Always Stay Connected!
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Interactive Design and Media School of Design and Engineering Philadelphia University Jui Kunte May 11, 2015
Table of Contents 1. ABSTRACT 2. DEFINE Mission Observations & Problem Identification Problem-Centered Approach The Demographics of Aging Target Users Short Term Goals Long Term Goals SWOT Analysis Success Metrics 3. PROCESS Concept Sketches Concept 1, 2 Final Concept Target User Groups Personas Android Mobile App - Sitemaps, wireframes phase 1, 2, 3 Companion - Building Prototypes User Testing 4. DESIGN Branding UI Kit Android Mobile App Design Explorations Android Mobile App Design Android Mobile App Features Companion - Product Renderings Companion - 3D printed model Companion - Hardware and its functions Final Product User testing Round 3 - Android Mobile App User testing Round 3 - Companion 5. DEPLOY Production Schedule (GANTT)
tween the older people who are lonely/socially inactive/technophobic and their loved ones who are busy with their own lives.
3
ABSTRACT Milaap is a two-way communication
system, with tangible interaction that has
been designed to facilitate a simple communication between the older people who are lonely/socially inactive/technophobic and their loved ones who are busy with their own lives.
Through Milaap, I tried to work on a solution for this target of users, something that can give the possibility to share simple emotions & feelings in order to create intimacy. A way to keep the importance of the bond between the elderly people and their children/loved ones, the imporatance of the presence of each other in each others life, but, at the same time something not invasive, in order to respect each others space and rough time schedules. A possibility to increase the quality of communication between 2 persons that had to face the distances, mental models and stereotypes.
WHAT IS MILAAP? Milaap provides an easy and simple way to stay emotionally connected to your loved ones, which is one tap away. This unique product will allow users (elderly people) to efficiently use their mobile and keep track of their (technophobic) elderly loved ones without having to learn or master the skill of interacting with complex interfaces in the cell phone. When the elderly person taps his/her mobile phone on the physical device after selecting a feature - call, video call, send text, media, medicine reminder, voice message and an emotive message, the respective action is performed for example, calling, recording voice message. and the device glows as a result giving a feedback to the user. Also when the other user(their loved on/guardian) sends them a text, media calls, that respective companion lights up.
DEFINE
MISSION
“Design for the young & you exclude the older, Design for the Older & you include the young� - Bernard
Isaacs
The mission of Milaap is to help families find means to stay emotionally connected with their technophobic elderly loved ones and comfort them by reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation. Milaap should enable personal and social interaction, support intergenerational
relationships, help old people maintain their dignity and sense of self worth. It can also improve dysfunctional communicative situations. My aim is to achieve a natural and intuitive use of the design, by placing the insight into tangible form as a product and mobile app fitting together seamlessly.
OBSERVATION & PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Our generation has grown up in a world filled up with technology, we are used to deal with interactive systems, computers and interfaces and we have created a common ground of knowledge with machines allowing us to interact with them.
On the other hand, Older adults have a difficult relationship with technology mostly because 1) Hardware and software have not been designed to suit them. 2) Current user interfaces for information communication are generally complex and inherently difficult to use. 3) They are skeptical and hesitant to use phones/tablets/ computers cause of their fear of spoiling the device with wrong interactions. 4) For a large part of the older population, technology is unfamiliar and “alien� and even when elderly people perceive the potential of technology, they consider the investment of personal resources needed to use a new artefact as too high. 5) The language spoken by technology is unfamiliar to elderly people because it depends on a series of elements that are out of their culture.
OBSERVATION & PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Older people are far from technology because of various reasons :
USABILITY ACCEPTABILITY ISSUES
ACCOUNTABILTY ACCESSIBILITY
Age-related factors: 1) 2) 3)
Ageing and perpetual, motor and cognitive changes affecting usability and accessibility. Ageing and acceptance issues The role of emotional experience
SURVEY CONDUCTED AT ATRIA- senior living community During the project, I visited the Senior Living Community, Atria in Philadelphia. In the first visit, I spent time observing elderly people from different groups to get better insights and I interacted with them to learn and understand their situation and carried out the following survey by asking a few questions to the elderly and a few to their Guardians. 1)
Basic situation of the respondent, occupation, income, living conditions, personality, marital status, family structure.
2)
Situation of their children or loved ones.
