Figure Credits
264 figures across 26 chapters
Figure credits for Tangibles: How Software Turns Hardware into Platforms — full sources and licenses for every figure in the book. Attribution-required licenses (CC BY, CC BY-SA) carry their required credit; public-domain and CC0 images are listed as a courtesy. Figures with no third-party source are the author's own.
Introduction
- Fig. 0.1 Software eats the world
- Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt, via PublicDomainPictures.net, CC0 / Public Domain Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 0.2 Hermeus Quarterhorse: Is this product management?
- Image: Hermeus
- Fig. 0.3 Hermeus Quarterhorse: Ambitious goals
- Image: Hermeus
- Fig. 0.4 RAMJET is tricky: Assembly floor
- Image: Hermeus
- Fig. 0.5 Hermeus Quarterhorse test flight
- Hermeus, via YouTube
- Fig. 0.6 Sony Reader
- Image by ALLESebook.de, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 0.7 Interface design as a differentiator in the automotive industry
- Author's work
- Fig. 0.8 Relative cost of interface design in the automotive industry
- Author's work
- Fig. 0.9 Digitization drives software product management style
- Author's work
- Fig. 0.10 Product management role shift
- Author's work
- Fig. 0.11 Can physical products be sold as a service?
- Author's work
- Fig. 0.12 PM activities migrate post launch
- Author's work
- Fig. 0.13 Global IoT market forecast: connected IoT devices
- Data and image from State of IoT 2025
Chapter 1
- Fig. 1.1 Evolution of automotive cockpit and exterior design (1908–2020)
- (Photo by Philip Schroeder on Unsplash (adapted from Wikimedia Commons (Photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash
- Fig. 1.2 Comparison of failure rates of Hardware vs. Software startups
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.3 Consumer hardware startup success funnel
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.4 Dolav: Residential Waste Bin
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.5 Comparative sunk costs for software and hardware products
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.6 Profit ranges for software and hardware products (compiled)
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.7 Failure rates for software and hardware products
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.8 Epic hardware startup failures
- Source: CB Insights
- Fig. 1.9 Growth for software and hardware products
- Source: Equidam, with author's processing
- Fig. 1.10 Cash balance for software and hardware products
- Author's own work
- Fig. 1.11 VC allocation by sectors
- Source: KPMG
- Fig. 1.12 Time-to-market for hardware and software products
- Author's own work
Chapter 2
- Fig. 2.1 Better Place: A painful experience
- Via Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 2.2 Points of failure: Time, Cost
- Author's own work
- Fig. 2.3 Software vs. Hardware: financial prospects of failure (illustration)
- Author's own work
- Fig. 2.4 Production ramp-up NRE accumulation
- Author's own work
- Fig. 2.5 Obsolete products may linger long
- Via Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 2.6 Seasonal price changes can be brutal
- Image: Blundstone
- Fig. 2.7 Software startup failures: Stage vs. financial impact (0.0 denotes general availability release)
- Author's own work
- Fig. 2.8 Hardware startup fatality and financial impact (0.0 denotes launch)
- Author's own work
- Fig. 2.9 Ford Edsel: Notorious F.L.O.P
- Via Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 2.10 Better Place: Where swappable batteries won't do
- Via Wikimedia Commons
Chapter 3
- Fig. 3.1 Mass Extinction: Indexed Global Shipments of Digital Cameras and GPS Navigation Devices, 2000–2023
- Author's own work
- Fig. 3.2 Canon APS Elph camera
- Image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canon_APS_Elph.jpg, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Andrew Butitta from Madison, WI, United States) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 3.3 Swiss Army Knife (Victorinox)
- Photograph by Ramessos (n.d.), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (James Case from Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A.) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 3.4 Swiss Army Knife Platform Morphology
- Author's own work
- Fig. 3.5 Smartphone platform morphology
- Author's own work
- Fig. 3.6 Mind Map of Core Systems in a Petrol-Powered Passenger Car
- Generated by the author
- Fig. 3.7 Timeline of smartphone GPS-based features with iPhone and Android launch markers
