Prototyping and evidence

A prototype is evidence — for yourself (does it work?), for a patent office (sufficiency: can a skilled person make it from your description?) and for a partner (is it real?).

Stages: sketch → cardboard/foam or wireframe → functional prototype → tested prototype with data → pilot in a real setting.

Record everything: dated photos and videos, test conditions, measurements, failures and what you changed. Failures are evidence of inventive effort and protect you from later claims that the solution was obvious.

Confidentiality while testing: test in private or under an NDA; a public demonstration is a disclosure.

Where to get help: laboratories, incubators, makerspaces and manufacturers listed under Patent to Product. Request lab access, testing or prototype support from your project page; MYCrave introduces you where a partner has offered that support.