Considerable interest has focused on the design of new products that identify processes, ingredients and systems that are environmental friendly. Chemical products can be manufactured by following different routes. Every route has a planning, research and development cycle. The reverse engineering is a tool used in the education field to understand the function and construction of a product or machine. This method will be used to design a thermochromic label. Because of their simple design and low cost, irreversible thermochromic sensors can be used in many applications in the food, textile, and commercial product industries. Initially thermochromic sensors appear white, when the specific temperature is reached, the sensor color changes. This indicates that the substance the sensor was placed on reached the temperature of activation.

Commercial sensors were tested using reverse engineering to make the Rowan sensors. Parameters such as activation temperatures, activation time, amount of thermochromic mixture in the sensor, mixture quality, and particle size were taken into consideration. The labels were produced and characterized in a temperature range of 61°C to 97°C and 106°C to 131°C. The performance characteristics of Rowan's sensors are similar to the ones currently on the market.