C O M F O R T
I N
C O M M U N I C A T I N G
PROCESS JOURNAL
Desiging COMMFI initially started when first meeting Dr Jordan Nguyen - we were discussing previous projects and I had asked him if he had any new projects he would like to see developed from an industrial designer’s perspective.
A meeting was organised with Ange at the CPA headquarters. The discussion was opened to try and understand the frustration that occurs when away from a communication device. Due to lack of clearance photos of the meeting were not allowed - however the scribbles of the meeting are to the right.
Jordan discussed the complications that are created Below is a transcript of the meeting - the dialogue for someone with non verbal cerebral palsy when has been edited as Ange was using her computer trying to communicate when they are away from AAC device. their augmented and alternate communication device. How often are you usually away from your AAC (Liberator) Device? Jordon spoke of the need to be able to communicate When I am in bed or using the bathroom simple messages when away from their device otherwise the person is incapable of asking for help. How do you deal with being unable to communicate? Jordan had the concept of using Electrooculography I use my eyes - my carer understands my as a way of interpretting eye movements to movements. communicate. As I had moved away from my initial dissertation, extensive research into existing communication technologies and understanding the extent of cerebral palsy was needed.
How do you usually sleep? On my stomach How many carers do you have? 5 Carers
At this point I explain to Ange the concept of having a device that allows her to communicate when away from her normal device. Would you feel uncomfortable with electrodes on your face? No, I’m used to medical devices. When away from you AAC device, what would you like to say? “Can I please get up?” and “I need help” If you could choose, would you like it to be stylish or inconspicuous? Inconspicuous This was the extent of the conversation due to the slow process of communicating with the AAC device, however there were some interesting things that were noted when meeting with Ange. Ange wears Glasses Ange also involuntarily moves her head Ange’s wheelchair has a large head Ange had short hair
Transcript of meeting with Ange
After the consultation with Ange, initial concept sketches were developed to try and create a slim, and stylish device that could house the electrodes. With EOG, the electrodes are placed on the user’s temple. After noticing that Ange had short hair, it was obvious that the device will not always be hidden with hair so the device must always be stylish. The sketches to were used to find a form that could suit housing the electrode on the side of the face. The concepts range frmo very sublte to dramatic and science fiction inspired. It was at this point the concept was created for the device to have a variety of housings that the user could choose from. This was inspired by the lack of choice within the disability market in terms of personifying their equipment. “What if the product could be 3D printed to suit each individual?”
Researching appropriate 3D printed materials the devices could be made of. Stratasys Endur - A polypropelyne simulant - Rigid yet Flexible
Further form research - understanding how the device might flow from the electrodes and connect to one another.
Playing with the idea of the device’s band wrapping over the top of the head like a hairband.
It was decided early in the design process the device would consist of the two electrodes on the side of the head with a body that wraps behind and connects to the other electrode. In this concept, I was trying to identify how glasses may interact with a design like this. A channel was designed so the glasses arms would sit on the outside of the device.
Glasses channel concept developed further
Foam sketch models were created to see the three dimensional form of the electrode housings
Developing the rear band
Starting to consider how the 3D printed models might clip together
Whilst the head device was being developed, the receiving device of the communication was also being considered. The initial concept was t have a device that could worn, placed in a pocket, or placed on a desk.
A variety of in situ sketches of the headwear device - Sketchbook Pro
The final side profile form was decided - a relatively rectangular form was chosen for it’s simplicity and inconspicuous nature. The inclusion of large fillets was used to stylise the device to be a more comfortable as well as providing some dimensional variation.
THREE QUARTER PROFILE - IN SITU DEVICE
OUTSIDE 3D PRINTED SHELL
PCB
INSIDE 3D PRINTED SHELL
ELECTRODE
1
2
3
The first models of the COMMFI device were created. It was obvious from the start that the model did not require enough space within the headset for electronic components to be placed inside. In all three models the glasses channel was implemented however after trying to increase the available volume of the device with consideration of it being a two part shell with snap fits - it was decided that this size design was going to be far too implausible to 3D print the device You can see, from the top views, the attempted thickening of the frame. The frame tapers to the right as a method of providing space for the electrodes to be fitted within. The initial two band designed featured sharp edged steps a s way of creating interest in the rear band. This feature did not translate well from paper. A softer ribbed pattern was implemented in the third design.
