Re-imagining the future of teaching in classrooms
Cascadia: Raising the Audio Bar
Lightspeed envisions a world where every student and teacher can listen, learn, and share their voice. Their mission? To create classrooms where learning isn’t just heard but truly listened to. As a leader in providing instructional audio solutions to K-12 classrooms worldwide for over 30 years, Lightspeed has continuously enhanced the learning experience and strengthened the connection between teachers and students.
To drive their newest vision forward, Lightspeed partnered with Synapse, a part of Capgemini Invent, to design Cascadia—an innovative, network-connected instructional audio platform that enhances the classroom experience for teachers and students and flexibility for IT administrators.
Cascadia projects the teacher’s voice within the classroom and enables communication with teachers and administrators via a simple wearable microphone. As Lightspeed’s first connected product, the new Cascadia system allows for remote monitoring and custom configurations by schools’ IT administrators. This game-changing technology adds to Lightspeed’s strong product lines and enables them to realize their mission.
The need for teachers to communicate with resources outside of the classroom continues to grow, whether in an emergency or simply when help is needed. With Cascadia, schools can now meet this need by providing teachers with a communication tool that offers mobility, simplicity, and immediacy.
— Shaun Fagan, Senior Vice President of Product at Lightspeed
Path to Innovation
Challenge
Transitioning to a connected future
For 30 years, Lightspeed relied on an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) for their products, which led to higher per-unit costs, lengthy product design cycles of three to four years, and limited control over design files and intellectual property (IP). This dependency hindered their ability to adapt quickly to the market’s demands. Transitioning from standalone instructional audio solutions to a sophisticated, connected system required additional engineering capabilities and manufacturing expertise. They needed a development partner and a new contract manufacturer (CM) to help them innovate and develop a connected product and new product features.
Solution
A sound resolution
Collaboratively, Synapse and Lightspeed defined the connected product, explored possibilities, and evaluated technologies to achieve product objectives. The result is a groundbreaking audio system including a connected base station that is tied to emergency services and a configurable microphone with an intuitive display. Synapse engineers integrated advanced features, including RFID technology and programmable buttons that enhance functionality while ensuring the design remained user-friendly and visually appealing. Synapse also provided crucial expertise to evaluate CMs worldwide, ultimately vetting and helping Lightspeed select the best CM based on product technology, volumes, cost, and other key parameters.
Outcomes
Concept to classroom
Synapse partnered with Lightspeed to bring their vision to life, helping them launch their first connected product in just 18 months—a major improvement from their previous three to four-year design cycle. By defining product requirements and creating a detailed PRD, they transformed Lightspeed’s vision into clear engineering plans, ensuring smooth development and eliminating the risk of surprise redesigns. This new product possesses remote monitoring and emergency communication capabilities and integrates seamlessly with Lightspeed’s legacy systems. Synapse collaborated with the newly selected CM offshore, helping them navigate the first round of production and achieve high-volume unit production. To top it off, they had Lightspeed engineers join them in Seattle to simulate the manufacturing process, saving time and cutting costs.
After joining Lightspeed I saw the challenges they faced with product design and manufacturing. I recommended we contact Synapse because as a former client, I knew they would provide the professional high-quality engineering expertise that Lightspeed needs.
Kennard Nielsen, Director of Engineering at Lightspeed
Moment of Triumph
Cascadia was successfully launched, marking a significant achievement for both Lightspeed and Synapse. Lightspeed’s deep understanding of their customers and unwavering dedication to improving educational outcomes were crucial to this success. With Synapse’s support, they shortened product design cycles to accelerate time-to-market and deliver faster to schools. Furthermore, the connected nature of the product expanded Lightspeed’s market reach, allowing them to serve a broader range of educational institutions. As a result, Lightspeed has enhanced the learning environment and set a new standard for instructional audio solutions in classrooms of tomorrow.
