CREATIVE INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

"It's not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen" Belsky, 2016 - This blog will be used to reflect different research and developing steps for my second term project within my Master Degree at the University of Huddersfield. Let's go!

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SESSION UPDATE 15.03.2017

Today we had a session about how to pitch/present our concept idea at the final presentation day next week and what the submission requirements for this module are. It was very useful to attend because we got a feeling of what we need to include in our presentation. We’ve also gone through the different assessment criteria so that we are comfortable about what we will submit. Furthermore, we explored a few previous website examples to get an image of how our final website should look like. At the end we received our presentation dates and times.

After the session my group gathered around to have a quick chat before leaving for lunch and then doing the PowerPoint presentation. We discussed if we address all the submission criteria and on what we still need to work on. However, within this talk it came out that the majority of my group didn’t want to rehearsal our presentation. I was really surprised and disappointed because for me it is a normal thing to rehearsal a presentation, to train the group dynamic. Furthermore I tried to explain that for me as a foreigner it is really important to train the presentation. Additionally I think it also ameliorates the image of us as a group because otherwise it will look like five single presentations that just don't flow smoothly into each other. Therefore I can´t say how the presentation is going to be. However, I will do my best.   At the end we were able to create our presentation and read through it. We also sorted out who is doing which page (slices) within the presentation. 

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GREAT WORK GUYS

After 6 weeks of an intensive research, a lot of discussions and a good developing process we were happy to say that we made it ON TIME. We finished our concept idea so we were able to submit our project to the RSA Student Design Award. I am really happy about that because it was a tough time and a lot of work. 

Image: Showing an overview of the final boards (Hagen, 2017)

For the first submission (RSA Design Award) we needed to create different boards, which are addressing our big idea and our concept. Furthermore we needed to describe our idea within a proposal demonstrating that we are meeting the judging criteria including additional supporting material, which illustrates our development processes (RSA Student Design Awards, 2016/2017). We all agreed that we are leaving the part of putting all the information together into boards to the group members who are already graphic designers. After I thought it went quite well, three days before submission we got stressed because the graphic designers didn´t want to have support. I asked them a few times if I should take care of two or three boards but they said it will just mix up the layout, although there were still a lot of boards to do until the submission date. At that point I was really afraid that we were not going to make it. At the end they finished it somehow but all the discussion we had between these three days were really exhausting. 

All in all this project was a good experience for me. I am really happy with the outcome and I’ve learned to work with people from another subject who might not understand a topic from my area at first time listening. Therefore I also trained my communication skills. However, I also developed my confidence in presenting topics in english even if it was just in a group meeting. Although the project was not about a subject within my career department I believe that it helped me regarding passive skills like group communication and trusting each other. So thank you guys!

Image: Hagen, V. (2017). Overview of the final boards.[photograph]. Authors own photograph.

RSA Student Design Awards. (2016/2017). The Challenge - Toolkit - Wearing Intelligence. Retrieved from http://sda.thersa.org/en/challenge/rsa-student-design-awards-2017/phase/rsa-student-design-awards-2017/track/wearing-intelligence-en.

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HERO PAGE

One of the submission requirements for the RSA Student Design Award was to create a hero page. It should be a singular ‘poster image’ that conveys the essence of our project. It should attract and introduce the judges to our product  so they want to see more.  One of our group members (Vanessa) had the idea to use this hero page as a kind of advertisement poster. The idea was to do a photoshoot with two models for a cover shooting. The image should look like that in the upper part the body will be lighten up from back lights so that the faces are barely visible. On the other hand the below part of the body will be lighten up from the front so this section will be in focus of the shoot. However, the imagination was to do this in sportswear clothes so it will give the shoot an “active/sportive” touch. 

Image: Backstage Image Photoshoot Day (Kothoefer, 2017).

After a group meeting we decided that this is a great, creative and modern idea to present our product, so I confirmed that I will help Vanessa to organize this photo shooting and do everything around it. We started to have a look at the university facilities regarding photoshootings and found out that it is possible to shoot within one of the photoshooting boxes at our technology building. Before we actual start the shooting we had quite a few problems such as the room/box situations or issues with our models. However, at the end we found some good solutions and everything turned out well.

In my opinion we have a really good hero page even if we had a lot of discussions about it. While editing the image Vanessa and I posted every version of it into the Facebook group and said what we think about it. We also tried some editing ideas from the other group members even if we already knew that they weren’t looking good. At the end we all agreed to one hero page, which is looking amazing if you ask me!

