Reflection - Prototype Arthur Lee

1. What are the difficulties that you have encountered during the process?
I have encountered a few difficulties along the way, such as finding certain ways where qualitative and quantitative research applies to the design consideration like when we want to measure effort, it will be rather difficult to find the device for measuring. For my product, I have encountered some difficulties with the sliding mechanics of my wheelchair table. 2. How do you overcome the difficulties encountered?
I overcame the design consideration problem by saying the unknown device and I found out that effort is measured by newtons so it will not be much of a problem. As for the mechanics for the sliding, I can research on the chairs that have tablet arms that use the same mechanism for the basis of the mechanics.3. What are the 2 key takeaways for this lesson? I have learnt about qualitative and quantitative research, which can be applied using questionares and measuring respectively.I also learnt how to apply concepts learnt today to my product

Ergonomics (Product Description and Idea Trigger)

2i) It is pink in colour which gives this a feminine feel to it and has two straight lines and have a few rounded curves that connect them. It is rather rigid because they are connected through the curves. It is rather light for a product of this size. Its simplistic and streamlined design is welcome. I assumed that they are some form of chopsticks that make it easy for the chopsticks beginners to use. It is not very versatile as the sticks are binded together by the curves, and I feel that it sometimes restricts the slightly more advanced users because they are rigid.

2ii) The considerations are basically how to make the chopsticks easier to use for beginners in this area. Other considerations include its simplistic colour and style of the product. As this is a type of chopsticks, considerations include the flexibility of the product so that it can grip the food, it includes the amount of heat it can resist for the temperature of the food can be really hot.

2iii)The elderly will no doubt face some difficulty with this product as it is rather rigid and because the elderly probably isn't that strong to grip the food. However its bright colours make it easy for the elderly to see.

2iv)

A)It is the buckle/strap that holds the device and chopsticks in place. Just click it in place.
B)It is basically device itself, it can adjust the rigidity of the chopsticks by moving the device up and down the chopsticks and clicking it in place. This design shows that this one applies to rounder chopsticks.

Ergonomics 2

1. What is Ergonomics?
The study of people's efficiency in their working environment. It is about making things comfy and efficient for the user.
-Taken from mac dictionary and http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicbasics/a/ergo101.htm

2. What are the 5 aspects of Ergonomics?
They are:
Safety
Comfort
Ease of use
Productivity/performance
Aesthetics

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.
For Safety, the product called Pathlighter Lighted Cane is a walking can that is lighted at the bottom so that the elderly can have more assurance when walking in dark. So if an elderly man is walking in the dark with his Pathlighter Lighted Cane and a car is about to run over him, at least the driver will see the lighted cane and take evasive action.
Image:https://www.seniorssuperstores.com/cart/images/products/49_large.gif

For Comfort, a wheelchair is chosen by many different aspects including comfort , the wheelchair cushion must be comfortable enough for the elderly user as they will spend most of their time in the wheelchair. Thus, the Dual-Chamber Waterproof Gel Cushion is chosen as it is comfortable for the wheelchair user.
Image:http://www.1800wheelchair.com/siteimages/large/nyortho-gelcushion.jpg

For Ease of use, the Clarity 50900 has an easy to use interface and basically does the basic features of a phone, simplicity works best for the elderly after all.
Image:http://store.yourspecialneedssolutions.com/images/uploads/Cell%20Phone%20For%20Elderly/Phones-Cell-%20CLARITY-C900-Amplified-mobile-DetPic-.jpg

For Productivity/performance, handphones are also a symbol for productivity and thus another elderly friendly phone is chose.The Clarity 50900 has large and easy to see buttons, it can do the basic features of a normal phones and it is easy to use, this makes the elderly more proficient with the phone and thus more productive. It also sports an emergency button just in case of emergency.

