The Product: TRUSTcard
As part of an international team, with corporate sponsorship (SAP), and the guidance of Stanford's most rigorous design curriculum (ME310), we were tasked with identifying the future needs of the "mobility of goods" and developing the a product from concept to functional embodiment as a solution. Meet the TRUSTcard.

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Need:
Dwindling resources, excessive carbon dioxide emissions, and the rising call for sustainability are symptoms of a much larger problem aff ecting the developed world, that of over-consumption. As the planet’s population continues to grow, and the standard of living in third world and developing countries is raised, true sustainability can only be achieved by maximizing the utility of what we produce. Since no one uses all of their possessions at any given time, sharing is a great way to maximize an item’s utility without duplication. Its frequency of use, however, is severely stunted by one’s trust in the system: a reluctance to lend that arises when borrowers don’t remember they are in possession of another’s items or don’t return the item in a timely manner. There is a need for a better way to keep track of and reacquire items lent out to others.



Solution:
The SAP Mobility TRUSTcard is the newest solution to address this concern, geared to encourage people to borrow and lend their physical possessions more often. The TRUSTcard boasts a feature set designed to address common obstacles faced by borrowers and lenders, with the goal of increasing the quantity and the quality of these exchanges. The TRUSTcard is a credit card sized object that one can carry on their person and exchange by hand for an item.



Features:
The TRUSTcard has the ability to digitally record descriptions of lent items and their monetary values. It also provides insurance coverage of the borrowed item against damage or theft. Additionally it provides the means to remind the lender that he has an object missing and to quickly and conveniently contact the borrower (via a third party to insist upon return). For the borrower, the card off ers peace of mind against accidental damage, and a sense of decreased imposition on the lender. The card
also reopens the lending door for those who have previously proved themselves unreliable. Future opportunities also include scenarios for increasing productivity and improving material fl ow in the workplace.



A New Sharing Paradigm:
SAP Mobility envisions a future where item accessibility exceeds item ownership by tenfold, where borrowing and lending are widespread social conventions, and peoples’ consumption habits are drastically changed by the expansion of their borrowing network. With widespread adoption, the TRUSTcard movement could very well be the nextbest solution to over-consumption.





Almost 1,000 pages of more detail is available upon request.



Or you can download a short brochure here.