Image: Kothoefer, L. (2017). Backstage Image Photoshoot Day. [Photograph]. , retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BRGYbB-F1AQ/?taken-by=lkdragoescu.

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GROUP WORK

To be able to work efficient and to create an innovative product we decided from the beginning on to have at least two group meetings per week. We wanted to be able to have a good structure so we don´t get stressed as we just had 6 weeks to complete a whole idea and a concept for an innovative new product. 

Image: Mind Map Wellbeing (Kothoefer, 2017).

For me it turned out that the best way to reflect a meeting and think again about it was to create a mind map. So basically I created for every meeting a mind map. I found out that this is a great way to bring a little bit of structure into the chaos of a lively discussion meeting.

Image: Mind Map Electronic Elements (Kothoefer, 2017).

As I said before I think we were a good communicative group. I felt quite comfortable within my group. They gave me the feeling that I can say what I think so I did it. However, of course it was a challenge. I think every group project is a challenge. That’s the thing with group projects, they are invented to be like this. I never heard from a group project where simply everything went amazing. Therefore we also had our arguments. Sometimes I felt that it was quite difficult because we were coming from different master courses but on the other hand sometimes it was really cool that we are so different. But I also think that we had some discussion that weren't worth it, for example about the width size of a text box. In my opinion it doesn’t matter if the text box on the left hand corner is 4 mm to small. As long as it doesn't look bad and gives a nice attracted framework it works for me. So all in all I can say I was pretty happy with my group. 

Image: Kothoefer, L. (2017). Mind Map Wellbeing. [Illustration]. Authors own illustration.

Image: Kothoefer, L. (2017). Mind Map Electronic Elements. [Illustration]. Authors own illustration.

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DESIGN

Of course every good final product needs a sophisticated concept regarding logo, color, font type, layout etc. The design aspect is especially within a competition really important because it needs to attract the judges before they are actual reading the concept. So it needs to have a kind of statement but not to extrem (classic enough to attract to different people). For us it was quite tough to develop a good design work. We had a lot of discussions going on. I never used a Facebook group so much! .. However, at the end I can say I am pretty happy with our final decision and I think it is modern, interesting and still “simple” at the same time. We found a good compromise. 

In my group Iqra took over the design part. She developed all the colors, fonts and the layout. 

Image: Logo and Font Type (Bibi, 2017). 

To find a name for our product was a pretty intense search. As a group we googled different names that were coming up in our mind to see if they are already existing. Besides googling we also spelled the names out so we could hear how they sound.  The name needs to “flows” good and not only “looks” good. It took us 3 days to decide for one name. After we did this Iqra started to create the Logo for our product. The idea was to go for a clean, structured and simple logo but integrating a little bit of detail within little parts, for example overlapping of the letters. To choose one font type was a bit easier. All group members presented their favorite font and afterwards we compromised to one. It is also clear and structured and fits perfectly with the logo.

Image: Color board (Bibi, 2017). 

Another important element of almost every product is color. Of course the trend colors are different in every area for example the automobile industry vs the kitchen industry. However it doesn´t matter in which area the production will be, the designer needs a color board! So Iqra created a color board with colors from neon bright green to a dark grey inspired by single minerals under light. (see pic). After we discussed this in one of our group meetings we decided to do a further research regarding color trends. We felt that these colors might not be in trend anymore. However, the research has shown that there are a lot of colors, which will become trend in the future but after Vanessa came up with an another color board we decided to go for the “warm” green area.

Image: Bibi, I. (2017). Logo and Font Type. [Illustration]. Retrieved from group email account.

Image: Bibi, I. (2017). Color board. [Photograph]. Retrieved from group email account.

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SHRUNK AN ARDUINO TO THE SIZE OF A FINGER TIP AND MADE IT WIRELESS

Website: RFduino - ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR PROJECTS (RFduino.com, 2013 - 2014).

To be able to integrate and program all these ideas we need a socalled “motherboard”. 

But what are “motherboards”? The hardware of a “motherboard” exists out of a circuit board with a micro controller; so a kind of mini-computer with simple AVR micro controller boards. The other thing is the software, which allows someone to program different processes and transactions. After writing a program with the software one can simple transform it to the board through an USB cable. In this way different sensors or lights can be controlled. Different “motherboards” are out there, for example the boards from the RFduino collection (Elektronik-Kompendium, N/A).

