Connection

In this post, we are going to talk about our connection to elderly people and their beliefs and ideas in our product.

This was a rough ballpark of the age of the people we interviewed

Throughout this project, we have been talking to elderly people and their companions and helpers and have been given many key insights into our product and its design. Apart from the several small conversations we had with them, we had two major interviews that gave us the crucial information needed to design our product and make it extremely user friendly. 

Our first major set interviews were during the Comprehension stages of our design. Through these interviews, we found some remarkable insights into the different problems that elderly people face given this context. To know more about this you can visit our Comprehension page. 

Towards the end, we went back to our user-base and spoke to them using images of various designs we used and what their opinions of them were, we spoke to them about each design individually and found many flaws in our designs as well as gained many new ideas from them. 

Let's have a closer look at each of our champions and how they survived the feedback round.

The Wearable Champion - The Shoe

From the feedback, we notice a lot of things that were simple yet overlooked. Primarily the biggest change that we had to make was that the feedback system CANNOT be at the feet. This is because the vibrations may actually tickle the feet and cause an even bigger fall. Another key insight is that the secondary benefits that can be added to a shoe design make it the best choice amongst the champions, these being the orthopedic insoles, the breathability, the sturdiness and so much more.

The Holdable Champion - The Walking Stick

The main issue with the walking stick as seen here is that not everyone uses one. For those who don't use a walking stick, the added object to carry around is a burden and just an extra load. 

Similar to the shoe, the vibration feedback system has to be placed carefully as it might lead to the loosening of the grip and become a burden more than a solution.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the wire has to be stacked inside the cane and not open. This is important because as it wears out, it can lead to shock

One great thing about the walking stick is that it is a single, easily identifiable object that can easily be taken care of and won't be misplaced.

The Attachable Champion - The Clip-On Device

The Clip-On design is the least preferred champion and this was an expected outcome. The reasons for this, according to the feedback, are as follows.

This product will be extremely shakey and getting accurate results from this will be extremely difficult.

This product might be too heavy to be clipped on to a pant hence dragging the pant down with it, or any other piece of clothing for that matter.

This product will need two devices for the sensor and the feedback, making it extremely easy to misplace and prone to damage as they are small devices.

Final Conclusion!

In conclusion, we learned that people's choice is the most important aspect of any innovation. In light of the user feedback, it became evident that the shoe design from the WEARABLE Cluster was the most preferred choice, making it our prime prototyping choice. followed by the walking stick of the HOLDABLE Cluster.

Summary Video: