What is "rubbot"

Rubbot is a design project started, in early 2006, by a group of independent product designers based in San Francisco. The goal of the project is to create the best male sex toy possible, by empowering and utilizing an active on-line community to contribute to the design by participating in polls and discussions on the Rubbot website.

Traditional product development cycles acquire user feedback at junctures where new insights are often difficult to incorporate. For example, it can be too early in cycle where participants in focus groups are frequently required to formulate opinions based on two dimensional drawings and marketing descriptions. Or conversely, it can be too late in the cycle where it is impractical to implement major changes into the design. The Rubbot project is a case study in integrating continuous input from potential users.