Semester 2- The Elderly Challenge

1) What have you learnt?
I learnt that thinking of a product and making a product are very different. Firstly, thinking of a product only requires one to think and to just sit and let the ideas come. But to make a product gives a much greater impact. I learnt the steps of processing information and to make sure my product would turn out well. Success always begins with small, little steps. I had to study the difficulties of the elderly and to see if I can think of a product that would help. I would need to ask myself a lot of questions like Will this work? or Does the elderly really NEED my product? This required a lot of thinking and many steps like researching, testing, presenting my product etc. Critical thinking is definitely needed for this elderly challenge. Other than the above, I also learnt that the elderly needs more help in the various ways possible. Listening to my friends' presentations, I saw the many different aspects that the elderly would need help in. Example: Walking, picking things up, household chores etc. I think the purpose of this elderly challenge is that it not only focuses on ADMT skills, but also planning and to see what elderly need help in.

2) What are the difficulties encountered?
At first, I could not come up with the correct questions to aid me in thinking of a product. Then I had problems if I would stay with my product or to think of something else. I had problems with researching on the current products and Finding the necessary materials needed for my prototype.

3) How did you overcome the difficulties?
I would consult teachers for assistance on thinking of questions, answering my own questions and researching. For the materials part of the prototype, I replaced The materials with other materials with similar functions and can fit to the expectations of the product.

Reflection - Prototype

1. What are the difficulties you have encountered during the process?

It was quite hard to understand what was needed to be done to test the design considerations as it was quite a new topic and I was quite clueless.

2. How do you overcome the difficulties encountered?

After discussing with my group members, we found out the things necessary for the testing and we listed them down, along with short explanations and realised it was not so hard after all.

3. What are the two key takeaways for this lesson?

The meaning of prototype and what are the steps needed to take in order to ensure the prototype or design is feasible and what are the tests needed to be carried out to test the product.

Ergonomics (Product description and Idea Trigger)

i) Describe the product. (Appearance, Color, Function, etc)
- It is red with a inner outline of silver.

- It is made of rubber and the tip is a bit flexible.

- It is light.

- The silver part is made of plastic, which makes the body hard.

- It is a stopper.

ii) What are the design considerations when designing this product?
- If the product is durable

- If the product can stop the object that it is supposed to stop.

iii) Would an elderly faced difficulty using this product? If yes, what are the difficulties that the elderly would face?
- Squatting down gives the elderly some difficulties.

iv) What do you think can be done to improve on the design of the product to suit the elderly? (Sketch the improved design in your sketchbook and take a picture of it. Post the improved sketch at the end of your post.)
- It could have a handle or something inside the product package to prove as an extra "hand" so that it would not take the elderly to squat down/bend down to put it in.

Ergonomics II

1. What is Ergonomics?

It is a form of designing the job, equipment and workplace for the worker.

Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergonomics

2. What are the 5 aspects of Ergonomics?

They are:

- Safety

- Comfort

- Ease of use

- Efficiency

- Aesthetics

Adapted from: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ergonomics

3. For each aspects of Ergonomics, explain with an example of a product that is designed for the elderly, how the product meet that particular aspect of Ergonomics.

- Safety- Medicine Bottles- enlarge the print size of words on the label so the the elderly (those that have impaired vision) could see the instructions more clearly. By using Ergonomics, we can discover the best font size we could use so that the words could fit into the limited space on the label and those with impaired eyesight could still see it.

Adapted from: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ergonomics

- Comfort- New digital alarm clocks (which could have been replaced for the elderly): The displays of some of the clocks are very very bright, so it catches attention very easily, especially when it is left in the dark. Using ergonomics, we could redesign the clock based on the contrast principle and maybe include an auto-dimming device (something similar to iSight) when it is placed in the dark, so that the user may be able to sleep well at night as elderly are very sensitive and mostly are light sleepers so they are easily woken up.

Adapted from: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ergonomics

- Ease of use- Street signs: the signs can be quite hard to spot when the elderly is in a unfamiliar area, so we could use ergonomics to improve the design so that it would be more visible to the elderly, who might have some eyesight problems.

Adapted from: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ergonomics

- Efficiency- Rocking chairs: The rocking chairs are usually made of wood, and it can be very uncomfortable and hard without a cushion, so we could use ergonomics to improve the design such that the rocking chair would not be so uncomfortable to sit on and lighter in weight.

Idea from: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ergonomics

- Aesthetics- Signs at the shopping area: The signs at the shopping area can be made more aesthetic by haveing them made in the same pattern and design.

Idea from: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ergonomics

Ergonomics I

Comparing the two workplaces:

The more high-tech workplace has all the items that solved all the issues like comfort and simplicity, incorrect height and depth, task lighting, freedom of movement, prolonged laptop use and usable desk space. It has an easily adjustable chair, a monitor arm (so that the computer would not take up too much space on the table), the freedom chair (a chair which can be adjusted to the likes of its user, like handles, height, depth...), The L2 laptop holder ( something that props the laptop up so that there is more space to spare to write notes. ) It also has an access rail, a rail that the laptop is attached to and can be pulled out from. The not so good workplace could not fit the meets of the worker, as the chair could not be adjusted to make him feel comfortable as he was leaning too forward and his facial expression showed no comfort. The lighting was either too little or too much. He had too many things on his table that he had no more space to put the necessary things, yet alone move freely. His laptop could not be propped to his favorable height.

Elderly Challenge- Observation 4

I think the taxi stands should have seats as sometimes the peak hours people have to wait quite long at the taxi stand, so providing seats for elderly or maybe letting them have a priority queue so that they don't need to stand too long at peak hours. The seats provided is so that they don't need to stand too long. Some elderly may have leg problems and cannot take too long a wait just for a taxi.

Google Sketch-up.

The TV was downloaded but overall, the bed has a button next to it so that the elderly can alert their family of helpers at home that they need help, like getting off bed to the wheelchair. the cupboard has pretty low handles so that elderly that need wheelchairs can open them. the hook next to the cupboard is a hanger hook so that they can reach their clothes easily. there is also a dressing table. the room has bright colours as they can help to brighten the room and hopefully the elderly's mood. :)