- Author's own work, adapted from (GPS World 2018; NCBI/PMC 2015)
- Fig. 3.8 Handheld LED flashlight
- Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wuzur) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 3.9 Unit sales of LED flashlights and mobile phones (feature phones and smartphones), 2000–2020
- Author's own work
- Fig. 3.10 Aggregate market value of major flashlight manufacturers (blue, left axis) versus number of competing firms (orange, right axis), 2000–2020
- Author's own work
- Fig. 3.11 Action camera mounted for cycling use (GoPro Hero 4)
- via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 3.12 Global Action-Camera Market 2004-2020
- Author's own work
- Fig. 3.13 Road cyclists are always at risk
- Adapted from a photo by Seyda Ünlü on Unsplash
- Fig. 3.14 Strava's Beacon functionality screens
- Screenshot from Strava
- Fig. 3.15 Beacon mounted on the seatpost
- Image: Yama design
- Fig. 3.16 Cyclebe beacon: Parts and assembly
- Image: Yama design
Chapter 4
- Fig. 4.1 Competitive pressure is real
- Photo: Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 4.2 Chinese manufacture
- Photo: Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 4.3 iRobot Roomba
- Photo by Onur Binay on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 4.4 Market share trends of leading robotic vacuum manufacturers (2021–2025).¹
- Author's own work
- Fig. 4.5 Unit sales trends of leading robotic vacuum manufacturers (2021–2025).¹
- Author's own work
- Fig. 4.6 BYD EV
- Photo: Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 4.7 Gross profit margins (%) in the global EV segment (2014–2024).²
- Author's own work
- Fig. 4.8 Gross profit (in billions USD) for major EV manufacturers (2014–2024).²
- Author's own work
Chapter 5
- Fig. 5.1 Look ma! No interface!
- (Photo by Eye Speak on Unsplash) (Photo by Marcus Urbenz on Unsplash)
- Fig. 5.2 Analog indicators: dials and gauges
- (a) Analog gauge providing visual system feedback (Photo by Crystal Kwok on Unsplash) — (b) Automotive dashboard gauges — temperature, fuel, and engine status at a glance (Photo by Mustafa ILHAN on Unsplash)
- Fig. 5.3 Early Digital displays
- (a) St Mark's Clock tower, Venice (1752) — early digital time display (Wikimedia Commons — (b) Josef Pallweber's slit-flap display patent (DE 54093, 1885) — (c) mechanical split-flap display detail (Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 5.4 LED displays
- (a) cable attached LED display module (embedded-lab.com — (b) Example set of roman lettering on seven segment display (Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 5.5 From custom segments to dot matrix
- (a) The ultimate segmented display on Game&Watch Flagman hand held player (Wikimedia Commons — (b) Graphic LCD with some custom segments (Photo by Sarah Dao on Unsplash
- Fig. 5.6 Dot Matrix accommodates flexibility
- (a) LCD Module Assembly with Dot Matrix (Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash — (b) Interior dot matrix passenger information display inside a China Railways CRH1 high-speed train (adapted from Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 5.7 Color displays in consumer products
- (a) Nokia 6610i mobile phone showing the device's color LCD display (Wikimedia Commons — (b) Nintendo Game Boy — color dot matrix and rich sound (Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 5.8 Mixed and Pure Touch Interfaces
- (a) IBM WorkPad 8602-30X Palm-OS handheld combining physical buttons and pen input (Wikimedia Commons — (b) mobile-device capacitive touch screen (Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 5.9 Over-the-air interface update: Overnight firmware update, and Romance mode
- (a) image via Teslarati; (b) screenshot from YouTube
- Fig. 5.10 Multi-modal inputs Multi-modal input methods for mobile and wearable devices, and NFC activated lock
- (a) author's own work; (b) via Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 5.11 From Model T to "smartphone on wheels" to driverless
- Images: (a) Ford Model T (Photo by Philip Schroeder on Unsplash — (b) Apple CarPlay — (c) Nissan IDS Concept
Chapter 6
- Fig. 6.1 Flight Data Recorder (Black Box), displayed at the HAL Aerospace Museum
- Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Rameshng) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 6.2 The machine that goes PING scene from The Meaning of Life (1983) by Monty Python. Click or scan QR to watch the clip
- Video via YouTube
- Fig. 6.3 The Black box model. What's missing?
