[camo]

Hi Lee

I think I know what you want to achieve however I am not convinced there is a market for a rucksack that converts into a tent. My concern is that if it is your intention to use the body of the RS as part of the fabric of tent then you would need to empty the RS to put the tent up, this would take away the storage capacity of the RS and leave clothes damp from overnight moisture. You amy be considering a compartment that allows the tent to pull out of the RS which would be handy but you will then fix a persons choice of tent and RS combination adn you will need to be careful about the position of the RS in the erected tent. I am also not clear on how this would reduce carbon emmisions, I suspect you may say reduce manufacturing but the tent will still require a light fabric in addition to the more robust outer of a RS so both elemnts will require manufacturing and there will b elittle imoact on carbon Emissions.

As a recent Master student in Business Strategy I would recommend two actions; First of all Market your idea, this does not mean advertise but approach your potential customers with a feasible design and get there in put. i.e. an extension of waht you are doing here. However I would also be cautious about widely advertising an idea without any protective ptaent.
Secondly look at the market place and understand who you are competing with and what is on the market you may find you duplicate something that is about already. Your ultimate objective should be to ensure the tremendous effort you will need to put into a dissertation has a long term benefit past your qualification and therefore you need to balance the need for market research with openly sharing an idea that an established manufactuere may steal.

My gut feeling is that there is little advantage in waht you are suggesting unless you are able to change the manufacturing process to produce a different kind of material. I also think there is more basic equipment that needs an engineer to invent that will have a definite market. Ideas such as rain water harvesting, usable photovoltaic power sources, non invasive heat sources and self heat food packaging spring to mind.

Good luck with your studies and I look forward to hearing from you but please if you have a cracking idea keep it to yourself until you can get protection.

Roy