Image: Shrunk down an Arduino to the size of a finger-tip (Open Source RF, 2013)!

These RFduino boards are boards with the size of a fingertip, which were invented by Open Source RF with Kickstarter. These boards are a platform, which offers people to create and build in a simple way their own technical idea. However, through the simple hardware of the RFduino it is quite low cost. It depends what module but the prize is around 15$ - 20$. All in all I can say the RFduino is small, cheap and able to do a lot out of itself but is also reduced to do the essentials. Additional is it possible to enlarge the RFduino without much soldering by combining it to other boards, which is really important if it comes to the point where one needs more then a few conductive points (RFduino.com, 2013 - 2014).

Thus our motherboard-research we also found this “motherboard”, it is called FLORA Arduino. So what is it?

Video: What is FLORA? (Adafruit Industries, 2013, Apr 16)

Basically there are two versions of the FLORA Board: The simple Flora and the Flora V2. The “original” Flora wearable board is built out of the Atmega32u4 micro controller including an mini-usb port. The difference to the new Flora V2 is that it has micro-usb instead of a mini-usb. The power controlling is created to be flexible and easy to use (Adafruit, N/A).

Image: How to Use the Adafruit Flora Board - Arduino Tutorial (DeCristofaro, 2012).

The great thing is that you can use these boards with external battery packs from 3.5v to 9v DC because there is an onboard battery connector with protection diode for use. However an important point what we found within our research is that FLORA is fabric friendly. All the components on board won't snag delicate garments because they are flush to the PCB (FTDI headers won’t be used) (Adafruit, 2016).

Video: FLORA vs GEMMA (Adafruit Industries, 2014, Mar 19)

Image: Open Source RF, . (2013). Shrunk down an Arduino to the size of a finger-tip!. [photograph]. , retrieved from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1608192864/rfduino-iphone-bluetooth-40-arduino-compatible-boa.

Image: DeCristofaro, J.M. (2012). How to Use the Adafruit Flora Board - Arduino Tutorial. [illustration]. , retrieved from http://www.instructables.com/file/FVNT1HNIDUR1IWP/.

Elektronik-Kompendium. (N/A). Motherboard / Mainboard / Hauptplatine. Retrieved from http://www.elektronik-kompendium.de/sites/com/0309231.htm.

RFduino.com. (2013 - 2014). RFduino - ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR PROJECTS. Retrieved from http://www.rfduino.com.

Adafruit. (N/A). WEARABLES / FLORA. Retrieved from https://www.adafruit.com/categories/92.

Adafruit. (2016). UPDATED PRODUCT – Adafruit Flora V3. Retrieved from https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/07/07/updated-product-adafruit-flora-v3/.

Adafruit Industries. (2013, Apr 16). What is FLORA? Adafruit's Arduino-Compatible Wearables Platform [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiBbRU5rwQc

Adafruit Industries. (2014, Mar 19). FLORA vs GEMMA - Which Board Should I Use? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGVBR4BwIPs

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Find your fit with Fitbit's family of fitness products that help you stay motivated and improve your health by tracking your activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep.

Website: Our slimmest, most stylish heart rate tracker (Fitbit Inc., 2017).

In the past it was included to wear a complicated belt around the chest if someone wanted to measure the heartbeat while doing sports. Sometimes it was comfortable, sometimes it was not but it transmitted the data through ANT+ to a receiver. A new invention offers now the possibility to disclaim the belt around the chest and to measure the heartbeat at the wrist. At the current point these FitBit bracelet are in trend because they include four main sensors: movement sensors, optical sensors, bioelectrical sensors and a GPS chip (Fitbit Inc., 2017).

Image: How FitBit Works (FITNESS TRACKER TEST, 2017).

An important point for our project is the possibility to measure movements/heartbeats so inspired by the FitBit bracelet we decided to work with these kind of movement sensors. These movement sensors can be divided into two groups: acceleration sensor and gyroscope sensors. These are little elements, which are built into electronic components to form the whole movement sensor. They belong to the MEMS-components (micro-electro-mechanical-systems). While the acceleration sensors are measuring the linear movement in all three layers (muscle till blood vessels) the gyroscope sensors are analysing the rotation of these movements. Because these sensors work analogue to each other they can discover all different kinds of body movements with the received data. Through different amplitudes one can see for example the movement of arteries at the leg and if it is a constant stimulation (i.e. jogging) or if a medical danger exists (i.e. heart attack) (FITNESS TRACKER TEST, 2017).

