Watch: Innovation firm Bresslergroup is featured in a new TV show about ‘ingenuity and design excellence’

Leaders from Center City product design and innovation consulting firm Bresslergroup were featured this past weekend in a new TV series diving into the technological innovations and breakthroughs affecting society today.

The show, “America By Design,” will span six episodes and features 30 different products. One from each of the five first episodes will advance to the sixth and final episode of the series, which is a feature of the season’s top 10 innovations, per a panel of judges.

In the inaugural episode, which aired Saturday, June 12, Bresslergroup Managing Partner of Strategy and Design Mathieu Turpault is joined by Denver-based Rachio cofounder and CEO Chris Klein. The pair talk about the Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller, a sustainable smart sprinkler designed in collaboration with the Bresslergroup.

The segment touches on how the Bresslergroup’s project team designed usability and sustainability into the smart sprinkler controller by reducing parts and keeping production in the U.S. Turpault told Technical.ly that the team producing the show had partnered with the Industrial Designers Society of America to find innovators across the U.S., and found Bresslergroup as one of its Philly-area 2020 award winners.

The segment was filmed in April at the recently acquired Bresslergroup’s studio at 12th and Arch streets and in Haddonfield, New Jersey at the home of one of the company’s engineers, to get shots of the Rachio 3 in action. Choosing which product to feature in the segment was tough, Turpault said.

“We wanted to pick something that is a game-changer in its industry, is making the world a better place, meets a real need, and has a good design story,” he said. “We also thought it was important to talk about a product that has been brought to market and is a commercial success — as opposed to an idea that’s still in concept or prototype stage.”

Judges commented on Rachio 3’s design of weather awareness, only watering a lawn when it “really needs it” to conserve water. Instead of running on a set schedule every day, the sprinkler connects to the internet to check the weather forecast.

For those not within the CBS broadcast areas — Austin, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and San Francisco — each episode will be available to stream on the “America by Design” website and the show’s YouTube channel. You can watch the Bresslergroup talk about Rachio 3 (and check out the rest of the episode) below. The Philly company’s segment starts just after the 24-minute mark.