Your First Report

This guide walks you through creating your first research report, from describing your problem to exploring the results.

Starting a New Analysis

1. Log in to your Sparlo dashboard
2. Click the New Analysis button
3. You'll see the report creation form

Describing Your Problem

The most important part is clearly describing your engineering challenge. Write naturally — you don't need a specific format.

What to Include

• The core problem you're trying to solve
• Constraints like budget, size, weight, environment, or materials
• What you've tried or considered already
• Success criteria — what would a good solution look like?

Example Problem Statement

"We have a linkage mechanism in a prosthetic knee joint that sees ~2 million cycles per year with highly variable loading (walking, stairs, sitting). Current steel design is failing at 18 months. Titanium is too expensive. How do other industries handle high-cycle fatigue in compact, weight-sensitive applications?"

This works well because it includes:

• Specific cycle count (2M/year)
• Current solution and why it fails (steel at 18 months)
• Constraint (titanium too expensive)
• Clear ask (cross-industry solutions for high-cycle fatigue)

Detection Indicators

As you type, you'll see indicators showing what Sparlo has detected:

• Problem — The core challenge
• Constraints — Limitations and requirements
• Success Criteria — What success looks like

These help you ensure you've given enough context.

Adding Attachments (Optional)

You can attach supporting documents to give Sparlo more context:

• Supported formats: PDF, DOCX, PNG, JPG
• Maximum files: 5 per report
• Maximum size: 10MB per file

Good attachments include:

• Technical specifications
• Diagrams or sketches
• Test data or failure reports
• Photos of the problem

Running the Analysis

Click Run Analysis to start. The research process takes about 25 minutes.

What Happens During Generation

Sparlo runs a multi-stage research process:

1. Problem Framing — Understanding your challenge from multiple angles
2. Research & Discovery — Searching across industries for relevant innovations
3. Concept Generation — Identifying promising approaches
4. Evaluation — Assessing feasibility and fit
5. Report Compilation — Synthesizing findings into actionable insights

During the Wait

• You'll see real-time progress updates
• You can close your browser — generation continues on our servers
• We'll email you when your report is ready
• Average completion time is 20-30 minutes

Exploring Your Report

When complete, your report includes:

Executive Summary

A quick overview of the key findings and recommendations.

Problem Analysis

Your challenge framed from multiple perspectives, identifying underlying issues and opportunities.

Innovation Concepts

Specific approaches from various industries that could address your problem, with explanations of how they work.

Technical Validation

Feasibility assessment for each concept, including potential challenges.

IP Landscape

Overview of relevant patents and prior art in this space.

Risk Assessment

Potential risks and considerations for each approach.

Strategic Recommendations

Prioritized next steps based on your constraints and goals.

Chatting With Your Report

After viewing your report, use the Chat feature to dig deeper:

• Ask for clarification on any concept
• Request more detail about specific approaches
• Explore "what if" scenarios
• Get implementation guidance

Example questions:

• "Can you explain the phase-change material approach in more detail?"
• "What would be the estimated cost range for the vibration damping solution?"
• "How would I prototype the linkage concept you suggested?"

What's Next

• Report Sections Explained - Understand each part of your report
• Using Chat - Get more from the chat feature
• Sharing Reports - Share with colleagues