa Fashion Institute of Technology
$9.50 Emily Armstrong Queen's University
$9.50 Cole Weiler Georgia Institute of Technology
$9.50 Laura Heinze Portland Community College
$9.50 ashay dekate National Institute of Technology Trichy
$9.50 Vishal Ghoniya Gujarat Technological Univercity
$9.50 Jyll Hardy University of Arizona
$9.50 A Deng McMaster University
$9.50 Colton Whittaker University of Central Florida
Submission questions


What is your age?

(Required)

Do you have children?

(Required)

If you have children, state their age(s).

What types of laundry and stains do you often encounter in your washing? Select all that apply.

(Required)
Casual clothes
Sports uniforms
Oil and grease
"Silent" stains (odor or oils from skin)
Professional wear
0 characters Average: 1686 characters
Your solution must be at least 200 characters long
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