- Illustration by the author
- Fig. 6.4 Consumer grade UPS by Gamtronic, circa 1994
- Studio r2d2 – Vered Shlomo, the author
- Fig. 6.5 Wireless router with active indicator lights
- Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 6.6 Photorealistic car dashboard featuring an illuminated seatbelt and airbag warning lights
- Image generated by the Gemini 3 Pro AI model, by Google, 2026
- Fig. 6.7 Sony PlayStation's glorious Reset button
- Photo by Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 6.8 Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet with self-test and reset buttons
- Image: Walmart
Chapter 7
- Fig. 7.1 Alessandro Volta's electric pile (ca. 1800)
- Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (Luigi Chiesa) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 7.2 CPU quantities as a function of system size (illustrative)
- Author's own work
- Fig. 7.3 How much space does one watt-hour need? Volumetric efficiency of primary and rechargeable battery chemistries, 1800–2028 (illustrative)
- Author's own work
- Fig. 7.4 Glen Beck (background) and Betty Snyder (foreground) program the ENIAC in Building 328 at the Ballistic Research Laboratory, Philadelphia, ca. 1947–1955
- US Army Photo, public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 7.5 iPhone 4 (model A1332) mainboard with Apple A4 system-on-chip visible at center right, compared to a moth of the original Grace Hopper's bug
- Adapted from a photo by Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 7.6 Three decades of compute compression (1972–1989)
- Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Pong, Atari 7800, and Game Boy
- Fig. 7.7 Marconi's first antenna system at Poldhu, Cornwall, December 1901. Fifty copper wires suspended in a fan shape between two 60-meter masts
- Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 7.8 A Photorealistic Rendering of a 2.4 GHz Planar PCB Antenna
- Generated by Gemini, Google, 2026
- Fig. 7.9 Apple AirTag (2021): a 31.9 mm disc containing BLE and UWB radios, accelerometer, speaker, and battery
- Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 7.11 Conceptual Comparison of Automotive and Consumer-Grade Accelerometers
- Generated using Google Gemini
- Fig. 7.12 Sony TR-610 (1958), the immediate successor to the breakthrough TR-63
- CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
Chapter 8
- Fig. 8.1 UV light erasable EPROM (ST M27C160) showing package and quartz window for UV erasure
- Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Javier Pérez Montes) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 8.2 STMicro M24C02 I²C Serial-Type EEPROM in DIP-8 Package
- Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Nevit Dilmen (talk)) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 8.3 MaxScan OE509 OBD-II/EOBD Handheld Diagnostic Scanner
- Image via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (Arp) Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 8.4 Clock in the main station in Zürich, Switzerland
- Image via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (JuergenG, modified by Rainer Z) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 8.5 SBB Clock Animation demonstrating the operating principle. Note the lag in the seconds hand before minutes jumps to next. Click or scan QR to view the animation
- Image via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Uhrendesign Hans Hilfiker, Animation Hk kng) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 8.6 Connectivity protocol families mapped by product impact: range, power, bandwidth, product examples, and business model implications
- Generated using Google Gemini. Author's data and prompt
- Fig. 8.7 Uplink and Downlink Communication in IoT Cloud-Operator Systems
- Author's own work
- Fig. 8.8 Total Cost of a Faulty Part (TCFP) by detection stage, illustrating the 1-10-100 Rule Of Ten (Labovitz & Chang, 1992)
- Relative values are illustrative. Model and data by the author
- Fig. 8.9 Connected devices at scale
- Image via Unsplash
- Fig. 8.10 Comparing cloud-centric data bottleneck versus local edge processing
- Author's concept generated via Gemini
Chapter 9
- Fig. 9.1 EyeClick's EyeWiz: An interactive educational game platform
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.2 HomeFree Systems Patient monitoring watch — This is a worn suite of sensors
- Image: I2D design office, Eitan Sharif
- Fig. 9.3 CRT Screen Burning
