SPARSH
COLLEGE PROJECT : low-cost liquid level indicator for visually impaired people
COURSE : Design for special needs
YEAR: 2014
DURATION : 3 Weeks
MY ROLE : Initial Research, Ideation, Concept, Prototyping
TOOLS USED : SolidWorks, Keyshot, Adobe Photoshop
I was awarded 2nd Position - Category of Ag-Bio / Environment and Energy and a cash price of Rs 35,000/- in the poster competition organised on the occasion of " IKMC 2014- Innovating to improve Lives" on 3 & 4 Nov 2014 at HICC, Hyderabad, India.
IKMC -International Knowledge Millennium Conference is held every year on a scientific topic of global relevance in technological innovation. It provides a platform to innovate SME's to interact with industry leaders, policy makers & peers on emerging technologies that hold the potential to radically improve lives.
The jury were:
Dr Ranjan Patnaik , Director , Dupont Knowledge Center & Technology, Director, SA & ASEAN , Dupont.
Dr Kiran K Sharma, Principal Scientist - Cell Biology & Director, PTTC & CEO, AGBIO Business Incubator, ICRISAT.
Dr Jitendra Kumar, Head, LSIC, KBITS, Govt of Karnataka.
Research
INITIAL BRIEF
The initial brief was to "Understand visually impaired people and their problem and solve them through design intervention." After having to understand their lifestyle, daily activity, the environment around them, their education and their career, I focused on the kitchen area and their interaction in that area.
INTERVIEWS AND OBSERVATION
Mrs. Kanhe
Mrs. Ahire
Mr. Homiere and Mr.Hanumant
Ms. Zenab
ACTIVITY OF MRS AHIRE
Pre-cooking preparation time
remove milk from fridge
finding vegetables
chopping of vegetables
making sure that pulses etc is available
checking the spices (masala)
find the utensils
Cooking food
making sure everything needed for cooking is available
identifying the spices properly
boiling the milk
Eating
serving of food properly
avoid spillage
Post ( Br.Fast / Lunch / Dinner )
collecting the plates, bowls etc.
washing of utensils
arranging the utensils
OBSERVATIONS
Cooker for boiling milk
Edge of the ladle is felt to know the level of oil
Rack organised properly
Reference of the edge of the kadhai ( vessel on the stove)
Space in the fridge is organized. Things in the fridge is at the minimum and systematically arranged.
constantly touches the kadhai to feel the orientation
Touch the kadhai (vessel open the stove) to check the temperature.
INSIGHTS
Among the many insights that were derived from the interactions and observations with Mrs. Ahire and others, below are the key insights that I decided to focus on
One Problem That Stood Out
WHY A LIQUID LEVEL INDICATOR WITH TEA STRAINER ?
After interacting and observing kitchen activities, the main pain-point that stood out was their difficulty to measure the level of tea while straining.
Both hands are occupied while straining traditional Indian tea in the cup.
“ We are taught to dip finger in the cup to measure its level ”
“I can’t afford the liquid level indicators available in the market.”
CURRENT PRODUCTS AVAILABLE
The products shown below with the price is according to the data in 2014. The liquid level indicators available were all sound based. The products were expensive when compared to their earnings.
$ 19.95 ( ₹ 1168 )
$ 22.79 ( ₹ 1627 )
£ 6 ( ₹ 600)
£ 5.50 ( ₹ 550)
$ 12.95 ( ₹ 758)
18.42 $ ( ₹ 1078 )
$ 10.95 ( ₹ 641 )
$ 4.95 ( ₹ 290 )
Final Design Brief
The need for a low-cost product
It was clear why most people didn’t end up buying the currently available liquid level indicators in the market. It was an expense that they didn’t feel comfortable investing in.
Also they were skeptical of electronic-based liquid level indicator with concerns of changing the battery and additional maintenance cost such devices may add.
The final design brief which developed out of this insight was to design a low cost liquid level indicator. Initially, the focus was to design a low cost liquid level indicator integrated with a tea strainer and later on designing a low cost liquid level indicator which can be used universally.
Concepts
IDEATION AND CONCEPT
The main insight that I got was their highly developed touch, hearing, smelling and listening senses. It came into my notice that all the products that were available were sound-based. I decided not to limit the the design
Because of some skepticism ( by the people with whom I interacted ) for electronic devices, I decided to pursue the design which would not be integrated with electronics.
CONCEPT : INDICATOR + TEA STRAINER
VALIDATION OF CONCEPT
CONCEPT : JUST THE INDICATOR
Apart from the low cost liquid level indicator integrated with the tea strainer, I decided to explore the design further to just be a low-cost liquid level indicator that can be expanded when needed. This design will help in detecting the level in the cup as well as a bowl.