For Aesthetics, handphones thee days have small buttons that are hard to see and hard to press. An elderly friendly phone such as the Doro PhoneEasy 345 Mobile with Bluetooth, it has the functions of normal cell phones these days and enlarged buttons and characters that make this phone elderly friendly.
Image:http://www.silverphone.co.uk/shop/images/345%20black%20white%20med.jpg

Sources :http://www.seniorssuperstores.com/cart/html/Products/SAFETY-PRODUCTS/ Taken from mac dictionary and http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicbasics/a/ergo101.htm http://www.1800wheelchair.com/asp/view-product.asp?product_id=3320 http://www.silverphone.co.uk/shop/p66/Doro-PhoneEasy-345-Mobile-with-Bluetooth/product_info.html?osCsid=4f071d3159713f8ee52ca194241ccf2d http://store.yourspecialneedssolutions.com/Telephones/Cell-Phones-For-The-Elderly/Cell-Phone-For-Elderly-Clarity-50900/prod_120.html

Ergonomics I

1) Workplace 1 is more cluttered and messy than workplace 2 which is nice, neat and spacious. Workplace 1 has a lot of unnecessary things on its table.
-For comfort and simplicity, workplace 1 is way too complicated in the case of the chairs that they are using and workplace 2 is much better. The person in workplace one is having trouble adjusting the height and position of the chair, whether the height is too low or high and the position too close or too far away from the desk,thus this also makes the chair uncomfortable. Workplace 2 however, uses the liberty chair which is easy to adjust to a comfortable height and position. It also has armrests and allows the user to lean back to increase comfort even more. The 2nd workplace also uses an access rail to allow the user to place items such as monitor and hence free up space on the table.
-For incorrect height and depth, workplace 1's user is having trouble to look at the screen and has to squint and use a magnifying glass to look at the screen of the monitor which means that the height and depth of the monitor is not correct.He uses a laptop but he needs to stack laptop on top of books. Workplace 2 however, utilises the M7 monitor arm to adjust the monitor to a suitable height and depth of the monitor for better viewing pleasure, and when the monitor is not needed, the arm allows it to go back and take up minimum space on the desk.The laptop holder allows the user to raise up the screen of the laptop to a comfortable price.
-For task lighting, workplace 1's user is having difficulty adjusting the lighting for him to do his work. The first lamp has a pretty bad design as it must be adjusting by moving the lamp which is hot because of the heat it produces when light is used. It will overheat which is dangerous for user, the user is thus unable to adjust the lights. It is way too bright, wrong position and glare from screen. While the other lights he uses is way too bright for him to see and seems like it cannot be adjusted. Workplace 2 however, utilises a different light, the lamp he utilises has a handle which is not hot so that he can adjust the light without worrying about burning his hand, it is not glaring.
-For freedom of movement, workplace 1's user does not have sufficient desk space as it is cluttered with papers and there are no special compartments for keyboard. The chair is yet again another problem, the armrest is way too high and not rigid enough causing the man's arm to drop. Workplace 2 however, uses the freedom chair which has adjustable armrests that are rigid and when not in use, does not take up much space on the chair, the chair also allows to user to lean back, this allows freedom of movement. There is also a neck rest to give support to the user.

2) The second workplace is preferred as it features good designs necessary for a neat, tidy and comfortable workplace. Some of these features include the freedom chair which has adjustable armrests that allows maximum comfort for the user. Another example would include M7 monitor arm that can adjust the height and depth of the monitor so that it is not a pain for the eyes.

3)The considerations should include freedom of movement, task lighting, height and depth and comfort and simplicity. These are needed for maximum convenience and productivity in the workplace.

4)It is important as man does work for most of his time so the way and method of doing the work can increase his efficiency. This could mean the difference of finishing work in time or not in time. If efficiency is increased, more work can be done and if this keeps up, it could also affect our economy and more, for the better.

Ergonomics
-study of workplace/work environment.
For ergonomics, we look at :
-Comfort:includes simplicity, space, efficiency, freedom of movement, lighting, physiological.
-Safety

Here are the four key recommendations of the report.