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (Piercetheorganist) Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 9.4 AI/ML in the Cloud: Inference Bottlenecks
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.5 A compute-locator view: each workload matched to edge, hub, or cloud by weighing latency, bandwidth, cost, and battery life across the fleet
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.6 Scan to ERP: The Data Flow Integrity Challenge
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.7 Parsing errors propagate through AI pipeline
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.8 HITL Lag buildup along the chain
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.9 Pre-processing edge ML based algorithm
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.10 A solenoid valve: an example for a basic building block of actuation. An electrical signal lifts the plunger, opening the fluid path. What changes across the four stages is not the valve itself — but what triggers the signal
- Image by Gemini
- Fig. 9.11 Five stages of actuation, from manual to autonomous. At each step, a new class of human effort is eliminated: presence, attention, repetitive judgment, and finally local-only awareness
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.12 Analytics Stack Planner — rent-versus-own stack designer
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.13 Compute Locator — match each workload to edge, hub, or cloud
- Author's own work
- Fig. 9.14 The Autonomy Ladder: as fleet scale grows, so must the level of autonomy. Above the diagonal, the benefits that justify the climb. Below it, the infrastructure costs that fund it
- Author's own work
Chapter 10
- Fig. 10.1 A flock of Segways: Dean Kamen's spurned urban mobility vision
- Via Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 (Richard from DC, US) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 10.2 The floor of the Geneva International Motor Show: tens of thousands of enthusiasts stress-testing tomorrow's products today
- Photo via Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 10.3 Haute couture: fashion's concept car. Designs built not to sell but to test which ideas earn their way into production
- Photo: Shaun Alexander for Alice Abraham. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Fashion Photographer) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 10.4 Ready-to-wear: fashion's production line. Portrait of an anonymous model illustrating contemporary commercial styling
- Via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (www.Pixel.la Free Stock Photos) Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 10.5 1969 Holden Hurricane Concept Car: as wild as it gets
- Via Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 (Sicnag) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 10.6 From ideation to launch: intermediate validation
- Author's diagram. © Yoel Frischoff
- Fig. 10.7 Imagination, maturity, and risk on the validation cycle
- Author's own work
- Fig. 10.8 Rolls-Royce 103EX: Will this version of the future ever materialize?
- Rolls-Royce 103EX Vision Next 100 concept (interior). Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Press image — editorial use only. Written permission required for commercial book publication
- Fig. 10.9 The Rolls no one will presumably ever drive
- Rolls-Royce 103EX Vision Next 100 concept (exterior). Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Press image — editorial use only. Written permission required for commercial book publication
- Fig. 10.10 Waymo Ojai: Rider First Interior
- Source: Waymo
Chapter 11
- Fig. 11.1 Software development: standing on the shoulders of giants with manageable area for experimentation
- Author's modification
- Fig. 11.2 Car Subsystems: Specificity, Cost, Value
- Author's own work
- Fig. 11.3 Douglas Engelbart's prototype mouse (c. 1964), on display at the Computer History Museum
- via Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 11.4 Siemens Desiro City Class 707 mockup (unit 707001 with 700001 inside)
- CC BY-SA 2.0, Train Photos via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 11.5 Prototype of a wLAN optical switch for distributed antenna systems. The machined enclosure and hand-wired SMA connectors stand in for production die-cast housing and automated assembly
- Photo: Author's own work, enhanced with Google Gemini
- Fig. 11.6 1948 Land Rover pre-production model on display at a transport museum
