The need for fast and accurate data in the application of cell cultivation incubators has very rapidly grown due to the current pandemic situation. Apparatus and infrastructures that support the speedy mass production of novel and adapted COVID-19 vaccines and the growing demand for devices that also support the speeding up of regulatory approvals of these vaccines make this a market segment to keep an eye on.

A vital part of this tolerance and quality controls is periodic double checks of the parameters determining the conditions of these incubators. The main parameters to be monitored and strictly maintained at certain levels are temperature, humidity, and CO2. Although some incubators have built-in CO2 monitoring in the design of their systems, third-party verification is a vital element in the accuracy of incubators. Third-party verification uses an external gas detector to read the CO2 from inside the chamber.

This thesis aims to provide a product design concept for the hardware enclosure of a CO2 sampling device, which will enclose an already existing, smart CO2 detector. To achieve this, a user-centred approach was adopted to pursue design value, prioritising accuracy in performance and user experience excellence, following product development processes, exhaustively performing customer needs and competitor’s analysis, iterative and dynamic concept generation, and reaching the concept testing phase.

This project proposes a studied working principle for the gas sampling system and a concept for the hardware design based on laboratory testing and first-hand user interaction with the prototypes produced. As a result, a concept testing plan is proposed for such prototypes that will drive the product design proposed into a concept validation stage.

We conclude that exhaustive and iterative user-centred testing is necessary to achieve a successful design from this thesis’s concept. The grounds to do so are presented in this document.