Week 12

Theme: "Finishing Touches"

Introduction

After several weeks of concept development, research and team meetings, our design team eventually decided on a final design.

The team initiated a design freeze and worked on a process of selecting designs and determining which concepts offered the best potential and which concepts met the deliverables set out in the client brief. In order to achieve this, the team's concept design phase was intense and repetitive. However, we were able to arrive at a well thought out and innovative product. 

Product 

The final product is a system of integrated components that collect, store and evaluate information all for the purpose of improving work place health and safety, employee efficiency and employee's mental and physical well being.

The final design is a set of interact gloves and a central communication hub. The gloves are worn by the employees while they are working and using various tools and electrical equipment. The context is a local construction site and the employees are floor preppers.

In terms of behaviour, the gloves act as an 'external sensory organ' which detects when employees are experiencing pain or discomfort. The sensor points are located according to people's natural behaviours when they are experiencing symptoms of pain.

The team conducted a brainstorming session to identify ways in which everyday people communicate they are in pain or experiencing a injury. The images below are a synopsis of what our team believed were the most common areas people hold, clench, touch and squeeze when they are in pain. The main regions of the body that were focused on included the hand, wrist and upper forearm.

All of the images above more or less focus on the region between the index finger and the thumb. Through further discussion the team arrived at the conclusion that the index finder and the thumb are heavily relied because they provide people with effective grip and reliable support. In addition, the index finger and thumb also offer people dexterity and an ability to adapt to different situations. For example, because people rely so heavily on their thumb and index finger they end up placing a tremendous amount of strain to this particular region and as a result, people try and compensate by nurturing this region with their other hand. This discussion proved to be highly resourceful as it clarified why people experience symptoms of pain in this region of the hand.

If the user experiences pain they are able to squeezes this region and the site manager will be immediately notified and made aware of the information. This information can then be used by the manager to hold regular rest periods to allow workers to rest and regain full range of motion in their hand.

The gloves, collect information, this information is then relayed via visual cues to alert employees and make them aware of their surroundings and individual conditions. The gloves detect vibration which is produced from the electrical tools they are using. Once the glove detects too much vibration a warning light comes on to make the employee aware that they are causing excess strain and stress to their body. If the employee decides to ignore the warning signs, there is built in radio-frequency identification (RFID) system which turns the tool off. An RFID tag would be used in this design for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. The tag will be located on the glove and would be able to individually track each employee's  physical status. The image below is an example of how a tag built into the glove would give employees the ability to log in and out. This 'logging process' serves as the means by which employees manage their tasks and tool usage.

This action ensures the employee does not cause additional stress to their body. Furthermore, the glove will also have utilize different types of grips to add additional support for the employee while they are working with tools. The fact that the grips are attached to the glove, gives employees a great deal of flexibility in terms of what tools they can use and personal preferences of holding tools a certain way.

Research
The video below outlines the features of a bionic glove designed by a leading orthopedic hand surgeon. I found this video to be highly informative as it covers all the major aspects of what our team needs to consider for the design of our interactive glove.

The video discusses the use of anatomical relief pads which are strategically placed to help even the surface contact of the hand, diminishing the natural peaks and valleys that cause blisters and calluses. Fatigued is dramatically reduced and it actually improves grip strength for people suffering from arthritis. Innovative webbed zones are designed to helped hands breath so they stay cool and dry. The lycro material also helps conform to the hand to ensure best fit, regardless of hand size.  

Week 11

Theme: "Project Prototype"

Introduction

This week there was no structured lecture content. As a result, the teaching staff offered each group additional feedback in order to review and improve our current concepts. This feedback helped change our thinking processes which allowed our team to address priorities, delegate tasks and make further adjustments. The main aim for this week was to scope our initial concept and finalize the three aspects of interaction design, object, behaviour and scenario. 

In regards to last week's concept development, our design team had arrived at the idea of wearable technology. The team required support from the teaching staff in order to clarify the appropriateness of our idea and whether or not we were headed in the right direction. Firstly, our team decided to focus on the scenario and behaviour aspects of interaction design. We felt if we were able to successfully establish a well-defined scenario and human gestures, these elements would provide us with a platform of knowledge to design an object around this research. In addition, this research would also justify the need for this product.

Initial Concept Development

User group: Trade professionals

Scenario: The manager of a construction site employees numerous trade professionals to work on a specified site. The employees arrive at the work site and begin working. The context is a busy, hazardous and relatively dangerous environment. At any one time there can be numerous trade professionals moving from location to location and working simultaneously. As the day progresses, the manager alerts his employees to work harder in order to achieve the required outcomes for the day. Trade professionals may begin to experience anxiety and stress given the fact that they need to increase their work performance. Trade professionals will work through the pain in order to please their manager and complete their set tasks. It is due to these circumstances that trade professionals will disregard the mental and physical consequences of working inappropriately. 