- via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (sv1ambo) CC BY — credit required
Chapter 12
- Fig. 12.1 Rabbit R1 AI assistant device — If it looks like a prototype, maybe it's not ready for mass market
- Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (Booredatwork.com) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 12.2 Humane AI Pin: \$230 million in venture capital, 10,000 units shipped, e-waste by February 2025
- Photo by Ged Carroll, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 12.3 The Decoupled MVP: six parallel tracks, four decision gates, one critical chain
- Author's own work
- Fig. 12.4 Singing in the car: a behavior validated by culture long before anyone tried to productize it
- Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Pexels, Pexels License
- Fig. 12.5 An automotive infotainment development platform: the borrowed hardware that lets software teams validate in-car experiences without building a car
- Image by the author, generated with Google Gemini
- Fig. 12.6 Caraoke Android MVP: scrolling lyrics, real-time voice mixing, and playback controls — the full experience validated on a phone before any custom hardware was committed
- Design: KindGeek
Chapter 13
- Fig. 13.1 SharkNinja category expansion (2007–2025)
- From 2 sub-categories to 38, and \$250M to \$6.4B in revenue. Sub-category counts from SharkNinja investor presentations
- Fig. 13.2 Ethnographic product research: observing how consumers actually use products in their homes, rather than asking them what they want
- Image by the author, generated with Google Gemini
- Fig. 13.3 Ninja Blender Professional 1000W
- It already has one button. Does it need an app? Photo: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 13.4 Electrum's four phases, from exploration to gate review: a structured path to placing every function — hardware, firmware, app, or cloud — on the right layer before tooling locks the choice in
- Author's own work
- Fig. 13.5 Espro ceiling-mounted IR beacon for museum audioguides
- Borrowing the stage spotlight archetype allowed fast tooling and a five-week development cycle. Design by the author
- Fig. 13.6 Foxcom Wireless ModuLite series: multi-carrier RF-over-fiber multiplexers for in-building wireless coverage
- First production units were machined from billet aluminum to ship months ahead of die-cast tooling. Image by the author
- Fig. 13.7 HomeFree patient monitor, Gen 2: exploded view showing the watch body (electronics, sensors) separated from the snap-on strap-and-battery module
- Design: Eitan Sharif, I2D Design Office. Image by the author
- Fig. 13.8 Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer
- One generation in a rapid iteration cycle that produced five distinct form factors in seven years. Photo: User:בר, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
Chapter 14
- Fig. 14.1 Feature-based perceptual map for smartphones
- Author's own work
- Fig. 14.2 Kia Seltos competitive analysis spider graph
- Source: Insight Quantum
- Fig. 14.3 Apple Vision Pro \$3,500 unit
- Photo by Bram Van Oost on Unsplash
Chapter 15
- Fig. 15.1 Launch event with presenter and cheering audience
- Generated with FLUX.1 Krea Dev
- Fig. 15.2 The iconic envelope moment exemplified how hardware design narrative — not just engineering — drives market differentiation and adoption
- Image: Apple Inc, Apple Inc., used for editorial analysis
- Fig. 15.3 Tesla Cybertruck unveiling, November 21, 2019: Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen throws a steel ball at the "Armor Glass" window to demonstrate its durability. The window shattered on live stream
- Photo: u/Kruzat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 15.4 ZooZ Medical AdvanStep demo unit at Sheba orthopedic ward, 2009. It didn't work — until it did
- Photo by the author
- Fig. 15.5 Blancpain sports-luxury watch in presentation case: the packaging outlasts the purchase moment because it was designed to
- Photo by Ye Massa on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 15.6 Apple iPhone packaging patent (US 7,878,326 B2, 2011)
- Exploded view showing lid, device tray with retention features, accessory compartment, and base. Fifteen co-inventors including Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive. Source: Google Patents, Public domain (US patent) Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 15.7 iPhone packaging: layered reveal, minimal friction, device presented face-up
- Photo by the author
Chapter 16