4
5
The fourth design was the first device that implemented the added lobes. The purpose of the lobe was to provide a housing for the battery device and pcb components. The left design attempted to create a device with a square lobe that had used minimal space when designing for battery inclusion. Although the lobe would have been able to house a small button cell, the form was ugly and looked “Droopy� The right design refined the design to be a cleaner link between the frame and lobe. By moving the batteries and the PCB to the lobe, the electrode housing arms were slimmed, removing the need for the glasses channel The ribbing from design 3 continues through both designs 4 and 5 The end electrode arms are becoming far more tapered from the final concept. Minimising material and surface area contact was the reason for this The fifth revision was the first to b 3D printed.
The 3D print of design five showed some very key issues with the current design. Due to the consisting screen viewing of the device - a sense of scale was lost regardless of using the digital bust. Although the 3D model was incredibly comfortable to wear the design was far too thin to house the electronic components. The design was tested for fatigue usage. It was possible to wear the device for longer than an hour without becoming uncomfortable or pressure sores being created. As well as providing a sense of physical scale - the 3D model further confirmed the implausibility of 3D printing the shells of the device. It was at this point a re-evaluation of the manufacturing was needed.
5
6
7
From design 5, the design was attempted to be scaled to make the overall dimensions larger. Although this made the device thicker, the snug fit of the device was unlikely to work. (Design 6) A complete remodelling was needed. Design seven simplified the model features and cleaned the outter surface as well as providing a thicker frame for all the componentry. The rear ribbing of the band was exagerated and the lobes more blended with the overall frame. The electrode arms reverted to a smaller taper to aleviate the possibility of the arms cracking - one of the 3D prints of the fourth model had snapped at the arm just before the lobe. It was noted in wearing tests that design 5 had issues of shifting when the next was extended and the rear band being moved by the neck folds of the wearer. In design 7 the band was lifted to sit higher on the user’s head. Although design seven worked and fit well - the size was over compensated and there was room to reduce thickness.
8
7
The overall design change between 7 and 8 was minimal. The overall band was thinned to reduce the protrusion from the head. With design 8 printed, tests were done to determine comfortlevels of the device when worn lying down and sitting.
DESIGN 7 BAND THICKNESS
Although design 8 was more constrictive than design 5, this was decidedly put down to the thickness of the hard material. As the device was unlikely to be 3D printed, potential methods of manufacture was being considered throughout the redesign phase. “What if it was as flexible as design 5 with as much space as design 8?�
DESIGN 8 BAND THICKNESS
11
Design 9 to 11 focused on detailed the headwear device to have a ABS skeletal frame that provided subtle pressure to the user’s head whilst providing soft tactile comfort using polyurethane overmoulding. The design had shifted tremendously from the 3D printed cocept to the concept of providing a device that is waterproof, flexible and with a great surface finish - all elements that the 3D printing would not allow. In the exploded view to the left - it shows the components needed for the device to work. The PCB, Battery, Induction Charger, Electrodes and vibration motor - all of which will fit within the device’s frame.
11 design iterations
Whilst the physical design was being developed - the development of the application ran alongside. Initially the idea was to create another device alongside the headware device however due to eco & interface considerations the move towards using existing technology was the most obvious. The application was both designed to interact as an alarm and an interface to modify the inputs and outputs of the headset.
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
CONNECTED ANGE’S COMMFI
LOADING
CONNECT
CONNECTING ANGE’S COMMFI
60%
SETTINGS
SETTINGS
SETTINGS
SETTINGS
Removed the settings button from the loading screen.
ANGE’S COMMFI
Removed the settings button from conncetion screen and added the option of connecting to other COMMFI devices as the device could be used in a space with multiple devices.
Removed the settings button from the connection screen.
The addition of a calibrate button streamlines the process of getting the correct readings from the COMMFI headset without moving through the settings and manually adjusting.
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
CONNECTED
LOADING
CONNECT
CONNECTING
60%
ANGE’S COMMFI
CONNECT TO OTHER DEVICE
ANGE’S COMMFI
ANGE’S COMMFI
SETTINGS
CALIBRATE
C O M M F I
C O M M F I MESSAGES
C O M M F I MESSAGES
SETTINGS
“YES” “YES”
TAP TO MODIFY MESSAGE OUPUT RIGHT
“NO” READING
MESSAGES
“I NEED HELP”
C O M M F I
STRAIGHT
“CAN I PLEASE GET UP”
RIGHT
TAP A MESSAGE TO EDIT IT’S SETTINGS
NOTIFICATION SETTINGS
DATA LOG STRAIGHT
BACK
+
LEFT
DRAG NODES TO CHANGE THE EYE PATTERN NEEDED TO SEND MESSAGE
TAP TO ADD A NEW MESSAGE
COMMENT
ALARM
SELECT MESSAGE PRIORITY LEFT DRAG NODES UP OR DOWN TO CHANGE THRESHOLD
BACK
Added the tolerance setting button - rephrased the “reading” button to “current reading” to reducee confusion. Modified messages icon so cannot be confused with reading.