To further analyse the scenario, the team decided to examine the context that trade professionals currently work in. The team made a list from our own experience and observations. The images below support our findings:

A trade professional's work environment varies from local / residential areas to large commercial / industrial sites. These factors must be considered when designing for this user group as they may have to re-locate from time to time to complete tasks or discuss issues with their manager or other co-workers. 

Another factor to consider is that trade professionals may be a sole trader which means they run their own business or work independent from a company. This requires them to source their own materials and tools. The fact that they have their own personal tool set means they may work differently to other workers on the site and thus require different needs. I believe if we were to further examine the tools that trade professionals rely on most, it would allow us to narrow down the scope of the project. It is almost certain that most trade professionals would rely on certain types of tools to get their tasks done safely and efficiently. However, once they become tired or stressed it could be assumed they begin to rely more on the tool then their own capabilities. Studies in this area would provide valuable insights into exactly how trade professionals use their tools, especially when they become fatigued due to prolonged use. 

The team discussed the various issues surrounding this type of scenario and more importantly the needs of the user group. The issues the group identified are as follows:

- No scheduled rotation on tools and heavy machinery;

- Limited organisation on local job sites to direct employees and maintain good working conditions;

- Poor circulation of information; and

- Minimal feedback relating to safety and efficiency for employees. 

Based on this research and collaboration with the teaching staff, the team recognized a potential opportunity to integrate many different types of products within this particular scenario.  

Idea / Object: Creating a structured workplace rotation system to provide improved working conditions for workers. The primary use of the object would be to establish a more efficient working scheme. Furthermore, there needs to be an information system that alerts trade professionals when to change tasks to improve their safety and physical condition. Tools are an extension to people's inherent abilities, so why shouldn't a tool act like the human hand, and use the same motor functions? 

In addition, the team also looked into the idea of having a notification device that could be placed into the user's utility belt to avoid distraction and allow them to work in a comfortable setting. The product would need to be in close proximity to the user in order to easily notify the them, but not to the point where it hinders their work performance. 

Another aspect which the group considered was integrating the technology into a glove. Trade professionals rely heavily on gloves and use them in a variety of ways. They are considered a necessity and to some extent standard for safety procedures. However, even though this idea is highly practical, we decided on the basis that as product designers we wanted to focus our attention on designing a tangible product rather then using the 'silhouette' of a previous product. 

Below are a few images of my individual concepts:

Behavioural aspect: Due to the fact that our concept focuses on people's natural behaviours when they are tired, stressed, drained or fatigued, the team created a list of habitual behaviours that people engage in when they are experiencing one or more of these feelings:

- Rub your eyes

  - Drop your head

- Place your hand's on your hips

- Hold your hand

- Press on a specific area which is sore

I believe the image directly above offers the greatest opportunity for innovation and imagination. It is almost as though the thumb is used to locate the source of pain and provide temporary relief. It can be said that the thumb is an integral component of the human hand, and for this project it may well prove to be the turning point to solve the team's dilemmas. 

After much collaboration and discussion with the tutors about our user group, object, behaviour and scenario, the main problems associated with our new concepts are listed below:

- The user group and their need was too specific;

- Needed to appeal to a more diverse market;

- Scenario needs to be specific to the user group and their processes of completing tasks; and

- Eliminate the amount of information the device would be collecting.

From this collaboration session, the team realized we needed to look at our user group and understand what industry they are in and what is required in their practice? In order to answer this question the group organised a meeting and started to brainstorm new ideas. Images are displayed below of our group discussion:

The group was able to learn a great deal more from this meeting. We bounced ideas off each other for several areas and with the help of the entire teaching staff we were able to narrow down our concept.

New concept proposal
The new concept is a smart grip for trade professionals that collects and transfers information relating to their safety and work efficiency. This data is firstly sent to the trade professional for immediate feedback and to alert them to need to change activity and move on to a new task or take a break. This has the potential to reduce work place related accidents and poor employee performance. The type of information collected would be core body temperature, grip position and hours of tool use. Secondly, the information would be sent to HR for them to analyse the data and improve the organisation of their company. The teaching staff gave us two alternatives  either re-design a new grip for an entire product line, or replace the grip on specific tools. The team decided to re-design a grip for a product line to ensure a consistency across the market.