- Fig. 16.1 Apple II running VisiCalc, widely regarded as the first "killer app"
- Photo by Jean-Edouard Rozey. Flicker CC
- Fig. 16.2 Sony Walkman with headphones
- Photo by Florian Schmetz on Unsplash
- Fig. 16.3 Sony Walkman promotion, Tokyo, 1979
- Young demonstrators offered passersby the chance to listen
- Fig. 16.4 Dyson DC07 bagless vacuum cleaner
- Photo by Arpingstone, public domain Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 16.5 Nintendo Wii Remote controller
- CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 16.6 Estimated global market share: Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox (2001–2016)
- Based on synthesized data
- Fig. 16.7 Steve Jobs introduces iPhone, January 2007
- Apple, via YouTube
- Fig. 16.8 iPhone (first generation, 2007)
- Photo by Carl Berkeley, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 16.9 BlackBerry Classic (Q20) with physical keyboard
- Photo by Linh Nguyen on Unsplash
- Fig. 16.10 iPhone virtual keyboard with visual pop-up feedback
- Image by the author
- Fig. 16.11 Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser rendering Wikipedia on a mobile device
- CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 16.12 Tesla Model S over-the-air update screen
- Image via Teslarati
- Fig. 16.13 Tesla Romance Mode Easter Egg. Click or scan QR to watch the clip
- Tesla, 2018, via YouTube
- Fig. 16.14 Killer feature dynamics: three axes of disruption
- By the author
Chapter 17
- Fig. 17.1 Prague Orloj: civic timekeeping as public infrastructure
- Photo by Pražský orloj on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 17.2 Watch movement with complications: Hundreds of hand-assembled parts, months of labor
- Photo by F aint on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 17.3 Casio G-Shock: digital accuracy, rugged construction, under CHF10 to manufacture
- Image: Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 17.4 Initial Swatch prototypes
- Image: Swatch Prototypes
- Fig. 17.5 Kiki Picasso Swatches: watchmaking meets fast fashion
- Image: Swatch Prototypes
- Fig. 17.6 Interest in Swatch stagnates as Apple Watch's surges
- Source: Google Trends. Downloaded and edited April '26
- Fig. 17.7 The innocuous-looking Apple Watch
- Image: Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 17.8 Nokia feature phone: the product its leadership couldn't stop defending
- Photo by Rachit Tank on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 17.9 Nokia's stock price vs. iPhone's rise
- Source: Yahoo Finance
- Fig. 17.10 Swatch Paparazzi: Swatch's most ambitious connected watch, powered by Microsoft SPOT OS
- Photo by S. Dreilinger, 2010, Flickr
- Fig. 17.11 Patek Philippe day-date moon phase: a combination of complication and haute joaillerie
- Photo by Kent Lâm on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 17.12 Software-based effortless complications
- Source: Apple marketing materials
- Fig. 17.13 Apple Watch unit sales vs. Swatch Group revenue (2015–2024)
- Sources: IDC / Strategy Analytics (Apple Watch); Statista (Swatch Group)
- Fig. 17.14 Global smartwatch shipments vs. Swiss watch exports (2014–2024)
- Smartwatches overtook Swiss exports in 2018. Sources: IDC, Counterpoint Research (smartwatches); Fédération de l'Industrie Horlogère Suisse (Swiss exports)
- Fig. 17.15 Battery life is a known culprit with Apple Watches
- Author's screenshot
- Fig. 17.16 Pre-owned value as a proxy for useful lifetime: smartwatches depreciate to zero
- Author's chart
- Fig. 17.17 Speculative UGC (user-generated content) watch face as a personalized statement
- Author's own work
- Fig. 17.18 Speculative: Pigment mobile app concept
- Author's own work
- Fig. 17.19 Pigment prototype screen
- Author's own work
Chapter 18
- Fig. 18.1 Andy Greenberg's highway demonstration for Wired. The researchers controlled the Jeep from ten miles away
- Author's own work, inspired by Andy Greenberg's Wired article
- Fig. 18.2 IoT-adapted OSI model: expanded physical and application layers reflect the attack surface of connected hardware
- Author's own work
- Fig. 18.3 Consumer failures and state-actor operations converge on the same vulnerability class. The root causes are identical; the blast radius is not
- Author's own work
- Fig. 18.4 Screenshot of a prison facility from security footage provided by APT-69420
- The hacktivist group accessed 150,000 Verkada cameras in March 2021, including facilities housing vulnerable populations. Source: APT-69420, via Bloomberg