C O M M F I
BACK
Added the activation sequence within the message button as it requires the same features as the messages.
No change
C O M M F I
SETTINGS
STRAIGHT
CURRENT READING
C O M M F I MESSAGES
RIGHT
MESSAGES
BACK
BACK
Simplified the reading graph and made it larger. Added the ability to view the timing of the message.
C O M M F I MESSAGES
“YES”
“YES”
“NO”
TAP TO MODIFY MESSAGE OUPUT RIGHT
“I NEED HELP” “CAN I PLEASE GET UP” LEFT DRAG NODES UP OR DOWN TO CHANGE THRESHOLD
TOLERANCE SETTNIGS
NOTIFICATION SETTINGS
STRAIGHT
TAP A MESSAGE TO EDIT IT’S SETTINGS
+ TAP TO ADD A NEW MESSAGE
ACTIVATION
LEFT
DRAG NODES TO CHANGE THE EYE PATTERN NEEDED TO SEND MESSAGE
COMMENT
TAP TO MODIFY ACTIVATION METHOD
DATA LOG
BACK
PREVIEW MOVEMENT
SELECT MESSAGE PRIORITY
BACK
BACK
C O M M F I
NOTIFICATION SETTINGS
C O M M F I DATA LOGS
C O M M F I DATA LOGS
TAP TO INSPECT DATA LOG OF MESSAGES
COMMENT
ALARM
SELECT MESSAGE TYPE
PUSH NOTIFICATIONS:
YES
ALARM SOUND:
YES
VIBRATE:
YES
NO
“YES”
18-10-2014 9.14AM
“YES”
18-10-2014 9.12AM
“YES”
18-10-2014 9.10AM
“CAN I PLEASE GET UP”
18-10-2014 8.45AM
“NO”
17-10-2014 7.30PM
“YES”
17-10-2014 7.28AM
NO
NO
17-10-2014 11.40AM
“I NEED HELP” MORE
BACK
THE HIGHLIGHTED RED FREQUENCY IS THE PATTERN THAT TRIGGERED THE “I NEED HELP” COMMAND
BACK
No change
BACK
Added ‘quick’ buttons to be able to modify the message settings of the logged message as well as tolerance settings.
No change
C O M M F I
NOTIFICATION SETTINGS
17-10-2014 11.40AM
“I NEED HELP”
C O M M F I DATA LOGS
C O M M F I DATA LOGS
Added the tolerance page allowing the COMMFI user to adjust the difficulty of triggering the alarms.
C O M M F I
TOLERANCE SETTINS
TAP TO INSPECT DATA LOG OF MESSAGES
COMMENT
ALARM
SELECT MESSAGE TYPE
PUSH NOTIFICATIONS:
YES
ALARM SOUND:
YES
VIBRATE:
YES
NO
“YES”
18-10-2014 9.14AM
“YES”
18-10-2014 9.12AM
“YES”
18-10-2014 9.10AM
“CAN I PLEASE GET UP”
18-10-2014 8.45AM
“NO”
17-10-2014 7.30PM
“YES”
17-10-2014 7.28AM
“I NEED HELP”
17-10-2014 11.40AM
NO
NO
17-10-2014 11.40AM
“I NEED HELP”
DEVIATION 40%
MOVE THE SLIDER TO ADJUST DEVIATION TOLERANCE
TIMING 10% THE HIGHLIGHTED RED FREQUENCY IS THE PATTERN THAT TRIGGERED THE “I NEED HELP” COMMAND
MOVE THE SLIDER TO ADJUST TIMING TOLERANCE
MORE MESSAGE SETTINGS
BACK
BACK
THRESHOLD SETTNIGS
BACK
BACK
The calibration process was added to streamline the set up process for a carer. The process begins by initialising and tapping the button to start.
The device asks the headwear user to look straight and hold to ascertain the standard looking position.
The device then asks the headwear user to deviate eyes as far right as possible. This provides information regarding the level of deviation that is standard for the user.
A confirmation page allows the carer and headwear user the device has been calibrated.
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
C O M M F I
CALIBRATION
CALIBRATING...
CALIBRATING...
CALIBRATED TAP TO BEGIN CALIBRATION
BACK
LOOK STRAIGHT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE BEEP
BACK
LOOK RIGHT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE BEEP
BACK
ANGE’S COMMFI
BACK