Product Design | User Research
Attune: Haptic Feedback Garment
After a concussion, enduring symptoms known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS) can last for weeks and even years - causing hyper-sensitivity to a variety of external stimuli.
People who suffer from PCS can have difficulty navigating public transportation, where demanding and often unavoidable auditory environments threaten to trigger residual symptoms.
Attune helps people with Post Concussion Syndrome navigate public spaces.
PCS makes
public spaces
feel like hostile environments.
Headphones
INTERFEARENCE
Noise-canceling headphones interrupt incoming auditory stimuli and send information to the garment.
Arduino
FEEDBACK
The garment translates info into haptic feedback. This is achieved with an Arduino in the prototype.
Felt + Quilt
INTERFACE
Feedback is communicated through soft, heavy materials which also provide weighted blanket therapy, a technique used to appease children with autism.
Categorical
Delineates between speech, tonal, and a-tonal sounds.
Spectral
Communicates a stimulus’ value along a spectrum.
Neutralizing
Evens the peaks, troughs, and abrupt changes in the environment.
Product Design | User Research | Prototyping
Heel: Custom Canine Splint
After surgical procedures, veterinarians bandage treated limbs with layers of gauze wraps and splinting materials to protect the healing wound.
The resulting bundle can cause further injury by impairing the pet’s ability to walk, and requires regular removal and replacement for inspection -
a time consuming process which risks re-injury.
Heel makes post-op veterinary care less intrusive and more cost-effective.
The problem with post-op veterinary care.
Dr. Laura Cuddy
Veterinary Surgeon
University College, Dublin
ACCORDING TO
Gauze bandages
WASTED MATERIALS
Large quantities of gauze bandages, elastic wraps, and tapes are a significant cost to the hospital and the owner.
Standard splints
FORCED FIT
Standardized splints fit a limited range of breeds and sizes. The forced fit can often cause more complications than they solve.
Custom splints
COST PREVENTATIVE
Custom splints and casts are enormously time consuming, and often cost far too much to be a viable option for the owner.
Cushion
CLOSED-CELL EVA FOAM
Low working temperature (52 - 62° C)
Non-toxic / safe for chewing
Biodegradable
Moldable shell
POLYCAPROLACTONE
Low working-temperature (52 - 62° C)
Re-formable at skin-safe temperatures
Highly durable
Fastner
NYLON / POLYESTER
Water resistant
Highly durable
Non-toxic
Heel reduces waste of wraps and bandages. Straps are easily removed for recycling, and the shell is biodegradable.
The EVA foam liner is not yet repurposable, but companies like Nike and GreenMax are working on more sustainable alternatives.
A NOTE ON SUSTAINABILITY
Product Design | CAD | Rendering
Hearth: Woodfire Backpacking Stove
Backpacking stoves typically require disposable fuel canisters, which add critical weight and volume to the traveler's pack - not to mention the environmental implications.
Hearth reduces dependency on disposable fuel canisters by utilizing local fuel sources.
Ideation + iteration
T.E.G.
POWER SOURCE
Thermo-electric generator converts heat into electric charge to power the fan.
Hoods
PARTICULATE BARRIER
Protects fan from fuel debris.
Base
HEAT SINK
Creates a substantial enough heat differential for the T.E.G. to generate a charge.
Duct
AIR FLOW + STABILITY
Balances cookware and allows for air flow.