Image: Single elements of a FitBit Braclet (Morrison, Elvidge, & Gingerich, 2016).

Image: FITNESS TRACKER TEST, . (2017). FITNESSARMBAND, PULS- & SPORTUHREN VERGLEICH - Funktionsweise (How FitBit Works). [Illustration]. retrieved from https://www.fitness-tracker-test.info/wp content/uploads/2015/01/funktions-weise.

Image: Morrison, J., Elvidge , J., & Gingerich, M. (2016). Fitbit Alta Teardown. [Photograph]. , retrieved from http://www.chipworks.com/about-chipworks/overview/blog/fitbit-alta-teardown.

Fitbit, Inc. (2017). Our slimmest, most stylish heart rate tracker. Retrieved from https://www.fitbit.com/de/home.

FITNESS TRACKER TEST. (2017). Pulsmessung mit optoelektronischen Sensoren. Retrieved from https://www.fitness-tracker-test.info/ratgeber/funktionsweise/pulsmessung-mit-%20optoelektronischen-sensoren/.

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Fei Wang, Bo Zhu, Lin Shu and Xiaoming Tao Published 6 December 2013 • 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd

Website Article: Flexible pressure sensors for smart protective clothing against impact loading. (Wang, Shu, Zhu, & Tao, 2013).

Additionally this impact sensor was researched by another group member (Thomas). We also decided to go with this impact sensor to help measure the amount of knocks and forces generated on the player while playing the sport. We (as a group) can imagine that these impact sensors are able record in real time the number and strength of impacts athletes sustain during a game or a training session.

Image: Phidget Thin Force Sensor (Active Robots, 2017). 

After the full research about impact sensors I can say: almost all impact sensors are small, highly sophisticated electronic devices just thick like a sheet of paper and flexible, which is quite amazing.

Image: Active Robots. (2017). 1131_0 Phidget Thin Force Sensor. [Photograph]. retrieved from http://www.active-robots.com/phidgets-thin-force-sensor.

Wang, F., Shu, L., Zhu, B., & Tao, X. (2013). Flexible pressure sensors for smart protective clothing against impact loading. Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 23 (No. 1), . doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/23/1/015001.

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NEW PRODUCT – Pressure-Sensitive Conductive Sheet (Velostat/Linqstat)

NEW PRODUCT – Pressure-Sensitive Conductive Sheet (Velostat/Linqstat) – This conductive material (also known as “Velostat” or “Linqstat”) is a nice addition for …

Website Article: NEW PRODUCT – Pressure-Sensitive Conductive Sheet (Velostat/Linqstat) (Adafruit®, 2013).

So as I started to do my research about impact sensor I found that there are quite a lot of ways how to work within this area. Two options of how to work with measuring impact were created by Adafruit: 1. Sensitive Resistor (FSR) and 2. Ribbon Sensor.

Image: Sensitive Resistor (FSR) (Adafruit®, N/A).

FSRs sensors allow someone to detect physical pressure, squeezing and weight.  They are basically a resistor, which changes its resistive value (in ohms Ω) depending on how much it is pressed. These sensors are fairly low cost and simple to use. They are just receiving data how much impact was put on, they do not sense the position. (Adafruit®, 2015)

Image: Ribbon Sensor (Adafruit®, N/A).

These sensors are nice little ribbon controllers with an adhesive backing. They are also known as “soft potentiometer” and manufactured by Spectra Symbol.This is a donut-shaped sensor whose outer diameter is 55.96mm/2.2in and inner diameter is 35.63mm/1.4in.  The middle pin resistance with respect to either of the outer pins changes depending on where on the strip one presses. When no pressure is applied, the middle pin floats. So basically these sensors will tell where the impact was (direct position) but unfortunately not how strong the impact was (Adafruit®, 2012). I can imagine that this technology is good to locate injuries etc. 

Image: Adafruit®. (N/A). Square Force-Sensitive Resistor (FSR) - Interlink 406. & Round Force-Sensitive Resistor (FSR) - Interlink 402. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/1200x900/1075-00.jpg. & https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/1200x900/166-00.jpg.

Image: Adafruit®. (N/A). Circular Soft Potentiometer (Ribbon Sensor). [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/1200x900/1069-00.jpg.