1)Housing for Seniors: It refers to keeping Singapore an elderly friendly place, where the elderly are part of the family. To fit the needs of the elderly, there will be many choices of housing for them and good support care services.

2)Accessibility for Seniors: As Singapore strives to be and elderly friendly place, the housing estates would be more elderly friendly and so would the transport system and the environment outside. The transport system will be more user friendly, and travel passages would be more elderly friendly as well, through the use of more accessible lifts and more.

3)Caring for Seniors: There will be eldercare and healthcare services that fit the different needs of the elderly. These services are easily accessible, affordable as well as efficient.

4)Opportunities for Seniors: Singapore aims to have the elderly lead healthy and active lives, they want the elderly to maintain good relationships with the rest of their family and friends. They also want the elderly to be actively involved in their community.

Here is one way the CAI report is recommending to make our public housing more user friendly.
-The Government should consider introducing guidelines for the provision of accessibility and safety features in the homes for seniors, through a review of the Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility, to create a more elderly friendly environment, such as installing bright lighting to help the elderly with eyesight problems see better.

Here are two ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable.
1)Special prices for elderly care equipment for the elderly, the government can allocate some of their money on the equipment such as walking aids.
2)Special subsidies for the elderly can be used when hiring caregivers, the older the person, the more the subsidy.

Here are the three things that I can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges.
1) I can accompany the elderly,especially our own grandparents, and give them the love and support they need.
2) SST students can help raise funds to aid the elderly, as a school activity like other school.
3) Be an active helper when it comes to aiding the elderly.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

This week, I am going to do a conclusion on the elderly problems, I will give a general view on the elderly. As my grandparent is in Hong Kong, I would not be able to use his input so the information i will use would be from the web. I will be going into further detail into one of the previous problems I did.
One problem I have alliterated before is climbing stairs. Most elderly have problems climbing stairs, according to the aging parents society, 30 percent of people over 65 and 50 percent of people over 80 will tend to fall once in the next year, and this sometimes caused by the danger of stairs.
-As some elderly have eyesight problems, sometimes the cause of falls is because of eyesight. To counter that, staircases should be well lit, this will help reduce the chances of falling.
-The elderly themselves, must not rush up or down the stairs just to do small things such as take a phone call , its not worth it to fall and hurt themselves over a phone call. The elderly should always take their time when climbing stairs.
-Hand railings must be of adequate height and size so that the elderly can have a nice firm grip which will help reduce the likelihood of falling down the stairs. According to the aging parents society, it should be 36 to 39 inch tall. Seniors over 60 should get a habit of grabbing the railing.
-One way to help reduce the chances is helping the elderly in shape to climb stairs more easily. Exercises such as walking and leg stretching would prove useful.
-Seniors might have problems that inhibit them from climbing the stairs, such as inner ear infections which will affect their balance. Thus, it is best if they are checked.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

This week, I am going to narrow down the problems to those the elderly wheelchair users face. There are certain disadvantages the wheelchair users have that normal people take for granted, this also applies to those who use walking aids too as their injuries do not completely hinder them from walking like those who are wheelchair bound. Like the previous post I will be listing five problems and five solutions to match it, one problem and solution will be listed into three topics: Knee and leg pains(the main topic), Blurred eyesight and Weak hand and arms
Knee and leg pains
- A problem that most wheel chair bound people is that they will find it hard to move up steps as they are riding on wheels and they would have to lift their body weight and the wheelchair's weight in order for them to tilt the chair to move up just one step. If it is comparatively hard to move up just one step, it would be near impossible to go up one flight of stairs without assistance.
- The problem has been solved by a company, they made a product called the IBOT 4000. It has been approved by the FDA(the Food and Drug Administration). It is able to go up or down a flight of stairs whether with assistance or not. There are two sets of drive wheels that rotate up and over each other and help the user go up the stairs. It is an automatic wheelchair in a sense that it is controlled using robotics and not through pushing the wheels like those of a conventional wheelchair.

