Customer-based product design module

Abstract

A network, including a product sub-system that interacts with a user, gathers information from the user, communicates the information to the product's vendor, and receives new pre-programmed interactions from the vendor for future interactions with the user. The sub-system is in or attached to a product. Further components include a data processing system for constructing and downloading pre-programmed interactions to the product sub-system; a communications sub-system for transmitting the data from the product sub-system to the vendor's computer; a communications apparatus for reading the product sub-system's data, transmitting it to the vendor's computer, and downloading new pre-programmed interactions to the product sub-system; a data processing system residing in the product sub-system and for conducting interactions with a user; and a data processing system residing in the vendor's computer and for analyzing and reporting the information gathered from users.

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a user interface configured to interact with a user of the unit and to probe for information regarding the user's service needs of the apparatus;   a memory configured to store the information; and   an interface to transmit information to a remote server and to receive information from the remote server, the remote server being in communication with the apparatus.