Prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process.
In some design workflow models, creating a prototype (a process sometimes called materialization) is the step between the formalization and the evaluation of an idea.
The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον prototypon, "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος prototypos, "original, primitive", from πρῶτος protos, "first" and τύπος typos, "impression" (originally in the sense of a mark left by a blow, then by a stamp struck by a die (note "typewriter"); by implication a scar or mark; by analogy a shape i.e. a statue, (figuratively) style, or resemblance; a model for imitation or illustrative example—note "typical").
An example of such a development can be seen in Boeing 787 Dreamliner, in which the first full sized physical realization is made on the series production line.
The most common use of the word prototype is a functional, although experimental, version of a non-military machine (e.g., automobiles, domestic appliances, consumer electronics) whose designers would like to have built by mass production means, as opposed to a mockup, which is an inert representation of a machine's appearance, often made of some non-durable substance.
An electronics designer often builds the first prototype from breadboard or stripboard or perfboard, typically using "DIP" packages.
[19] In electronics, prototyping means building an actual circuit to a theoretical design to verify that it works, and to provide a physical platform for debugging it if it does not.
[20] Open-source tools like Fritzing exist to document electronic prototypes (especially the breadboard-based ones) and move toward physical production.
[21] The developer can choose to deploy their invention as-is using the prototyping platform, or replace it with only the microcontroller chip and the circuitry that is relevant to their product.
[22] Often the end users may not be able to provide a complete set of application objectives, detailed input, processing, or output requirements in the initial stage.
[23] Extreme programming uses iterative design to gradually add one feature at a time to the initial prototype.
The concept of prototypicality is used to describe how much a website deviates from the expected norm, and leads to a lowering of user preference for that site's design.
When developing software or digital tools that humans interact with, a prototype is an artifact that is used to ask and answer a design question.
Technically, any non-living object can serve as a prototype for a model, including structures, equipment, and appliances, and so on, but generally prototypes have come to mean full-size real-world vehicles including automobiles (the prototype 1957 Chevy has spawned many models), military equipment (such as M4 Shermans, a favorite among US Military modelers), railroad equipment, motor trucks, motorcycles, and space-ships (real-world such as Apollo/Saturn Vs, or the ISS).
[33] In architecture, prototyping refers to either architectural model making (as form of scale modelling) or as part of aesthetic or material experimentation, such as the Forty Wall House open source material prototyping centre in Australia.
