Shared Pulse Project Development Log @sharedpulse-blog - Tumblr Blog

Final Shared Pulse design in use at a Red-Cross Blood donation Center

Final design of Shared Pulse - by Mitch Dunn, Elliot Fooks and Clare Villalba

This video shows the final video of the presentation model which combines both for and interaction details.The prototype model was developed since week 6 and took a large amount of work for it to be refined and was finally completed in week 15.

It was created through collaboration of all team members: soldering completed by Elliot, Programming completed by Mitch and 3D print created by myself.

The final renders of Shared Pulse illustrate the end design considerations, including materials, interaction and manufacture.

The body of the device is created from semi translucent poly carbonate that will be injection moulded; this material will diffuse the light from the internal LEDS. The internal wall thicknesses also feature smoother finishes creating intricate light patterns. These areas of the body are also separated by thin silicon rims that create visual sectioning of the interaction areas whilst also increasing grip for holding and shaking.

I create created the technical drawing for the shared pulse submission, which were later revised by other simple pigeon team members. This was a great opportunity for me to learn from the other team members and develop my range of skills. I had not done any technical drawings since visualisation in first year. It was great to see how simply they are created from the solid works model.

Exemplar: Heamobility

Heamobility is a design that has taken a very different approach to increasing blood donation. Their focus on increasing mobility and convenience something simple pigeon had not considered, but it seems like it could be successful.

My only critisism is that the design looks less official than exsisting donation locations, and people may question the quality, safety, reputability of the service. This is something to keep in mind with the Sharedpulse as it is designed to be perceived as of high quality and value, thus the semantics, form and use must also reflect this.

(source: http://cargocollective.com/haemobility)

Alternative Concept Design

Sharedpulse band could be used daily to track health measures such as pulse/heart rate/pedometer....

Makes donors aware of time since donation via the lit up outer rim. Also uses slight pressure on arm if blood stocks are low to remind donors of the strain others are under and their vital need.

Possible network between blood donor and receiver

Alternative Concept Based of Feedback

Many users suggested that an iphone app could be more successful, this concept suggests the mapping and functions for a possible alternate design. It has more functionality than the shared pulse but less emotional meaning for the user.

Feedback Application

The feedback from the scenario video provided an interesting insight into the public's opinion of the product. This feedback will be used as an indicator of the future direction that sharedpulse will need to take, however if it was to be launched in the real world it would require much more testing including: usability testing, surveys, and focus groups.

The suggestion of a smart phone app or something wearable seems very popular, however is outside the scope of the project. If the design was continued in the future this could be considered.

The feedback that will be taken into account in the limited timeline of the project will be modifying the design so it is more easily integrated into a drink bottle design and considering use for other donation types (e.g. plasma).

Overall though the feedback was very positive - it seems blood donation is a service highly valued by the community and thus sharedpulse has the potential to also be highly valued.

Material and texture exploration

Progress on the digital model - it needs to take into account manufacturing (injection molding mostly), usability, internal components and assembly

Week 13: Arduino Development

This week i spent time assisting in creating the system for our model. I did not write the any of the code as i haven't spent time learning how the arduino code works, however I was able to apply my knowledge from HTML/CSS code to make suggestion about general code components and their order. I gained further understanding about the circuitry and its set up, which whilst often confusing eventually there is a logical explanation for its workings.

Week 12 - System Consideration

Consideration was given to the system of Shared Pulse throughout the design and finalised by Mitch in the above flow chart. This chart shows the object flow from production to use to end of life. It also shows the link between the donor, Red Cross and the donation recipient.

(Image Source: Mitch Dunn)

Week 13: Object Consideration

Alternate design solutions suggested by Elliot prompted reconsideration of the form, however it seemed too late to change much of the design as it was already quite finalised. However one suggestion of being able to see the interactive face lights from perspectives other than the front seemed quite valuable. Thus I suggested a separated section at the tail of the device be connected to the same input as the button light and thus would enable viewing, interaction and engagement from a wider selection of angles. This modification would also allow it to be more easily integrated into a water consumption monitor later in the future,

Further development is being made on the model. We have started using the accelerometer to create a model for the 'friend' user to illustrate how the device would collect the encouragement. I still am not great at the programming, whilst the code is logical and i understand what each section does I am still clueless on how to write it. On the other hand I surprised myself on my ability to read and put together the circuits we we required.

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