Adafruit®. (2012). NEW PRODUCT! Circular Soft Potentiometer (Ribbon Sensor). Retrieved from https://blog.adafruit.com/page/8/?s=pressure%20sensor.

Adafruit®. (2013). NEW PRODUCT – Pressure-Sensitive Conductive Sheet (Velostat/Linqstat). Retrieved from https://blog.adafruit.com/2013/05/09/new-product-pressure-sensitive-conductive-sheet-velostatlinqstat/.

Adafruit®. (2015). How to use a Force Sensitive Resistor . Retrieved from https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/09/29/how-to-use-a-force-sensitive-resistor-makereducation/.

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Though it might not alwaysbe obvious to the casual observer, the clothing worn by Olympic and professional athletes can be as sophisticated and technologically advanced as anything else in their toolbox. Beyond simply making the athletes look good or protecting them from the elements, their

Website Article:  Tactile Pressure Sensors: A Perfect Fit for Clothing Design (Pressure Profile Systems, 2017).

As our idea is to create a product for protection the part of integrating a pressure/impact sensing and controlling system was obvious to us. 

So what are pressure sensors? - A pressure sensor is a device that senses pressure and converts it into an electric signal where the amount depends upon the pressure applied. Of course usual pressure sensors are known to measure pressure from big instruments like in the automobile industry. But there are also sensors which are transformed so they can be used within clothing. 

Image:  Pressure Mapping Sensor for Test & Design (Tekscan Inc, 2017).

For example this option: Tactile impact sensors from Tekscan is measuring the force and pressure distribution between two contacting surfaces.These impact mapping systems measure interface pressure between two surfaces, utilizing a thin and flexible sensor. The resulting data and their analysis tools offer insights to enhance product design, manufacturing, quality, and research (Tekscan, Inc., N/A). 

Image: Tekscan Inc. (2017). Pressure Mapping for Test & Design. [Photograph]. , retrieved from https://www.tekscan.com/sites/default/files/matrix-sensor.jpg.

Pressure Profile Systems. (2017). Tactile Pressure Sensors: A Perfect Fit for Clothing Design. Retrieved from http://www.pressureprofile.com/blog/2014/7/30/tactile-pressure-sensors-a-perfect-fit-for-clothing-design?locale=en_gb.

Tekscan, Inc. (N/A). https://www.tekscan.com/tekscan-technology. Retrieved from http://www.pressureprofile.com/blog/2014/7/30/tactile-pressure-sensors-a-perfect-fit-for-clothing-design?locale=en_gb.

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Returns energy to the body

Website: ENERGEAR -  RETURNS ENERGY TO THE BODY (Schoeller Switzerland, 2017).

Our basic idea was to work with temperature sensors so we can provide warmth. However, after two weeks of research and understanding the subject around temperature sensors the majority of my group decided to not work with these. Within a group meeting we talked about the complicated part of using temperature sensors so we thought that there might be a more efficient solution. After a few days Vanessa discovered a finishing technology that one can apply on materials and therefore stores energy (means it stores temperature in form of energy): ENGERGEAR. 

This is just a short overview about ENGERGEAR. If you are interested more into this technology, go and have a look at this Tumblr blog from Vanessa: https://vanessahagenhud.tumblr.com

Video: Energear™ by schoeller® - Save your energy (Schoeller®, 2016, Feb 10).

Schoeller®. (2016, Feb 10). energear™ by schoeller® - Save your energy (English) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_GuAu9RgXc

Schoeller Switzerland. (2017). ENERGEAR - RETURNS ENERGY TO THE BODY. Retrieved from https://www.schoeller-textiles.com/en/technologies/energear.

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[168 Pages Report] Temperature Sensor Market categorizes the global market By Industry Verticals (Petrochemicals, Manufacturing, Automation); By Alloys, Metals, Rtd Type; Product Type (Thermistor, RTD, Thermocouple, ICs) & Geography

Website article: Temperature Sensors Market (IndustryARC, 2016).

While I was trying to understand temperature sensors I also found this report. It was published 2016 by IndustryARC and analyses all different types of sensors and their structure within the field of various industries for example automobiles, metal manufacturing, and consumer electronics etc. This summary of the report helped me to realizing how important temperature controlling will be in the future. Even if we as a group decided to not work with these sensors I still believe they will become more and more “trend” in the future. 

