Tag: DOW

Device of the week #4: Sense

The Sense system consists of Sense, Sleep Pill and Smart Alarm, a mobile app. Sense tracks the user’s sleeping behaviour, monitors his sleeping environment and adjust the alarm accordingly. The device has a speaker to play sounds that helps him sleep better.
The Sleep Pill is attached to the pillow and tracks the user’s sleep.
The Smart Alarm will wake you up at the ideal point of your sleep cycle and informs you how well you slept through a unique sleep score every night. This allows you to know what interrupts your sleep. The device has a variety of sensors which are ambient light, temperature and humidity, and particulate.

 

Images of Sense:

When you wake up, see your previous night’s sleep and everything that happened. Credits to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hello/sense-know-more-sleep-better
Cotton coloured Sense. Credits to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hello/sense-know-more-sleep-better
Charcoal coloured Sense. Credits to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hello/sense-know-more-sleep-better
Sleep Pill fits snuggly to your pillow
Sleep Pill fits snuggly to your pillow. Credits to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hello/sense-know-more-sleep-better
Video of Sense:

Videos explaining Sense creation (above).

The pros of the device is that it tracks the user’s sleep cycle and informs him what are the disturbance that causes him not to have a good night rest. This allows the user to be more aware of the importance of sleep and how it affects the person’s body and mind. The cons of the device is that the user needs to purchase 2 separate devices and download a mobile app just to track and improve his sleeping pattern.

I would create a pillow cover that incorporates the sensing of environment, sleeping behaviour of the person and an alarm clock. When the user wants to travel, he could just bring a pillow cover with him to help track his sleeping patterns and also detect the environment around him. This creates convenience for the user and also he can set an alarm clock via his pillow which will wake him up via a vibration device. The data from the cover will be sent to the mobile app through bluetooth so that the user is able to know how his sleep has been.

Device of the week #3: SuitX’s Phoenix exoskeleton

SuitX’s Phoenix exoskeleton is a suit that the wearer wears on the hips and knees with small motors attached to the device with a battery pack worn as a backpack to power it for 8 hours. He controls the movement of his legs by pressing button integrated on the pair of crutches. It is the lightest and cheapest medical exoskeleton as compared to the others. The device is modular and adjustable for the wearer to adjust accordingly to their height. SuitX helps patients with spinal cord injuries and children with neurological disorders who need help with walking. It also have therapeutic benefits for those who had stroke or other motor injuries.

Video of SuitX’s Phoenix exoskeleton:

http://dai.ly/x3c3dcv

Images of SuitX’s Phoenix exoskeleton:

A battery pack worn as a backpack powers the exoskeleton for up to eight hours. Credits to https://www.technologyreview.com/s/546276/this-40000-robotic-exoskeleton-lets-the-paralyzed-walk/

Steven Sanchez standing and walking using the SuitX’s Phoenix exoskeleton. Credits to https://www.technologyreview.com/s/546276/this-40000-robotic-exoskeleton-lets-the-paralyzed-walk/

The pros of the device is that the wearer can stand and walk with it without having to stay seated on the wheelchair for a long period of time. The weight of SuitX is light which allows the wearer to move around without exerting much energy and it is also creates no noise when moving around. The cons of the device is that it takes quite some time for the wearer to put it on when he wants to go out and he might prefer to use a wheelchair instead. SuitX requires a lot of maintenance as it has many different parts and also it is quite pricy for the general public.

I would probably incorporate a rechargeable battery function on the suit itself so that the wearer would not need to carry extra weight for the device to work. He would just need to plug the suit via a USB just like a phone to charge the suit. The other idea is to make the suit recharge via solar power to prevent the hassle of plugging it to a power cord.
I could probably change the braces of the device to look like pants so that the wearer will not need to spend a lot of time wearing it and also it would not cause the public to look at him in a strange way.

 

Device of the week #2: Turtle Alert

Turtle Alert is a device that helps us correct our neck posture as we have evolved to desk jobs causing our necks to curve forward rather than straight upwards. The device sits around the neck and senses the neck posture when we are working on our desk. It is connected to a mouse-pad which vibrates to alert you to correct your posture the moment Turtle Alert senses your neck curving forward. The device consists of a tilt sensor and Arduino kit with a mouse-pad consisting a vibrating device under the hand rest.

Images of Turtle Alert:

The design of Turtle Alert. Credits to http://www.yankodesign.com/2016/07/28/sit-straight-soldier/

A person wearing Turtle Alert around her neck. Credits to http://www.yankodesign.com/2016/07/28/sit-straight-soldier/

How Turtle Alert works. Credits to http://www.yankodesign.com/2016/07/28/sit-straight-soldier/

How mouse-pad works with Turtle Alert. Credits to http://www.yankodesign.com/2016/07/28/sit-straight-soldier/

The pros of the device is that it helps correct the neck posture of the user through the use of the mouse-pad since majority of us are doing more desk jobs now. It allows the user to be more aware and alert when they use the computer so that they would not be hurting their neck spine. The cons of the device is that users need to have both the Turtle Alert and mouse-pad to alert them of their neck posture. They may find it a hassle to carry both devices around just to correct their neck posture.

I would suggest merging the two devices together for convenience. Turtle Alert could incorporate the vibrating device into it. When the user wears the device, he would experience the vibration of the device once his neck posture is curve forward. The other suggestion I would make is to make the device flexible since different people have different neck sizes. When a flexible material is use, the user is able to adjust it according to their comfort and wear it to correct their neck posture.

Device of the week #1: Bio Circuit

Bio Circuit: A wearable soundscape is created by Dana Ramler. This device detects the heart rate of the person through the sounds produced by the MP3 located at the collar of the wearable. This enables the wearer to understand their own psychological state when they hear a specific environment. The purpose of Bio Circuit is to create awareness of how we are psychologically affected by the environment around us.

Video of Bio Circuit:

Bio Circuit – a wearable soundscape. Credits to http://danaramler.com/biocircuit.

Images of Bio Circuit:

bio circuit_3-01.jpg

A person at different environments and wearing Bio Circuit. Credits to http://danaramler.com/biocircuit.

bio circuit_2.jpg

How the Bio Circuit works

bio-circuit_10.jpg

Presented and Exhibited at TEI 10, The Fourth Annual Conference on tangible, emedded, embodied interaction. Credits to http://danaramler.com/biocircuit.

The pros of this wearable is it creates an awareness of our own psychological state and how different sounds would impact our heart rate. We may not be sensitive what kind of environment would trigger us to be more agitated or calm us more easily when we speak to others about certain matters. When we have a better understanding of our own psychological state, we are able to take notice of our mental health.

However the cons of this wearable is the material is made of wool which is not friendly for users in tropical countries. It would be too hot for them and could create more irritation where their heartbeat would increase and the feedback given will be inaccurate. 

I would modify the material used where I would change from wool to cotton so that places with warmer climates are able to wear it too. The other area I would change is the duration of the urban sounds playing. When the heart rate of the wearer increases, the urban sounds is played but to slow down their heartbeat urban sounds would slowly change to a smoothing sound. They would be able to relax their mental state rather than creating more anxiety.