3)
Contact with their children or loved ones.
4)
How often do they visit their parents.
5)
Most frequently used contact manners (phone calls, text messages, internet chatting)
6)
Reasons of living seperately with the elderly, conveniences and inconveniences of this choice.
7)
According to this situation the most worried aspects are?
8)
Whether there has been an emergency.
9)
Have you ever bought any service or equi[pment for your parent/elderly.
PROBLEM CENTERED APPROACH According to Don Norman,
“Technologies are not capable to adapt their language to different classes of humans, unless they are designed to do so” In my approach I propose to design the right language to let the device properly communicate with older adults, who do not have the cultural tools to access the technological world. In this way technology will be familiar also to those who are reluctant to undertake a relation with it. Also while designing the device, the peculiar social, psychological, cognitive, perceptual and motor factors related to ageing will be considered when designing acceptable and accessible artifacts.
Familiarity / Familiar design : •
Familiarity in interaction modalities
•
Familiarity in personal meaningful practices
Putting Familiarity into action : •
Look & Feel
•
Interaction
•
Contents
PROBLEM CENTERED APPROACH
Transgenerational design : I would like to take the transgenerational design approach beacuse it : • Serves the widest range of ages and abilities • Bridges the transitions across life’s stages • Responds to the widest range of individual differences and abilities • Offers a variety of means to accomplish one’s activities of daily living
Benfits of transgenerational design:
USABILITY
Permits us to easily obtain or use an object, service, or facility and move freely and normally throughout an environmen-
Permits us to easily access and use an object, service, or facility regardless of our age or ability.
LEGETiBILITY
Offers cues that enable us to perceive our sense of place and provides messages of information, orientation, direction, and differences.
Demands that artifacts and spaces be yielding, tolerant, unassertive, and amenable to our functional limitations.
ADAPTABILITY
ACCESSIBILITY
COMPATIBILITY
Determines ease of use and range of fit and adjustability offered by a product or environment.
PROBLEM CENTERED APPROACH
Principles of transgenerational design: Transgenerational design fulfills 7 basic design principles:
SAFETY Freedom from danger, injury, or damage under reasonable conditions by all who may be expected to handle, use, or operate them. Transgenerational designs anticipate a wide variety of physical and sensory impairments, providing safe, supporting features—even before they may be needed.
CONVENIENCE Freedom from disturbing, painful, or stigmatizing forms or features. Transgenerational designs provide physical and sensory comfort for those with impairments as well as the able-bodied. Convenient, handy, and appropriate use for all who would use them. This means convenient use, transport, packaging, storage, operation, cleaning and repair.
EASE OF USE Simple, uncomplicated, and easy to use. Designs should offer readable and understandable instructions and directions, simple operations, and logical controls that do not confound our intelligence. Such designs do not tire our muscles or defy our dexterity—regardless of our age or ability.
ERGONOMIC FIT Physical fit and sensory accommodation for the widest possible range of appropriate human dimensions. Ergonomic designs recognize that while our bodily dimensions and abilities reach their full limits during our late teens and early twenties, they also diminish as we age.
SUITABILITY Appropriate size, function, appearance, adjustability, accommodation, and symbolism suitable for the widest spectrum of anticipated users.
USER VALUE Infusing ‘utility’ with user-sensitive value-added perceptions, components, and features.User valuesatisfies consumers’desireby translatingexpectationsintopositivereactions, thus maintaining self respect, extending independence, and promoting satisfaction.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF AGEING Human Aging— A Recent Phenomenon NEVER BEFORE IN HUMAN HISTORY has our planet contained so many older people— or such a large percentage of them. Fifty million aging Baby Boomers are sparking demand for products and environments that accommodate their changing physical and sensory capabilities.
The Elderly Sub-Population THE DRAMATIC INCREASE in the number of people reaching age 65 — coupled with their increased life expectancy — have expanded the classification of those age 65 and older to include three sub-populations commonly referred to as the “young old,”
65-70
74-84
THE YOUNG OLD
THE OLD
THE OLD-OLD
During the next decade, increased life expectancy will strengthen the wave of aging Boomers and steadily increase their total number contained within the elderly sub-population.
The fastest-growing segment of the total population is the oldest old— those 80 and over. Their growth rate is twice that of those 65 and over and almost 4-times that for the total population.
