Author: jaeyeonh@andrew.cmu.edu

Problem: 

Being distracted by a smartphone when we are walking is really dangerous. We lose our attention and we lose our sight and become “blind”.

General Solution:

I am going to design a smartphone case that is equipped with an ultrasonic distance sensor in front of it. It keeps tracking the surrounding while people are walking using a smartphone. When it detects an object that is closer than a certain distance, it warns the user using lights (or possibly vibration or other methods).

Proof of Concept:

When making a prototype, I chose red and green LEDs to visualize the warning sign. An ultrasonic distance sensor keeps paying attention to the front direction of a user while moving. When there is nothing in front of the sensor, it lights up green led and write “IT’S SAFE” on serial. When there is anything appear less than 10 cm, it lights up red led and write “WATCH OUT!” on serial.

Arduino Code:

SAFE_SMARTPHONE_CASE

Demo Video:

1) Find a problem to solve

I often woke up before my smartphone alarm rings and it keeps ringing while taking a shower, which is noisy and gives discomfort to my roommates.

2) Describe the general solution

I am going to design a thermal camera device that is attached to the ceiling and scans the temperature of my bed. It is connected to my smartphone through Bluetooth. When I lie on my bed and it could detect my temperature so that allows the smartphone alarm to keep ringing. When I get up and get out of the bed, the device detects my awakeness and stop the alarm.

3) Proof of Concept

The device is composed of an infrared array sensor, a thermal camera, Bluetooth module, and a battery with an Arduino board. The camera keeps detecting the temperature changes in my bed. Since the average human temperature is around 37.5°C, I will use 36.5°C as a threshold for stopping the alarm. When the temperature of my bed goes over 36.5°C, the device allows smartphone alarm to be on, if any alarm is set. When the temperature goes under 36.5°C, which means there is no one on the bed, the device turns off the alarm not to make unnecessary noise.

4) Fritzing Sketch

Components: Arduino Uno, Adafruit AMG8833 IR Thermal Camera Breakout, or Adafruit AMG8833 IR Thermal Camera FeatherWing, and HiLetgo HC-05 Wireless Bluetooth

5) Arduino Sketch

I tried to figure out how to code the features that I explained above for several hours, but I couldn’t. Most of all, to be honest, I have no idea how to connect the device with a smartphone through Bluetooth and control it… :

char Incoming_value = 0; //Variable for storing Incoming_value
Adafruit_AMG88xx amg;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(9600); //Sets the data rate in bits per second (baud) for serial data transmission
pinMode(13, OUTPUT); //Sets digital pin 13 as output pin

status = amg.begin();
if (!status) {
Serial.println(“Could not find a valid AMG88xx sensor, check wiring!”);
while (1);
}
}

void loop() {

if(Serial.available() > 0){
Incoming_value = Serial.read(); //Read the incoming data and store it into variable Incoming_value

Serial.print(Incoming_value); //Print Value of Incoming_value in Serial monitor
Serial.print(“\n”); //New line

if(Incoming_value == ‘1’){ //Checks whether value of Incoming_value is equal to 1
digitalWrite(13, HIGH); //If value is 1 then LED turns ON
}
else if(Incoming_value == ‘0’){ //Checks whether value of Incoming_value is equal to 0
digitalWrite(13, LOW); //If value is 0 then LED turns OFF
}
}

float pixels[AMG88xx_PIXEL_ARRAY_SIZE];
amg.readPixels(pixels);

if(pixels >= 36.5) {
//turn the alarm of the smartphone off
}
else{
//keep the settings of the alarm of the smartphone
}

}

6) Proof of Concept Sketches

Reflection/Assignment #01

1. Review Tom Igoe’s page that we looked at in class. Any changes you would make? http://www.tigoe.com/blog/category/physicalcomputing/176/

As a design major student, I think that it is (extremely) difficult to create a thing that no one has thought about. Sometimes, I have to confront the reality that my creation has similar aspects with others’, even though I didn’t even know anything about them when I was designing something. I do agree with the idea that we all came here to make new and meaningful things, not the duplicate of the previous ones. However, I’d want to say that since we (at least, I) do not have much experience in designing physical interactions, and t might be helpful to think about what makes those works in Tom Igoe’s page popular and interesting. That would be a great start.

2. Descendant Review

It was interesting that the writer saw the relationship with a human and a machine (a smart suit) from a different perspective. Also, even though I do not know anything about the background or the premise of this fiction, the clues kept being thrown through the conversation between two characters. I could understand they both participated in a war and they became lost on a planet by a wrecked module after the explosion.

I could guess that the premise of this story is in the far future – because of the smart suit, which has full intelligence so that it can make a decision by itself. Also, it seems like it is equipped with various types of technology, such as sunlight panel and self-recycling system. But things that I could see in the present days are also shown. Especially, the camera is the item that holds all previous memory of the person (dead body).

The communication makes the border between the human and the intelligent machine blurry. It was impressive to see that the machine says “I hurt.” at the end of the story. How can we differentiate human from the AI machines? Is this how human-machine symbiosis look like? Which one is alive and which one is dead? Some serious questions pop up into my mind while I was reading this story.

3. Related Skills:

I am an interaction/UX designer who is studying at the Master of Design program. I have an industrial design background for my undergraduate.

It would be helpful to write keywords of my experience – Design Thinking, UX/UI, Interaction Design, User Research, Service Design, System Design, Industrial Design.

The tools I could use for design/prototyping are Sketch, Principle, After Effects, Cinema 4D, Rhino 3D, Fusion 360, Keyshot, Laser cutter, 3D printer, and etc. I did some simple Arduino projects before, but not that proficient at coding. I’m open to learning more about it!