Moonitor
2020
Cynthia, Emma, Karina & Lillian
Our team Four Sure created a prototype of a product that takes data from a sleeping app and visualizes it. We call it - Moonitor.
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The Problem
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Our group first looked into a 'problem' that we were interested in, which was 'promoting wellness and physical activity.' This topic looks into all kinds of health areas, such as mental and physical health as well as beauty and sleep. After researching different data around wellness, we quickly became interested in sleep tracking and data.
Our User
Four Sure created an age range to narrow down the type of user we'd be focusing on. We decided to look into people who were aged between 40-50 as we thought that at this age, people would not have great sleep patterns and it would be challenging for us to look outside of your own age range (young adults).
The Process
After researching sleep data and products that already exist to help sleep, we created journey and empathy maps to help us understand our users. We also interviewed a few people of the age group to get individual information.
An Empathy map shows the emotions of users, what they see and hear and actions they take relating to the problem. My team-mate Cynthia created this one.
A journey map can show a customer's experience with a product, here I have created personas of customer's and given them scenarios of finding existing sleep products which is shown on the left. On the right are scenarios of people finding our product.
Design Argument
Change the mindsets of people to help encourage better sleep, better sleeping routine and to ensure getting enough deep sleep.
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After understanding our users a bit more we realized that a main issue with sleep was the mindset around it. People often have negative mindsets around sleep where they believe that it's too late to sort out their sleeping habits or can't be bothered trying. We wanted to create something that would not only visualize data, but also promote healthy sleeping and improve people's mindsets over sleep.
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Ideation
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Originally our team was set on creating an installation which would fill a room or street and be very interactive. We each did rapid prototyping to get some ideas.
Karina's Rapid Prototyping
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Lillian's Rapid Prototyping
Cynthia's Rapid Prototyping
My Rapid Prototyping
We decided to move forward with the idea of bubbles (shown in Cynthia's prototyping. However we realized that making an installation would have limited accessibility so we scaled down to create a product that anyone could buy. We did a second round of sketching to finalise our product.
Karina's Prototyping
Lillian's Prototyping
My Prototyping
Cynthia's Prototyping
We decided to move forward with Cynthia's prototype with spheres that are lowered and visualize three sets of data. The product connects from a sleep tracking app that then sends data to the product. It would display the number of hours the user has slept, the number of hours of deep sleep the user got as well as the overall quality of sleep.
Visual Prototype
We then started to create more high fidelity prototypes. Cynthia worked on creating a 3D model of the product and I created images in Photoshop. These prototypes are to visual the look and feel of the product.
Photoshop Images
3D Modelling
Context Of Use
The context of use images show different spaces the product could be used in.
Interaction
The interaction shows how a user could use the product.
Specification Details
The specification details outline the dimensions, materials, major design decisions and the functionality of the product.
Dimensions
List Of Materials
Material
Reasons For Choosing
Red cedar wood
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Use wood to create the frame of our prototype.
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Many middle aged people have a preference for wooden furniture.
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High quality
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Has a wonderful aroma
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Insect-repelling quality.
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Is also known for its exceptional durability (30 years).
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Not prone to sagging or warping
Translucent Acrylic Sphere
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Resembles a bubbles
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It is lightweight compared to glass.
White Nylon Thread (1mm thick)
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It’s lightweight
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Flexibility
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Durability
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Non-stretch properties
Wood Glue
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Keeps its structure stable and strong for the long term.
Screws
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Stabilize the structure
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Keep pieces stuck together
Wood Filler
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Hide screw heads
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Make the product look flawless and spotless.
Stainless Steel Rod
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To create an opening and closing entrance (pivot point) for the motor and pulleys.
Tiny Arduino
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Fit in a tiny area.
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It can receive instructions and data from the app.
Stepper Motor
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A stepper motor is needed to create precise rotating movements.
Li-Po battery 2000mA/h
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Operate as long as possible
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Save energy cost
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Reduce using disposable batteries
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Wireless
Pulley
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Allow the string to gather.
LED Strip Lights
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Attract attention
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Increase visibility for burnt marks
A Sensor
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Open and close LED lights with human touch.
Wood Paint Finish
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Increase durability
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Prevent moisture absorbing into the wood.
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Restores gloss
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Removes minor defects
Critical Design Changes
We made some critical design changes along the way to improve our product and make it realistic.
Service for motor replacement
Though the cedar wood could last for a long time due to its quality, the motor won’t be. A way to resolve this problem to make our product sustainable is to offer motor replacement at a cheap price to encourage people to use our product for a longer time.
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Roof lid
To allow people to fix the motors in the future, we decided to make the top piece of wood detachable. In order to not make any significant changes to the design, we concluded that making a swivel joint in between the roof and base was the best solution.
To create a swivel lid effect on the roof, all we need is a metal rod. When the metal rod is placed in between one corner of the roof lid and the base, it can make the roof horizontally rotate. By pushing a little on the side of the roof or swiping it to one side, anyone can easily access the motors.
Charger
Initially we decided that Moonitor would receive electricity from multiple 9V batteries instead of the wall plug power. This is so that it can be placed anywhere in the room without worrying about the locations.
Later, we thought that it was not sustainable to use disposable batteries because people will need to keep repurchasing new batteries to keep Moonitor operating as long as possible. We then decided to find other batteries to solve this problem. Finally as a team, we concluded that using rechargeable batteries will benefit the users and the environment because it saves cost and reduces environmental waste. The only downside of using rechargeable batteries is that the user would need to regularly use a battery charger to charge the batteries.
Functionality
The functionality explains how the product works.
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Battery
Moonitor will get its electricity source from a rechargeable battery, The battery will have a 2000mA/h which has a lot of energy capacity, which will operate for year. The batteries will need to be recharged whenever they run out of energy. The only downside of using rechargeable batteries is that users need to be motivated to recharge the batteries.
LED lights
The LED lights sticks will be installed under the motors where the string comes down. LED lights will turn on or off, whenever the user taps on the Moonitor. We decided to add lights to increase visibility of the burnt wood markings. We thought lights can help Moonitor standout and visually attract people’s attention and remind people the importance of sleep. The capacitor sensor will be attached at the bottom of theLED light will operate.
App
The information needed are the sleeper’s average sleeping hours, average deep sleep and average sleeping quality. The software we’ll be using is a sleeping cycle because it records all the necessary information of the sleeper. The sleeping data are gathered throughout the night.
When the person has woken up, the app will detect it and immediately send the collected results to the arduino, through radio frequencies(wireless transfer). The arduino then immediately sends signals to the stepper motor, so that it can move the string down to align the correct numbers to the bubble. This fast process of gathering and sending data should be done fast. This is so that by the time the user gets out of bed, the user can see the results.
The aim is to let the sleeper see the data visually presented immediately and feel the need to improve sleeping habits throughout the day.
When the user goes to sleep, this process will start again.This process will be repeated everyday to help users create a long term mental awareness. Additionally this experience should create a good impact for the user’s health.