The first wave of aging Baby Boomers reached full retirement age in 2011. For the next 20 years, 74 million Boomers will retire. This means that 10,000 new retirees will be added to the Social Secrity and Medicare rolls each day.
85&
above
THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF AGEING ASPECTS OF LIVING ALONE There are over millions of older people living alone in their homes at retiremnet communities. This is because various reasons like - they have no family left, they are disabled or live remotely due to circumstances beyond their control. They feel trapped in their own homes and see other people less than once a week.
COMBATING ISOLATION Loniliness and Isolaion can be extremely devastating to face especially when they are at a vulnerable age. 50% of the older people say television is their mani form of entertainment. Common results of lonliness and isolation are frustraion, depression or even suicidal tendancies
THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF AGEING
The Power of “TOUCH� & what it means for the elderly Touch is perhaps the most powerful sense of all. Hugs, holding hands and other physical gestures of affection have the potential to ease our minds, make us feel less isolated and reduce stress and anxiety. No matter how old we are, we all love to have our hand held, our backs rubbed or feel the warm embrace. The message of touch is simple. As humans, we are programmed to form emotional bonds that strengthen our relationships. Verbal communication facilitates those bonds. Physical communication confirms those bonds and Touching someone often conveys a message in a way words cannot.
I have used the aspect of touch in my design to establish a bond between the loved ones.
TARGET USERS
Our lives have become busier; people are constantly on the go and constantly overloaded with information. Work schedules, bill payments, deadlines, kids, studies, cooking and all the activities are big factors why people often complaint that they don’t have time to keep in touch even with their loved ones. Busy schedules make us stressed and forgetful. Where as on the other hand, our elderly loved ones, staying alone, with spouses or living in the retirement communities become lonely
and isolated also their social interaction reduces cause of various factors like retirement, memory, physical, cognitive and economical constraints etc. They feel the need to stay connected with only those few loved ones: children, grandchildren, relatives and friends, to let them know they are doing fine and feel comforted. It is not always possible to call, message or email them because of their busy schedule or their hesitance to use technology cause of the varied reason mentioned above.
Older Adults and their Loved ones
SHORT TERM GOALS The goal of this project is to support normal social development of isolated/lonely older adults by empowering them to connect with their loved ones. 1) The target users should be able to connect and relate to the problem statement and should consider it as an ideal way to stay connected to their loved ones. 2) Have a web presence for marketing purposes and easily accessible “How to use videos� 3) Be able to pitch the product to investors at an event (exhibition).
LONG TERM GOALS I intend to carry out extensive exploration of the product form and understand the technology, which gives them value added, services, makes their life smarter and supports for increased quality of life for the ageing population. Milaap will have magnetic stackable discs that will display/project pictures, record and send voice messages with easy interactions (gestures). The use of Milaap will not only be limited to the older generations but to all ages. It will be recognized as a new form of communication all together.
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS 1] Intergenerational emotional connect. 2] Technophobic elderly, do not have much user control over the device. 3] Keeping in mind that the elderly people have no access to social media (like we use face book or other messengers to connect with other people) this device will be an easier way to connect only to a few chosen ones 4] The technophile, loved ones can interact with it through a mobile app. 5] One doesn’t have to wait and keep track of each other schedules.
WEAKNESSESS 1] 2] 3] 4]
Older Adults will need to be educated before they start using the product. Some kind of disability might limit them from using it. It Needs charging and wifi access. It Might be an expensive investment.
OPPORTUNITIES 1] Not many products that focus on the emotional connect between the elderly people at retirement homes or living alone and their loved ones are out there in the market. 2] It can be installed by the Retirement houses administration while they get the elderly admitted there and give them a small training session.
THREATS 1] Some might show some resistance to use technology to satisfy emotional connection. 2] Training the elderly to use I pad and phones might discard the need of such product altogether.
SUCCESS METRICS
+ve feedback and reviews from the target users at a promotional event
100-125
Around
Atleast
75-100
Atleast
75-100
for Milaap.
&
website visits/ page
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
TAP TAP - Technology for two in love Simply tap your wristband and your partner will feel it. - Tap tap is a pair of wrist bands connected via bluetooth to your phone. This concept is recently under manufacturing and newbie in the market. It is limited to the usage of 2 people who can let each other know when they think of them. Cost : $130 Additional uses of TapTap other than its actual purpose TapTap is a technology to transfer touch between two people. It can also be an activity tracker, a game controller or smart alarm.
Emporia Telecom: Mobile Phones For Elderly Users Cell phones designed specifically to be very simple and intuitive for elderly phone users. They have focused on removing complex menus and unnecessary options in lieu of making functionality clear. Cost : $150 Features of the phone: Hearing aid-compatible and extra-loud speakers assist those with hearing difficulties. High-contrast displays and a custom font improve legibility. Raised pressure points on the keys and audible click sounds when they’re pressed means the phones are suitable for the visually impaired. Lastly, an emergency call button alerts up to five preset numbers when it is pressed for more than three seconds.
PROCESS
CONCEPT SKETCHES
CONCEPT 1 WHAT IS MILAAP? Milaap consists of physical Companion discs for the older people and a Mobile application for the guardians/loved ones Companion discs have magnets and stay on the refrigerators or can be stacked. Each loved one is assigned a companion that is recognizable by a free-selectable color. 1) The Companion glows when a message is sent from the mobile app, by a loved one, hence giving out an indication that they are being missed. Also, 2) When the older adult touches/taps one of the Companion it sends out a notification on the mobile app of the respective loved one.
Glows on receiving signal
Each companion is assigned to a different user
Companions are magnetic
You can send a message by touching the companion. Single tap sleep mode off, double tap- sleep mode on short press - i miss you message. long press - rage and dissent
CONCEPT 1
CONCEPT 2
WHAT IS MILAAP ? Milaap provides an easy and simple way to stay emotionally connected to your loved ones, which is one tap away. This unique product will allow users (older people) to efficiently use their mobile and keep track of your (technophobic) elderly loved ones without having to learn or master the skill of interacting with complex interfaces in the cell phone.
Part 1 - For the Elderly People This device is called Companion. It is a cube consisting of 6 features- one on each of its surface that the user interacts with by tapping his phone onto one of the option he chooses/needs. When the user taps his smartphone on to the surface, Near Field Communication Tag is activated and gets scanned by the smartphone. And consequently, the task linked to that code takes place. For example, if the user taps the phone on “Call� then immediately the action is performed by the users smartphone and it starts dialing the number linked to it.
Features in Companion Call Emotive connection -
Gallery Medication Reminder -
Voice message record Emergency alert -
Instantly calls the number assigned to that tag. It sends a message notification and in the form of a simple vibration just to let their loved one know that they miss them. Opens photos/videos uploaded by that particular person in the mobile app. It will keep a track of their medicine timings, which will be monitored by their guardian, when needed. All he is required to do is tap after taking pills. Opens the voice recorder in the phone It alerts the guardian and keeps sending reminders after time intervals if the guardian does not respond to the alert if he is busy.
CONCEPT 2
COMPANION
Tap your phone on to your Companion when you choose your option to Call, View Photos ( media uploaded by your Daughter/Son/Loved one ), Text, Ping, or if you want to send an alert in an amergency
Your Phone Android, Windows Blackberry
On tapping your Companion will glow giving you a feedback that your command has been processed. And the corresponding action will take place
Mobile App
CONCEPT 2
There can be multiple Companions (cubes). Each loved one can be assigned a seperate companion that stays with the elderly. The companion glows everytime the user taps his phone on to it. This is the feedback he gets and hence he knows that the task is performed. Companions are protable devices and the elderly people can easily carry them along anywhere. They can also be stacked.
Companion assigned to Brandon Companion Assigned to Lisa
CONCEPT 2 - APP DESIGN
MILAAP APP ICON LOADING SCREEN
HOME SCREEN
Settings Notiifications Display Picture
6 Features
Emotive Message Notification
Emotive message Button
FINAL CONCEPT
PART 1 : COMPANION COMPANION is a physical model which consists of all the features displayed in the mobile app, interacting with the help of NFC tags and provides a visual feedback to the user .
Target Users of Companion:
Target User Group 1 - It will be used by the elderly people along with the mobile phone app for Milaap.
Functions of companion :
1) When the phone is tapped on the companion - it lights up to give a feedback to the user 2) When Milaap Android mobile app receives a notification, that particular companion lights up.
PART 2 : ANDROID MOBILE APP Milaap mobile app consists of 7 features that will assisst my target user groups to communicate with each other. Call, Text, Media sharing, Medicine reminders, Voice messages, Video call and a simple emotive message like - I miss you.
Target Users for the mobile app:
Target User Group 1 - It will be used by the elderly people (they are the Primary users of the app) Target User Group 2 - It will be used by their loved ones/guardians (they are the Admin for the app)
Interaction with Companion :
When the app receives a notification, it sends a signal to the companion which in turn lights up.
TARGET USER GROUPS
TARGET USER GROUP 1 Elderly people - Age group (65 & above) who live alone, with their spouses or in the senior living communities, poeple who feel lonely, who are technophobic.
TARGET USER GROUP 2 Their loved ones, guardians, family, friends etc. Younger generations who are comfortable with technology and use technology on a daily basis.
PERSONAS - Target User Group 1
KAREN MILLS 84, Lives in Philadelphia
Karen was born into a loving family in 1930, in Philadelphia, PA. She was the second of the three children and the only girl. She had a blissful childhood where she knew of no fears and everything a little girl could have wished for. She grew up to be a lovable teenager, went to university and had many friends. She later went on to marry her childhood sweetheart Mark and had two children.
Her daughter, Lisa visits her twice a month. She uses a computer only to view pictures and videos sent by Lisa, but was mostly dependent on her husband to show it to her. She used to spend hours watching her granddaughters pictures and videos. Karen has difficulty seeing small text but yet her eyesight does not affect her weaving.
Soon their children were grown up and moved away to start their lives. Karen and Mark continued to enjoy retirement to themselves. Sadly their time was cut short as Mark was diagnosed with Lukemia. Karen continued to live alone after her husbands passing.
She does not like to use a mobile phone, but Lisa persuasively bought her a nexus 4, so that she could at least receive her calls and stay in touch. She is not comfortable with texting and prefers talking on the phone.
Karen is still active, and enjoys weaving and gardening. After she lost her husband, she was admitted to an oldage/ retirement home in Philadelphia.
Now she misses her grandchildren a lot and feels frustrated by not being able to see their pictures/videos/audios anymore.
PRESONAS - Target User Group 2
LISA
BRANDON
40, Lives in New York
48, Lives in Austin
Lisa, Karen’s daughter lives in New York and visits Karen at Atria, senior living community twice a month. She calls Karen everyday to keep track of her health and to check on her if she is taking medicines.
Brandon, Karen’s elder son lives in Austin. And visits Karen once in 6 months. Brandon’s kids miss their grandma and often tell Brandon to call her or ask Lisa to get her on video call, whenever she visits.
Lisa is usually very busy with her tight work schedules and her 2 kids.
Brandon rarely calls Karen once or twice a month. And misses her a lot because Karen does not like to talk on the phone much.
ANDROID MOBILE APP - SITEMAP
ANDROID MOBILE APP - WIREFRAMES PHASE 1
USER COMMENTS : Access to notifications was missing in the initial round of testing with the paper prototypes. Few of them suggested that the login process was not required for this app. CHNAGES MADE ON THE BASIS OF FEEDBACK : Loging in everytime was completely rled out and it would just be a 1 time registration after the purcahse of the product.
ANDROID MOBILE APP - WIREFRAMES PHASE 2
ANDROID MOBILE APP - WIREFRAMES PHASE 3 CHNAGES MADE ON THE BASIS OF FEEDBACK FROM WIREFRAMES PHASE 2: 1) Inclusion of a dsiplay picture on the homepage. 2) Simplified 1 time registration process with just 1 field and 1 click. 3) Access to Menu from all Main funtion pages 4) Separate Notifications page 5) Inclusion of User profiles page, Settings for Display and Sound and a logout
ANDROID MOBILE APP - WIREFRAMES PHASE 3
COMPANION - BUILDING PROTOTYPES
COMPANION - PROTOTYPES
USER COMMENTS : These half spherical Companions lacked steadiness and stability inspite of being aesthetically pleasing. Each feature displayed on the single face.
USER COMMENTS : The cube has the benefit of 6 surfaces to display features in just 1 product but its confusing to find the right feature you are looking for.
USER COMMENTS : The stackable magnetic discs got all the positive feedback from the users. Something that could be worked on was reducing the number of discs by using both the faces of the disc instead.