At this stage the tutor said in order for our team to design a product, we needed to define the process of what it is like to interact with certain tools and machinery. To do this, the team was required to perform initial prototyping to extract the design details and identify emerging elements that were not previously considered.

Prototyping phase
In the prototyping phase I looked at several different tools and performed a quick user test to 'flesh out' the process of use and identify design solutions.  The images below show the process of use and interaction:

The most significant issues identified in this user testing are as follows:

- Thumb is used to stabilize the hand and hammer;
- More comfortable to place thumb on the handle;
- The thumb provides most of the support;
- The weaker your grip becomes the less control the user has;
- A wide and long handle resulted in an increase in comfort;
- The grips provided no visual information as the most appropriate way to use the tool;
- The tool with no grip was more practical as it allowed the user to change the position of their grip depending on the type of work; and
- There is no added support for people without a thumb.

Concept Design
After conducting this interactive prototyping exercise, I did a series of design concepts to generate new ideas.

Week 10

Theme: "Concept Refinement"

Introduction

This week focused on concept development and concept refinement to provide groups with a clear direction for the final presentation. The main aspects which were discussed in the lecture included object, behaviour and scenario. In particular, the scenario was outlined in further detail to highlight its importance and value to the project. In addition, the lecturer and tutors organised a meeting to offer feedback to each group to improve our initial concepts and help establish a clear design direction.

Tutorial Session
In this week's tutorial our group had a meeting with the lecturer and tutors to discuss our project idea to gain concept approval. Prior to starting the meeting, our team was stumped for ideas and ways of approaching this project. The main reason why our team was confused was due to a lack of understanding as to how to address natural human gestures and behaviours. Furthermore, our original scenario was also poor due to the fact that it lacked characters, personas, a plot and a convincing story line. Therefore, the team found it relatively difficult to progress in the project.

After the discussion the teaching staff concluded that our group's concept was difficult to understand in regards to its functionality and overall usability in an office environment. They went on to state that they were unsure as to how to operate the device and whether or not the product could actually be beneficial and effective in the proposed scenario. I personally agree with the teaching staff's comments about the product's high level of ambiguity. But in order to achieve minimal ambiguity the tutors believed we needed to make the product more specific through scoping and convergent design thinking. This process will reveal the product's purpose and exact functionality.

There were many significant points discussed in the organised group meeting, however, I decided to take down my own notes so I could reefer to them later on. The following notes are key words and phrases taken from the meeting; task delegation system, monitoring staff members/employees when they are working and on breaks, system of values and what the user takes priority in their life, look into a reward system or an in-house competition between employees to help make the office environment more fun, interactive and engaging, a reward system provides people with a sense of achievement and success which they are able to value, focus on a particular element of the scenario which can be capitalized by our product, help improve the user's experience, focus on natural behaviours and gestures to strengthen the project and gestures do not have to be taken so literally they can be simple movements which convey a specific meaning.

The most important aspect which I took from the meeting was making sure the product suits the scenario and the particular process that the user will go through. There is also a need to maintain an appropriate level of gestures and not to overload the product with numerous interactive mechanisms. More importantly, the product needs to be intuitive in order for the users to understand how it works and how to use it properly.

As a result, our main goals for the lesson was to make the product more specific to the scenario and making sure it suits a user's natural behaviours and gestures in a way which enhances their experience. The team started to brainstorm some new applications, scenarios and human gestures to further develop the product.

New Concepts
The team began conceptualizing new ideas and new concepts. Our group generated to new concepts which met more specific needs and served a greater purpose.

The first concept centered around the idea of proximity and privacy in the work environment. The scenario involves the relationship between a boss and their employees. Usually, employees are constantly searching for feedback and acknowledgement from their boss to make sure they are completing certain tasks accurately and performing a high level of work. This interaction with a boss and their employees can be disruptive in a closed worked environment and could also be considered unprofessional or inconsiderate for the customers or other people in the environment.  Our idea for this scenario is be a private communication device that allows employees to alert their boss or manager that they have successfully completed a task.

The second concept is a wearable computing device for qualified 'handymen' and contract workers. The device works by monitoring the user's heart beat and blood pressure while keep record of the ambient temperature and weather conditions. The product is essentially a data collecting device  that is able to communicate with a site manager or supervisor to allow them to effectively manage their employees and provide good quality working conditions. Once work conditions become too dangerous the appropriate supervisor will be immediately notified where they are able to make the decision to contact the employee and arrange for them to move site or stop work. This process allows for construction companies or contract firms to provide their clients will high quality employees who are able to work to their full potential.