Lauren Aquino Shluzas

Bloctopus: A Novice Modular Sensor System for Playful Prototyping

Tangible prototyping enables designers to rapidly iterate design concepts, gather feedback, and learn quickly from mistakes. However, when a higher level of functionality is needed with sensors, novices struggle with technical implementation. Existing novice electronics toolkits, such as Arduino, have lowered the threshold to electronic experimentation, but still require manual creation of circuits and software programming ability. We present Bloctopus, a modular electronic prototyping toolkit that allows direct electrical interfacing over USB, and physical interfacing with LEGO blocks. We present the stand-alone sensor model, where each module can directly interface with either a computer or microcontroller, using musical message passing over MIDI. We show that the modules can be programmed with a simplified data flow model in a web-based visual programming interface. Finally, we present a prototyping case study that demonstrates the expressivity of devices that can be created using LEGO pieces, combined with functional electronic modules.

Hands-Free Image Capture, Data Tagging and Transfer Using Google Glass: A Pilot Study for Improved Wound Care Management

Chronic wounds, including pressure ulcers, compromise the health of 6.5 million Americans and pose an annual estimated burden of

Building blocks in creative computing: modularity increases the probability of prototyping novel ideas

25 billion to the U.S. health care system. When treating chronic wounds, clinicians must use meticulous documentation to determine wound severity and to monitor healing progress over time. Yet, current wound documentation practices using digital photography are often cumbersome and labor intensive. The process of transferring photos into Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) requires many steps and can take several days. Newer smartphone and tablet-based solutions, such as Epic Haiku, have reduced EMR upload time. However, issues still exist involving patient positioning, image-capture technique, and patient identification. In this paper, we present the development and assessment of the SnapCap System for chronic wound photography. Through leveraging the sensor capabilities of Google Glass, SnapCap enables hands-free digital image capture, and the tagging and transfer of images to a patient’s EMR. In a pilot study with wound care nurses at Stanford Hospital (n=16), we (i) examined feature preferences for hands-free digital image capture and documentation, and (ii) compared SnapCap to the state of the art in digital wound care photography, the Epic Haiku application. We used the Wilcoxon Signed-ranks test to evaluate differences in mean ranks between preference options. Preferred hands-free navigation features include barcode scanning for patient identification, Z(15) = -3.873, p < 0.001, r = 0.71, and double-blinking to take photographs, Z(13) = -3.606, p < 0.001, r = 0.71. In the comparison between SnapCap and Epic Haiku, the SnapCap System was preferred for sterile image-capture technique, Z(16) = -3.873, p < 0.001, r = 0.68. Responses were divided with respect to image quality and overall ease of use. The study’s results have contributed to the future implementation of new features aimed at enhancing mobile hands-free digital photography for chronic wound care.

Building Blocks of the Maker Movement: Modularity Enhances Creative Confidence During Prototyping

Abstract Design is a cyclical journey from creative ideas to concrete realizations of those ideas though prototyping. Designers today have increasing access to low-cost technology toolkits within the electronic and computational domain. However, for technical novices, including electronic components in prototypes can hamper the ability to create novel ideas by introducing technical obstacles. Electronic modules can increase the probability of prototyping success, at the cost of reduced design flexibility. This research (1) presents the results of a pilot usability evaluation of (N = 68) participants making physical light emitting diode (LED) light creations with non-modular electronics components, and (2) uses this evaluation to motivate a creative prototyping study (N = 86) exploring the question: ‘How does prototyping tool modularity influence the creative result?’ Using a browser-based crowd platform (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk), participants created electric ‘creature circuits’ with LEDs in a virtual prototyping environment. We found that increasing the modularity of LED components (i) increased the novelty rating of prototypes as rated by a condition-blind panel, (ii) increased the quantity of prototypes created and the quantity of LEDs used by study participants, (iii) increased participants’ degree of perceived self-efficacy and cognitive flow, and (iv) reduced the number of errors due to LED polarity. The results highlight that novice prototyping with electronics is difficult due to the number of possible ways to fail. The findings show that modularity can reduce the chance of errors and improve the likelihood of creating novel prototypes.