Blurred eyesight
-One problem that most wheelchair bound and partially blind people face is that they will find it hard to navigate, as a stick could not be used to sense what is around them when both hands are occupied rolling the chair, thus coupling both wheelchair and blindness is a bad combination.
-There are not that many solutions to this but the most obvious one would be having a helper to help guide the handicapped person around and have that person navigate the handicapped person around. This may not be the best solution as it will give the handicapped person a feeling that he or she has to depend on others to get by.
Weak hand and arms
-Another problem is that wheel chair bound people have a certain restriction on how high the person can reach. The limit is much lower than that of a normal person as the wheelchair bound people have to sit all the time.
-This problem can also be solved by the IBOT 400 as well. As mentioned before, the IBOT 400 has four wheels. It can change into a mode where two wheels are used to support the whole wheel chair while the other two are lifted so that the user can reach things that are higher than they can reach on conventional wheel chairs.

By Turning Point Productions. Title: Think! A wheelchair user's daily struggle

video url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB0PI3lsYGk

Elderly Challenge - Observation 2

The elderly face many difficulties and problems in their daily life that most people don't take note of. In my house, I notice that the elderly face a few problems. Since my grandparent is in Hong Kong, I would use some input that came from my neighbour and his grandmother.
These are some of the problems faced by the elderly that I have noticed. I have categorized the problems according to the disadvantages that elderly normally have and introduce one problem and a solution each, such as knee and leg pain, blurred eyesight, weak hands and arms, bad hearing, and teeth problems.
Knee and leg pains
- As mentioned in the previous post, walking is one of the main problems for this area even with use of walking aids. Another problem I would want to address is falling especially on hard surfaces. This would be really painful for us when we have the same injuries, and for the elderly even worse. It may be a little unwise to suggest a soft surface like sand or something like that on every surface, so how can we tackle this problem?
-I have an idea for the solution but it is not perfect but it is all in the thinking process. Elderly who have injured legs would normally have a walking aid perhaps like the one seen below. So since it is slightly bigger than a walking stick, it is possible to add some padding of some sort to cushion the fall.

Source: http://www.asburymedical.com/catalog/walkers/6241-5F_400_A.jpg
Blurred eyesight
-For this category, one problem is that, due to the blurred eyesight, it is hard to see certain signs in shopping malls, mostly signs that tell you the direction to go to a certain place. These would affect the navigation for the elderly.
-This problem can be solved by having brighter colours and bigger signs so that those with blurred eyesight would be able to see the signs more clearly.
Weak hand and arms
- One problem is hanging laundry with the hangars on the poles for clothes hanging,(as seen in the picture, it shows the poles for hanging the clothes). The poles are stuck to the ceiling and thus using another pole to hang the clothes will be troublesome for the elderly as it will be straining to hang the clothes especially if the hands and arms are rather weak.

-The solution to counter the problem is using a clothes rack like the one shown in the picture below. As you can see in the picture, it is not placed in the ceiling like the ones in the problem is. As the main root of the problem is gravity, this solution eliminates the root as it is place on the ground so that laundry can be hung with ease. To make things easier, it is much more flexible than the one with the poles as it can be moved to various places.

source:http://www.chinatraderonline.com/Files/Household/Clothes-Hanger/Retractable-Clothes-and-Quilt-Rack-2309084070.jpg
Bad hearing
-A problem for bad hearing is an obvious one. When there is danger, even when someone is shouting the elderly with hearing problems would have a hard time hearing.
-The solution is also quite obvious. Hearing aids can be used to help the elderly to hear, perhaps the government could make hearing aids more affordable.
Teeth problems
-As the teeth is not functioning properly, some of the elderly cannot eat harder food and must resolve to softer food.
-The elderly could ask the person cooking the food to cook a little longer so that the food is easier to chew.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

I have observed that the elderly with walking aids have problems such as climbing the stairs, which we do very easily. As the elderly is climbing the stairs with the walking aid, they have to take note of certain concepts, which are very hard to grasp unless given the patience. For example, given that the elderly has one bad leg, the concept up with the good and down with the bad. What the phrase means is that while walking with a walking aid, the good leg must be lifted and put forward first, then lifting the walking aid and putting all the pressure in the walking aid. As all the pressure is put on the aid, the elderly has to lift their bad leg.