Image:  Temperature Sensor Market Revenue (IndustryARC Analysis and Experts Insights, 2016) 

Image: IndustryARC Analysis and Experts Insights. (2016). Temperature Sensor Market Revenue. [Illustration]. Retrieved from http://industryarc.com/Report/123/global-temperature-sensors-market.html.

IndustryARC. (2016). Temperature Sensors Market: By Product Type (Thermistor, RTD, Thermocouple, ICs, Thermopiles, IR Sensors); Industry Verticals (Petrochemicals, Manufacturing, Automation, Electronics, Automotive) - Forecast (2017 - 2022) . Retrieved from http://industryarc.com/Report/123/global-temperature-sensors-market.html.

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Explore the temperature sensors learning center, with detailed guidance on how an IC temperature sensor works, advantages over thermistors, types of temp sensors, and how to select the right temp sensor for your design.

Website Article: Fundamentals of IC temperature sensors (Texas Instruments Incorporated, 2016).

Our idea was to store the temperature of the leg in the form of energy so the leg does not cool down. I did a research in this area and found a lot of informations. All in all you can say that there are two main temperature sensors. The first group are the PTC – thermistor (positive temperature coefficient), they raise their resistance at a rising temperature and exist out of platinum, silicon or ceramics. That means PTC resistors conduct better at low temperature. The second group are the NTC - thermistor (negative temperature coefficient), they reduce their resistance at rising temperature. NTC resistors conduct better at high temperature. They exist out of semiconductor materials like iron oxide (Fe2O3), ZnTiO4 and magnesium dichromate (MgCr2O4) (FuehlerSysteme eNET International, 2003-2017).

Fig...: Why measure temperature (Texas Instruments Incorporated, 2016)?

Image: Bienenbuettel football player is treated by the internal doctor (Kothoefer, 2015). 

So why do we want to integrate Temperatur Sensors? - I am in the lucky position to have a football player in my family so I asked him if I could have a little informal chat with a few members and players of his football club. I informed them about our project idea and after that I held a small focus group meeting with some of the players who provided the following information: anything that keeps the legs warm to play would be great especially through the winter season. Furthermore they would also like to have a full lower leg protection because even if they wear shin pads they don´t protect the whole lower leg therefore players are still getting injuries. 

Image: Texas Instruments Incorporated. (2016). Why measure temperature?[Website Screenshot]. Retrieved from http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/sensing-products/temperature-sensors/temperature-sensors-learning-center.page.

Image: Kothoefer, L. (2015) Bienenbuettel football player is treated by the internal doctor. [Photograph]. Retrieved from personal storage. 

Texas Instruments Incorporated. (2016). Fundamentals of IC temperature sensors. Retrieved from http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/sensing-products/temperature-sensors/temperature-sensors-learning-center.page.

FuehlerSysteme eNET International. (2003-2017). Temperatursensoren: Grundlagen. [Temperature sensors: basics]. Retrieved from http://www.fuehlersysteme.de/wiki/temperatursensoren.

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Electronics Tutorial about Temperature Sensor Types including Thermocouples, Thermistors, Thermostats and Resistive Temperature Devices

Website Article: Temperature Sensors (AspenCore, Inc, 2016).

Besides GPS another important element is to integrate a kind of temperature storage system or a control system. At first I considered to work with temperature sensors and regulators. So I did a little research in this topic and found many different sensors without even understanding what the different numbers are telling me. For example a list like this, from ti.com: 

Image: Website screenshot from ti.com (Texas Instruments Incorporated, 2016).

Or like this, from mouser.com: 

Image: Website screenshot from mouser.com (Mouser Electronics, Inc, 2017)

After I found this I was so confused and couldn't even thought about the possibility that there might be one day where I am going to understand the process. However I still had the task to inform my group members about temperature sensors so I had a look into magazines and articles. I thought maybe they will help me to understand the topic because usually articles are not written in a scientistic language, at least not to much. Therefore I found the article from electronics-tutorials.ws. 

Image: Temperature Sensors - The most commonly used type of all the sensors are those which detect Temperature or heat (AspenCore, Inc, 2016).

This article from electronics-tutorials.ws is in my eyes really helpful as a starting point. When I read it, I thought: even I understand it although it is not my mother language. So in my eyes it is perfectly explained because they talk about something really complicated i.e. the process of temperature controlling. Because of how they discuss the topics it feels like someone who doesn't know much about physics understands it. At least I did. I wish it would be possible to have similar explanation of Infra-red temperature sensors. 

