I meant you don't need to make something people genuinely want, as it would solve a problem they have. You have to prove to the committee that you put in a decent amount of effort, but that's about it.
Correction (as above): It's true that you don't have to make something people want at all in many fields (c.f. theoretical math), but many in engineering probably use it to make something people just don't want immediately enough for you to get funding and make a product before said funding runs out.