In the photo, you can see that my friend Ilya has tried to walk a mile in their shoes, through simulation. He is having a lot of difficulty just walking with the walking aid and imagine doing this everyday.

We had to try walking with the walking aid ourselves, and it was no easy feat. To simulate the bad leg, we had to put a plastic bottle under our feet and must not put pressure to that leg at all, if the plastic bottle cracks one bit, we would be hurting our imaginary bad leg. Climbing the stairs will make this feat a whole lot harder.


In this photo, my grandpa can be seen playing air hockey, facing all the challenges an 80 year old man faces, he is still able to win the match with one hand in his pocket. Hopefully in the future, I want to be just as healthy as him. I hope that by identifying the problems and coming with suitable solutions, I can make life better for my grandpa.

NEWater reflection

3 takeaways:
I have learnt the importance of water conservation, Singapore does not have a lot of water after all.
I have learnt about the 4 national taps, local water catchment,NEWater,desalinated water and imported water from Johor.
I have learnt about how NEWater came about. Goh Chok Tong drinking the water and NDP 2002 having NEWater distributed.

2 concepts:
I have learnt the complicated and enlightening process of turning dirty water to NEWater.
I have learnt how well NEWater filters the water, keeping the bacteria out by using a smart process.

1 interesting thing:
I like how Singapore has came out with various ways to overcome water shortage.

Personal reflection (ADMT lesson)

I have learnt quite a lot during today's ADMT lesson, I have learnt about the different proposed solutions that each group did, some of them were just plain genius(exaggeration) while others, not so much.
Q1.What are the 3 key takeaways from today’s lesson?

A : I have learnt quite a few values on team work. Each group must have the work spread out as evenly as possible, so that it will not be all on one person's shoulders to bear. I have learnt about procrastination as well, we should not delay things until the last minute, we will be likely not to produce a piece of quality work as we are rushed and tend to leave details out. I have learnt about the things that need to be prepared beforehand like the questions for the survey,etc.

Q2. Name 2 concepts that you have learnt today pertaining to design and describe why is it important in design?

A:I have learnt that one of the key to design is to make sure we had a clear goal in mind and set ambitious goals. " If we aim for the moon and not reach it, we will end up in the stars." That quote is quite true, if we set goals ambitiously we will work harder and achieve better results. The other key to design is to keep the target audience in mind, that way we can workaround the problem so that it can appeal better to the audience.

Q3. What is the 1 interesting thing that you have learnt today?

A: I have learnt that we must give necessary comments that actually make sense so that we can make the idea even better than it originally was. Giving unnecessary is just a waste of time, after all time is money.

photos

Story : First photo : Everyone is having taking pictures with their cameras when they were given the photography task.
Second photo : The cheeky lion dancers decided to have some fun with the SST students.
Third photo : The lion dancers group start their parade of song and dance in the car park of SST.
Fourth photo : Mr Koh, hands full when carrying the oranges, looks like he has just come back from a fierce shopping spree in Orchard Road.
Fifth photo : Ilya decided to have some fun hiding half of his arm inside his sleeves, funny but insulting.

Photography

There are many different types of photography:
Advertising Photography.
Commercial photography.
Digital photography.
Cityscape photography
Black and white photography
Family photography
Wildlife photography
Night photography
Nature photography
Landscape photography
source: http://www.shotaddict.com/wordpress/2006/10/18/1382.html

These are some photography equipment that are needed like camcorder and digital camera for use on the go.There is also a traditional camera but it is not as portable.