User-Centered Innovation for the Design and Development of Complex Products and Systems

Can we enable anyone to create anything? The prototyping tools of a rising Maker Movement are enabling the next generation of artists, designers, educators, and engineers to bootstrap from napkin sketch to functional prototype. However for technical novices, the process of including electronic components in prototypes can hamper the creative process with technical details. Software and electronic modules can reduce the amount of work a designer must perform in order to express an idea, by condensing the number of choices into a physical and cognitive “chunk.” What are the core building blocks that might make up electronics toolkits of the future, and what are the key affordances? We present the idea that modularity, the ability to freely recombine elements, is a key affordance for novice prototyping with electronics. We present the results of a creative prototyping experiment (N = 86) that explores how tool modularity influences the creative design process. Using a browser-based crowd platform (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk), participants created electric “creature circuits” with LEDs in a virtual prototyping environment. We found that increasing the modularity of LED components (i) increased the quantity of prototypes created by study participants; and (ii) increased participants’ degree of perceived self-efficacy, self-reported creative feeling, and cognitive flow. The results highlight the importance of tool modularity in creative prototyping.

Design Thinking Health: Telepresence for Remote Teams with Mobile Augmented Reality

In this chapter, we examine user interaction for the design and development of complex products and systems. Through a two-phase research effort, we explore and test the influence of user involvement (i.e. novice/average and expert/lead users) in early stage design and new product development.

People with a Paradigm: The Center for Design Research’s Contributions to Practice

This research examines the capabilities and boundaries of a hands-free mobile augmented reality (AR) system for distributed healthcare. We use a developer version of the Google Glass™ head-mounted display to develop software applications to enable remote connectivity in the healthcare field; characterize system usage, data integration, and data visualization capabilities; and conduct a series of pilot studies involving medical scenarios. This book chapter discusses the need for a AR head-mounted display to improve chronic wound care photography and to facilitate surgical interventions. We provide an overview of the system architecture used in this research, and highlight future applications of AR systems for improved clinical care.

Can Anyone Make a Smart Device?: Evaluating the Usability of a Prototyping Toolkit for Creative Computing

Stanford University’s Center for Design Research has been in operation for 30 years. Its primary impact on practice comes through its people. In this chapter, we summarize the CDR’s research approach and themes, and then look at the mechanisms through which the people of CDR affect the landscape of industry and education and impact the practice of design.

Design and Validation of a Dynamic Digital Ruler for Hands-Free Chronic Wound Assessment

Can anyone make a smart device? Affordable sensors, actuators and novice microcomputer toolkits are the building blocks of the field we refer to as Creative Computing. With the growing maker movement, more tools are becoming available to novices, but there is little research into the usability evaluation of these toolkits. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of closing the gap between idea and prototype, the need for systematically evaluating the usability of novice toolkits, and a strategy for doing so. Specifically, the chapter presents the Tiny Device Test, a method for evaluating the usability of novice electronics toolkits. Using a standard set of building challenges based on common household electronics, we discuss methods for evaluating the Bloctopus toolkit, which was designed for novice electronics prototyping with low-resolution materials. This work aims to contribute to the idea of “making simple things simple, and complex things possible,” with prototyping toolkits of the future.

Design Thinking Pain Management: Tools to Improve Human-Centered Communication Between Patients and Providers

This paper documents the design and validation of a measurement tool for chronic wound assessment. Using the Google Glass™ head-mounted display (HMD) as a platform for research, we developed a digital ruler to dynamically capture wound dimensions in a hands-free manner. The system consists of the Glass HMD equipped with an infrared light emitting diode (IR-LED) distance sensor, lithium polymer battery, and a custom printed circuit board. Programmed using Android 4.4.2 (API 19), orthogonal rulers along the X and Y axes are superimposed on the Glass eyepiece and calibrated for measurement accuracy. To evaluate system performance, we conducted an ANOVA Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility (R&R) analysis with six wound care nurses measuring seven artificial wounds of various dimensions, two times each. Data was analyzed using Minitab statistical software. For width measurements, the results indicate that the total Gage R&R percent contribution was 10.2%, with 4.2% attributed to equipment variation (repeatability) and 6.0% to operator variation (reproducibility). Wound-to-wound variation was 89.8%. For length measurements, the total Gage R&R percent contribution was 16.7%, with 14.1% attributed to equipment variation and 2.6% to operator variation. Wound-to-wound length variation was 83.3%. The system received positive feedback from nurses as a hands-free measurement tool for sterile wound handling. Yet, further refinements are needed to improve system accuracy and depth measurement capabilities.Copyright