Developing an innovative physical product always involves tackling a wide range of technical, operational, and design challenges. But when that product combines biology, automation, electronics, and user experience into a single system, the complexity changes entirely.
It’s no longer just about whether the product works. It must be stable, maintainable, scalable, and simple enough to be integrated into the day-to-day operations of real companies and users.
In this context, the case of Bubbl3s is particularly interesting. The startup has developed an air purification system based on live microalgae, a relatively uncommon technology that requires the integration of very different disciplines within the same development process.
However, beyond the product itself, what’s really interesting is understanding how a solution of this kind is built. What challenges arise during the process, what decisions need to be made, and how product design completely determines the viability of the idea.
In a conversation on the Toque de Ingenio podcast with Jerry Capote, founder of Bubbl3s, we explored what product design and development really entails when working with complex and unconventional technologies.
The starting point: turning a technology into a real product
One of the most common mistakes in technology projects is assuming that having a functional technology automatically means having a product. In the case of Bubbl3s, the technological foundation already existed. Microalgae and their ability to absorb pollutants and generate oxygen were already well known. The real challenge lay in transforming all of that into a usable, maintainable, and market-ready solution.
During the conversation, Edgar Guerrero, host of Toque de Ingenio, summed it up very clearly when explaining the value of the project:
“You turned that scientific research or development into a marketable physical product.”
And that’s where product development really begins. Because turning a technology into a product involves addressing issues that go far beyond technical functionality. We need to define how it will be used, how it will be maintained, how it will be manufactured, and how it will be integrated into real-world spaces without creating friction for the user.
In projects of this kind, innovation often lies not only in the technology itself, but in making all that complexity work in a simple and stable way.
Your OFFICE has 5 times MORE POLLUTION than the CITY | Bubbl3s – Toque de Ingenio
Designing a product around a living organism
One of the most complex aspects of the project is that Bubbl3s does not use passive components, but rather living organisms.
This requires a completely different approach to industrial product design. Microalgae require specific conditions to remain stable: lighting, liquid circulation, temperature, and controlled maintenance.
During the podcast, Jerry explained how they source and prepare the microalgae before incorporating them into the product:
“We extract microscopic particles that serve as inoculum, then cultivate them for two months until we have healthy microalgae.”
This introduces a level of complexity that is quite different from that of other technological products. The device must not only contain electronics or mechanical components, but also keep a biological system alive and stable for months. That is why a large part of the product design and development work involves hiding all that complexity behind a simple user experience for the end user.
As Jerry puts it:
“The challenge is to make it as simple as possible for everyone.”
And that phrase perfectly captures one of the fundamental principles of industrial design: the more complex the technology, the simpler the user experience must be.
Industrial design and user experience: much more than just aesthetics
Another key aspect of the Bubbl3s case is how industrial design directly influences a product’s acceptance.
The device is not intended for use in a factory or technical environment. It is designed to be used in offices, meeting rooms, and corporate spaces where the product is a visual element of the surroundings. For this reason, its size, shape, and aesthetic integration were key considerations from the earliest stages of the project.
During the conversation, Jerry explained that they had studied user behavior extensively before settling on the final format:
“We didn’t want to make something three meters long because, in terms of user experience, it doesn’t look very good in a normal setting.”
This point is particularly important in any product design project. Often, the most technically efficient solution is not the most suitable for the actual context in which it will be used. For this reason, the product development process had to strike a balance between efficiency, size, visual integration, and ease of use.
The Operational Challenge: When the Problem Isn’t the Technology
One of the most interesting aspects of the episode is that Jerry acknowledges that the biggest challenges of the project did not arise from the electronic or technical aspects of the product.
In fact, when Edgar asks him directly if the electronics had been one of the major problems, Jerry replies:
“That wasn’t the hardest part. Where we really fell short was on the operational side—in terms of money and time.”
The real challenge came later: maintenance, logistics, and scalability.
At first, any issue required the team to travel in person to make adjustments or changes to the device. And that made it very difficult to scale the business model. Jerry explains it this way during the podcast:
“I used to have to go myself. Even for the simplest thing—if an LED wasn’t working quite right or some other minor issue—I had to go to whatever location it was.”
These kinds of problems are extremely common in hardware projects and highlight an important point: often, a product’s success depends not only on whether it works technically, but also on whether the entire operation surrounding the product is sustainable.
Prototyping and Iteration: The Foundation of Hardware Development
As is the case with virtually any physical product, prototyping has been a crucial part of the process. During the conversation, Jerry explains that they have developed around 30 prototypes to reach the product’s current stage.
But beyond the numbers, what really matters is understanding what that means within a product development process. Each prototype helped us identify new issues related to maintenance, user experience, system stability, or operational feasibility. And that forced us to continually iterate on the initial design.
With complex products like this, prototyping isn’t just about validating a shape or a component. It also serves to validate how all parts of the system interact with each other under real-world conditions.
Design with scalability in mind
Another particularly interesting lesson from the Bubbl3s case is the importance of designing with the product’s future growth in mind. During the episode, Jerry explains that many of the recent changes are specifically aimed at facilitating future expansion into other cities and countries:
“The shift in our business model we’re undergoing is allowing us to expand into other countries and cities with fewer challenges than we faced before.”
This is a key consideration in any technology product development project. Often, a product works well on a small scale, but becomes unviable as the number of customers, installed devices, or support needs increases.
For this reason, factors such as maintenance, logistics, component replacement, and after-sales service must be taken into account from the earliest stages of design.
One thing is clear: product development goes far beyond technology
After analyzing the Bubbl3s case, one thing is particularly clear: developing an innovative product isn’t just about having good technology.
The real challenge lies in integrating all the necessary disciplines to turn that technology into a real, usable solution. Biology, automation, electronics, maintenance, operations, and industrial design must be developed in a coordinated manner from the very beginning.
Because, ultimately, a product’s success doesn’t depend solely on whether it works technically. It depends on whether it is usable, maintainable, scalable, and capable of coexisting with people in real-world conditions.
If you’re working on the design and development of a tech product and facing challenges related to integration, technical complexity, or industrialization, having a specialized team can make the difference between an interesting prototype and a product ready for the market.
If you have a project in mind, contact us and we’ll help you turn it from concept into reality.