COMPANION - PROTOTYPES FOR USER TESTING
USER TESTING - STAGE 2 conducted at - ATRIA SENIOR LIVING HOMES
USER TESTING : KAREN, 84 tested the polystyrene prototypes to choose the best form depending on the - aesthetics, convenience of use, stability, portability and gave a feedback respectively. On the basis of feedback collected from the users at the Atria Senior Living Community, I started developing the form that would overcome all those shortcomings. Like 1) Stability of the form 2) Portability 3) Lessen in number 4) Lesser confusing (with options upfront- not required to struggle to look for what they want)
DESIGN
CONCEPT 3 - SKETCHES for COMPANION
Inspiration of form taken from nature - A Beehive / honeycomb The Beehive keeps the bee’s united. It depicts - connection, bonding, union which is the meaning MILAAP
MILAAP BRANDING
Milaap
is a word of Hindi orgin meaning union of two or multiple things in this context, union of two generations.
FONT TYPE : THE AMAZING GRACE
LOGO : The two parts of the heart connected in the form of a jigsaw puzzle represent the two generations - the elderly and the and their Loved ones. Two parts of hearts connecting represent
COLOR PALETTE : # 6e7882 - Grey # ff6760 - Orange # fff - White
MILAAP APP DESIGN EXPLORATIONS
UI KIT - ICONS & BUTTONS
MILAAP ANDROID APP DESIGN Milaap is a paired application which has 3 types of users - Admin, Primary, Secondary 7 features - that can be accessed by all the users.
MENU
MAIN FEATURES
NOTIFICATIONS
EMOTIVE MESSAGE
PALETTE
#ffffff
#2c2f37
#2c2f37
#fe5d56
#45cbb1
#eb4c88
#5b93cd
MILAAP ANDROID MOBILE APP MAIN FUNCTIONS Login / Registration
Its a one time registration with username, display picture and phone number after the purchase of the product. The admin (Target User Group 2) takes care of the registration process. He adds the Primary user (Target User Group 1) and Secondary (Target User Group 2) at the time of registration by simply adding their phone number and username. The Primary and secondary user receives a text message and they can download the application which is already paired with the Admin.
ADMIN (Target User Group 1)
PRIMARY USER (Target User Group 2)
SECONDARY USER (Target User Group 2)
MILAAP ANDROID MOBILE APP MAIN FUNCTIONS 7 Main functions CALL View Log
VIDEO CALL View Log
I MISS YOU An emotive message
TEXT The user can view messages, they can either select a template to send/edit or can type in a new message which can also be saved as a template for later use.
MEDIA User can directly view recently uploaded media on the landing page for media. They can also upload new media- like images and videos which can be used or shared by the other user. They can view older photos and videos from the respective folders.
MEDS This feature helps the users to keep track of their medicine schedules Users (target user group 1 and 2) can set up/edit a reminder for medication, the target user group 2 receives alerts on their phone and companion, when its time for their medication. Users can view their daily log and also the older log to keep track of their medicine intake.
VOICE MESSAGE Users (target user group 1 and 2) can record voice messages and send/receive which can be viewed in the log.
MILAAP APP USER FLOW This is a paired app which requires only one time registration at the time of purchase.The user is not required to login again. The admin adds the primary and secondary user by entering their name and phone number. The phone number acts as a password.
ADMIN (Target User Group 1) Admin can upload pictures at the time of registration which will reflect in the app when the other users download the aplplication.
PRIMARY USER (Target User Group 2)
SECONDARY USER (Target User Group 2)
MILAAP APP USER FLOW
EMOTIVE
MENU
HOME
NOTIFICATIONS
TEXT
VOICE
MEDIA
MEDS
COMPANION - PRODUCT RENDERINGS
SHARP EDGES
IMPROVED WITH CORNER RADIUS
COMPANION - FINAL PRODUCT RENDERS
NFC TAG
COMPANIONS ARRANGED IN HOMECOMB PATTERN
COMPANION -3D PRINTED MODEL
ARDUINO NFC TAG
COMPANION WITH HARDWARE
LED or NEOPIXELS
ARDUINO UNO
FSR (PRESSURE SENSOR)
RESISTOR 220 Ohms
HARDWARE - ITS FUNCTIONS
NFC TAGS
Each tag performs a different task assigned to it which is linked to the Milaap Android Mobile App
NEOPIXELS
They light up inside the Companion when it receives a signal on the mobile tap or when it receives notification
Li ion BATTERY
Power supply to the Micro controller circuit. It can be switched on and off with the switch
ARDUINO UNO
Micro controller
FSR
It is a pressure sensor, it senses the tap of the mobile and sends signal to the neopixel to light up so that the the user know when the task is performed
BLUETOOTH
It sends a signal from the app to the microcontroller, when the app performs the desired action
FINAL PRODUCT
HOW MILAAP WORKS TARGET USER GROUP 1 (elderly people) can choose either of the six features on the companions and tap their phone on the respective companion.
Tap your phone
As a result companion glows and the Milaap app performs the consquent task for example : For “ I Miss you feature“ it sends a notification to the other User (TARGET USER GROUP 2- their loved ones/ children/ guardian)
NOTIFICATION
Also when Target User Group 2 sends a text, media, reminder or calls, the respective companion glows so that the elderly person knows he/she has received a new text/media/voice message.
FINAL PRODUCT
ALL COMPANIONS TOGETHER INSPIRATION FROM HONEYCOMB
USER TESTING ROUND 3 - ANDROID MOBILE APP
NOTIFICATIONS
USER : Angelique (45), Atria, tested the Milaap mobile app and gave a valuable feedback that I have incorporated in my final design.
USER COMMENTS : According to Angelique, Milaap mobile app was straightforward with all the options upfront. She pointed out that the profile picture felt like a button or a clickable area and something would popup. She suggested I could use it to open the profile page. After careful analysis and few more user testing sessions with different people, I came up with a solution that clicking on the profile picture will popup a notifications page so that it will be easier for the user to keep track of things (updates about all features together at one place)
USER TESTING ROUND 3 - COMPANION
USER EXPERIENCE : KAREN was initially hesitant to use any product for communication purpose because she thought that she was old school and would rather prefer writing letters to her nephew and daughter. After, I introduced the idea behind Milaap, and gave her a small demo of how it would work and how little effort she would have to put in to let her nephew or daughter know that she was missing them or be updated about their life, she was eager to try it by herself and was happy about the experience.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION RESPONSIVE WEBSITE
www.mi-laap.com
Milaap production description responsive website for the promotion of the product - Milaap mobile app and the companion.
PACKAGING DESIGN
PACKAGING FOR PROMOTION OF MILAAP
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
TASKS Branding, Product Sketching, Wireframes Research Document & concept development App Programming + User Testing 3D modeling & Product mockup Arduino Programming (trials + final) Prototypes + User Testing
3d printing + Video
Documentation
Nov 1-30
Dec 1-15
Dec
15-31
Jan
1-15
Jan
15-31
Feb 1-15
Feb
15-28
Mar
1-15
Mar
15-31
Apr
1-15
Apr
15-30
WORKS CITED
“The Power of Touch and What It Means for the Elderly.” The Power of Touch and What It Means for the Elderly. Comfort Keepers, 10 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. <http://www.comfortkeepers.com/home/info-center/articles/power-of-touch>. Beers, Mark H., and Robert Berkow, ed. 2000. The Merck Manual of Geriatrics, third edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ.: Merck Research Laboratories. Dychtwald, Ken. 1999. Age Power: How the 21st Century Will be Ruled by the Old. New York, NY: Jeremy Tarcher/Putnam. Rogers, Wendy A. ed. 1997. Designing for an Aging Population: Ten Years of Human Factors/ Ergonomics Research. Santa Monica: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). Joseph Pirkl, James. “Transgenerational Design: What Is Transgenerational Design?” Transgenerational Design: What Is Transgenerational Design? Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://transgenerational.org/viewpoint/transgenerational.htm>.
THANKS
Special thanks to Professor Neil Harner’s support and guidance throughout the process of this project. Professor Robert Hardcastle - whose generous advices and kind encouragement accompanied me till now Professor Timothy Bieniosek - For his help with Arduino and getting me through the hardware aspect. Nick - for his expertise in - and assisting with 3d printing. My classmate’s - for suggestions on my visual design and the user testing. Many thanks to all the respondents’ precious opnions. Krista and Karen from Atria Senior Living Community dedicated their time and contributed to user testing. Mid term project Jury members - who offered me an appropriate feedback.