Image: Texas Instruments Incorporated. (2016). Screenshot ti.com. [Website Screenshot].Retrieved from http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/sensing-products/temperature-sensors/temperature-sensors-products.page.

Image: Mouser Electronics, Inc, . (2017). Screenshot mouser.com. [Website Screenshot]. , retrieved from http://eu.mouser.com/Sensors/Temperature-Sensors/_/N-7gz50.

Image: AspenCore, Inc, . (2016). Thermocouple Amplification. [Illustration]. , retrieved from http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/io/io57.gif?x98918.

AspenCore, Inc. (2016). Temperature Sensors. Retrieved from http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/io/io_3.html.

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Image: The No Place Like Home Shoes (Yup-That-Exists, 2016).

While I was looking around, searching for some interesting informations about GPS I found this! These NoPlaceLikeHome shoes can navigate you home no matter how far away you are. The shoes were presented at the London Design Festival 2012 by the british designer Dominic Wilcox (Wilcox, 2012).

I believe that something like this might be of great use with elderly people suffering the 1st symptoms of Alzheimer. As someone who once went through the horrible experience of rushing to look out for a friend  —who had walked out of our school — I think an idea like this might have great potential. This seems like a step in the right direction.

Image: Yup-That-Exists. (2016). The No Place Like Home Shoes . [Photograph]. , retrieved from http://yup-that-exists.tumblr.com/post/143494856638.

Wilcox, D. (2012). No Place Like Home, GPS shoes. Retrieved from http://dominicwilcox.com/portfolio/gpsshoe/.

[lkdragoescu-blog]

OriginGPS has launched the Multi Micro Hornet, a tiny fully integrated multiple constellation antenna module. The innovative architecture packs functionality and high-quality components in a small …

Website Article: OriginGPS Unveils Multi-GNSS Module with Antenna for Wearables (GPS World Staff, 2015).

Image: The Multi Micro Hornet by OriginGPS was designed small with wearables in mind (OriginGPS, 2015)

One other questions where I felt like I need the answer to was “How accurate might gps be?” Therefor I tried to understand what the different terms like “Hz” and “dBm” mean.  Furthermore I explored some interesting informations about the Micro GPS chip. Micro GPS chips work with the same systems and has the same functions as normal GPS chips. But the difference are: micro chips are so incredibly small that is is difficult to feel them. Furthermore they are absolutely strong, fast and exact enough to pass and to conceive different positions with a sensibility of -165 dBm. Additional there is also an update rate from up to 10 Hz, means 10 position per second will be send. It makes the chip kind of amazing because the usual update rate is around 1 Hz.

Image:  A micro GPS chip (RoboSavvy Ltd, 2015).

I think this micro GPS chip has features which can improve the navigation experience of wearables in the future because of a small size, high performance, a reduced power consumption without loosing quality in connectivity and an intelligent design.

Image: OriginGPS, . (2015). The Multi Micro Hornet. [Photograph]. , retrieved from http://gpsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MultiMicroHornet1-W.jpg.

Image: RoboSavvy Ltd, . (2015). A micro GPS chip. [Photograph]. , retrieved from https://robosavvy.com/store/sparkfun-gps-micro-mini-last-unit.html?___store=de.

GPS World Staff. (2015). OriginGPS Unveils Multi-GNSS Module with Antenna for Wearables. Retrieved from http://gpsworld.com/origingps-unveils-multi-gnss-module-with-antenna-for-wearables/.

[lkdragoescu-blog]

Video: How GPS Works (Seeker, 2013, Oct 21).

In the first part of my research I was really into getting information by watching Youtube videos because I had the feeling that sometimes they explain some subjects better then articles. But as my research was going on and I read more I found out that some videos are also not really helpful. For example the above video: it explains what GPS is but does not actually says how GPS works beyond a couple of sentences. And as I was keep watching different videos more and more questions where coming up in my mind like: “How the satellites know where they are? Aren't they faster than the earth rotation?“ and “Why is the GPS signal from planes disappearing on many places on earth, and if there are thousands of satellites, how no one from them gets hitten by meteors? ..... I don´t know if I will be able to find an answer to these questions but I am definitely getting more and more confused. So all in all I can say its really hard to don’t loose the focus while reading and watching so different informations. 

Seeker. (2013, Oct 21). How GPS Works [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRQiNFzT0k