Aperture is a device that controls the amount of light passing through an opening. The size of the aperture is measured in F-stop.
source:http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/aperture.html

Focusing is a feature in most cameras that allows it to make the image clearer. Inexpensive cameras have a fixed focus which is around 3 meters to infinity.
source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera#Focus

Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open, normally shutter speed is in 1/60 of a second, anything slower would have to be put on a tripod or some other sort of image stabilization.
source:http://digital-photography-school.com/shutter-speed

ISO speed affects the shutter speed/ aperture combinations you can use to obtain correct exposure .
source : http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_iso.html

Metering is a process which has the camera take a light level reading and this determines a suitable aperture and shutter speed for the right exposure.There are various metering modes in cameras for the user to choose.
source:http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Beginners-Guide-to-Photography--Metering-6351

White balance is needed to get the colours in the image to be as accurate as possible. There are different types of cameras with different types of types of white balance options . Exp:Tungsten, cloudy, auto and flash.
source:http://digital-photography-school.com/introduction-to-white-balance

There are many photography techniques that help get our white balance right,etc. Exp : High speed photography to get a really cool slow motion picture or video.

Difference between Perspective, Isometric, Oblique and Orthographic Drawing.

Perspective drawing is a kind of pictorial drawing as they shows objects as they look to the eye.These are the two main features:
Smaller as their distance from the observer increases
Foreshortened: the size of an object's dimensions along the line of sight are relatively shorter than dimensions across the line of sight
There are a few types of perspective drawing like linear perspective,aerial perspective and more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_drawing
www.turbophoto.com/Perspective-Drawing-Definition/
http://www.stormthecastle.com/fantasyartschool/artlessons/lesson3.htm

source : http://nazmorris.com/assets/images/gallery/img_large_drawing_per_inside.jpg
What is Isometric drawing ?It is a method of non perspective pictorial drawing in which the object being drawn is turned so that three mutually perpendicular edges are equally foreshortened.It is a method of visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and the angles between any two of them are 120 degrees.
http://www.answers.com/topic/isometric-drawing
Source:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_projection

source : http://www.we-r-here.com/cad_05/tutorials/level_3/images/isometric_dwg.gif

Oblique drawings are designed to show a three dimensional view of an object. The width of the object will still be drawn as a horizontal line, but the depth can be drawn back at any angle. You can choose the best angle to make the drawing look the best. There are three types of obliques, cavalier, normal, and cabinet obliques. Cabinet drawings are when the you cut the depth in half. Cavalier drawings are when you keep the depth the full measurement. Normal drawings are when you cut the depth by 3/4.
Source:/library.thinkquest.org/TQ0310106/oblique.html

source :https://rdl.train.army.mil/soldierPortal/atia/adlsc/view/public/9726-1/accp/en0113/en011360012.gifa

orthographic drawing is a drawing that communicates the shape and size of an object through a series of related two-dimensional views.
Source:http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Define_orthographic_drawing

source :http://www.helenhudspith.com/resources/graphics/room3.jpg

Sketching homework

Here is my sketch on a pen and stapler.

Define the theme environment

From merriam webster:

1 : the circumstances, objects,or conditions by which one is surrounded

2 a : the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival b : the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community
3 : the position or characteristic position of a linguistic element in a sequence
4 : a computer interface from which various tasks can be performed

url :http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environment

From dictionary.com :

.	the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu.

2.	Ecology. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.

3.	the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.

4.	Computers. the hardware or software configuration, or the mode of operation, of a computer system: In a time-sharing environment, transactions are processed as they occur.

5.	an indoor or outdoor setting that is characterized by the presence of environmental art that is itself designed to be site-specific.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/environment

Overall definition : It is our surroundings that we live in. eg : a quiet environment.

ADMT Lesson 1: Personal Reflection part 2

It means that without ADMT, the world would be dull and boring. A world without creativity.

ADMT Lesson 1: Personal Reflection part 1

It means to make use of the various technologies we have to create art, designs etc to ultimately better the world.

We must be attentive , persistent in whatever we must have the drive that makes you want to make the world a better place to live in.

I want to learn how to make full use of various programs to create the finished project I want.

By applying the ADMT attitude, we can definitely achieve that aspiration.