- Fig. 18.5 US Cyber Trust Mark: a voluntary labeling program for IoT security, modeled on Energy Star
- Source: FCC
- Fig. 18.6 Apple's Secure Enclave: hardware-rooted security designed in from the silicon level
- Source: Apple
- Fig. 18.7 Ring doorbell camera. Millions installed; no mandatory two-factor authentication at the time of the attacks
- Image: Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 18.8 Abbott (St. Jude Medical) pacemaker. Over 400,000 patients required a firmware update to a device implanted in their chest
- Source: Abbott
Chapter 19
- Fig. 19.1 BMW Connected Drive Portal Displaying Front Seat Heating as a Subscription Service
- Image: CarThrottle
- Fig. 19.2 The modules of the Fairphone 3 mounted on a display
- Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (PKFP) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 19.3 A John Deere tractor — the embedded firmware, VIN-locking, and dealer-only diagnostic software at the center of both the parts-pairing dispute and the Melitopol bricking
- Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 19.4 The John Hancock Vitality program — Apple Watch and life-insurance premium discounts conditioned on activity goals
- Image: John Hancock
- Fig. 19.5 The anonymized Strava activity Le Monde used to triangulate the Charles de Gaulle's position in the eastern Mediterranean
- Source: Le Monde
Chapter 20
- Fig. 20.1 Getting smart about unit economics
- Photo by Dithira Hettiarachchi on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 20.2 Manufacturing-mode crossover
- Total cost $\color{#1F3A93} \mathit{ C = FC + Q \cdot VC }$ plotted for both strategies. Below the crossover at $\color{#1F3A93} Q^ \approx 117{,}647$ units, small series is cheaper; above it, mass manufacturing wins
- Fig. 20.3 Foxcom Wireless (MobileAccess Networks) ModuLite multiplexers
- Author's own work
Chapter 21
- Fig. 21.1 Dolav 300L Waste Bin
- Author's own work
- Fig. 21.2 A Typical Monobloc rest chair, modeled after Henry Massonnet's 1972 Fauteuil 300
- Image: modified from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (Seniju) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 21.3 Generations of the Volkswagen Golf, shown as simplified line drawings
- Image generated with DALL-E in ChatGPT by OpenAI, May 11, 2026, based on a prompt by the author
- Fig. 21.4 Evolution of Sony PlayStation console design, 1994-2024
- AI-generated line illustration created by the author using DALL-E in ChatGPT, OpenAI, May 11, 2026
- Fig. 21.5 Normalized sales cycle for different durable good categories, by clockspeed
- Author's own work
- Fig. 21.6 Financial lifecycle of a single product
- Author's own work
- Fig. 21.7 Expenses peak before and during launch, shown for successive launches
- Author's own work
- Fig. 21.8 The Centennial Light Bulb from Livermore, CA
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Gazebo) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 21.9 Nespresso Turmix C-100, 1990
- Image: Nespresso
- Fig. 21.10 Nespresso Capsules
- Photo by Alessandro Russo on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 21.11 Nespresso Inissia
- Image: Nespresso
- Fig. 21.12 Customer profit trajectory across the customer lifetime
- Author's own work
- Fig. 21.13 Xerox 914 (1959), the first plain-paper office copier
- Xerox leased the machine and charged per copy — pioneering the leasing-plus-consumption-billing model that became the template for razor-and-blades in countless other categories. Image: modified from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (CC0) Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 21.14 Servers in a rack: the real hardware behind the cloud
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Abigor) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 21.15 The Tangible Stack: capabilities and revenue streams
- Author's own work
- Fig. 21.16 Human Machine Interface makes industrial equipment user friendly
- Courtesy Puro Systems
- Fig. 21.17 La Marzocco's mobile dashboard
- Image: author's screenshot of the La Marzocco Home app on iOS
- Fig. 21.18 La Marzocco's FOTA functionality
- Image: author's screenshot of the La Marzocco Home app on iOS
- Fig. 21.19 Apple's iCloud: a gentle, monthly upsell
- Image: Apple
- Fig. 21.20 macOS Migration Assistant: your digital identity travels with you
- Image: Apple Support
- Fig. 21.21 Google Pay: a slice of every transaction
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (Google) Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 21.22 Samsung Galaxy Store: trying to play the marketplace layer
- Image: Samsung Newsroom
- Fig. 21.23 Roku Channel Store
- Image: Roku Developer Platform
- Fig. 21.24 Roku streaming devices
- Image: Roku
Chapter 22
- Fig. 22.1 Elon Musk announces new Tesla features
- Screenshot from Twitter/X, @elonmusk, November 2018
- Fig. 22.2 Automated FOTA message
- Adapted from: Teslarati
- Fig. 22.3 Samsung Galaxy customer gross profit streams
- Author's own work
- Fig. 22.4 Apple Inc. revenue sources, FY2023
- Author's chart; data: Apple FY2023 Form 10-K
- Fig. 22.5 iPhone customer gross profit streams
- Author's own work; per-year services figures derived from App Economy Insights
Chapter 23
- Fig. 23.1 iRobot Roomba: the quintessential robot mopper
- Photo by Onur Binay on Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 23.2 IRBT daily closing prices, February–March 2025
- Data from Yahoo Finance, retrieved March 31, 2025
- Fig. 23.3 The new Roomba line-up, launched March 2025
- Source: iRobot Newsroom
- Fig. 23.4 Revenue over time from a typical consumer: illustration
- Author's chart
- Fig. 23.5 Revenue from a durable good over the model lifetime: illustration
- Author's chart
- Fig. 23.6 (Spoiler: Discontinued) iRobot Select program
- Source: iRobot (Select program page archived; program since discontinued)
- Fig. 23.7 iRobot Home app
- Source: iRobot Home app product page
- Fig. 23.8 App Store commission as part of total revenue
- Author's chart; data approximated from Apple's 10-K filings — Apple consolidates services revenue, so App Store share is estimated
- Fig. 23.9 Add timely offerings
- Author's mockup
- Fig. 23.10 Proposed iRobot marketplace
- Author's mockup
- Fig. 23.11 Enriched notifications
- Author's mockup
- Fig. 23.12 Schedule area beefed with timely offerings
- Author's mockup
- Fig. 23.13 Business registration page
- Author's mockup
- Fig. 23.14 Service page
- Author's mockup
- Fig. 23.15 Business profile
- Author's mockup
Chapter 24
- Fig. 24.1 Acceleration: do you feel it?
- Image: Marc-Olivier Jodoin / Unsplash, Unsplash License
- Fig. 24.2 AI's uneven compression across the hardware development chain
- Author's analysis. Anchored to endnotes – where direct measurement exists; values for the five stages drawn with hollow markers are reasoned, not measured
- Fig. 24.3 Noise on any single unit becomes a detectable signal across the fleet
- Author's analysis
- Fig. 24.4 Earlier catch, smaller blast radius
- Author's analysis
- Fig. 24.5 The bi-metal thermostat: a threshold frozen at the factory
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Nillerdk (talk)) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 24.6 Blind men appraising an elephant
- Image: Ohara Donshu (Japanese, d. 1857), Brooklyn Museum via Wikimedia Commons, public domain Public domain / CC0
- Fig. 24.7 The maintenance window the swarm opens
- Author's analysis
- Fig. 24.8 Vineyards in Napa Valley
- Image: Brocken Inaglory / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Brocken Inaglory) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 24.9 The collapsed Ponte Morandi spurred advanced structural metrics
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 24.10 The grid's blast radius: a city street during a power cut
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Jen / Mangostar) CC BY-SA — credit required
- Fig. 24.11 Same digit, same neighborhood: a t-SNE of handwritten digits (digit labels added arbitrarily for the illustration)
- Image: adapted from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 24.12 Unstructured 3D: a LiDAR point cloud of a San Francisco intersection
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (Daniel L. Lu) CC BY — credit required
- Fig. 24.13 Sensor fusion in the hand: the infrared dot pattern Face ID projects to build a depth map of the face
- Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Phiarc) CC BY-SA — credit required
Chapter 25
- Fig. 25.1 The tangibles PM as convergence point for ten product streams
- Author's own work
- Fig. 25.2 The Time-Scale Split: hardware freezes at launch while software iterates for the product's life
- Author's own work
- Fig. 25.3 The Commitment Stack: layers of a tangible ordered by cost to reverse, bedrock to fluid
- Author's own work
- Fig. 25.4 The irreversibility strip: how much a single decision binds you, at a glance
- Author's own work