EARREPLACEABLE
Date: October 2016
Event: Berkeley Design Challenge: Audio & Education
Skills Developed: User Interface, Design Thinking, Brainstorming and Ideation
Software Used: Fusion 360, Adobe Illustrator, SolidWorks, Audacity
Project Background
This was my team's project at the 2016 Berkeley Design Challenge: Audio & Education. The event was sponsored by Fusion 360 and Bose to have us combine mechanical design with sound technology. We completed research to understand how different factors affect how we hear. Our task was to brainstorm and design a product that children and adolescents can use to learn about sound and how we hear. This product had to answer the question: Why do we have two ears? I led the team to design a headband that users can wear and attach ear molds of various animals to the corresponding location at which the ears are located on that animal, which would enable them to hear how these animals would hear. This headband works with an app that instructs the user and explains the reasons for the difference in sound compared to what humans hear. This teaches them how ear shape and location affect sound. At the end of the event, each team presented its ideas to the event sponsors and design professionals on campus who judged the product and selected the top 5 teams to advance to the semifinals; my team reached the final round of the competition where we presented our idea to everyone at the event.
IDEATION
Research, Brainstorming, and Sketching
As a team, we performed research making and recording noise on Audacity by experimenting with distances, cupping the microphone, etc. and listening to the difference in sound.
​
Based on our observations, we began brainstorming different concepts that could explain to children how we hear. Each team member came up with ideas individually and then we came back together to share and discuss them. After choosing a concept, we discussed the idea in more detail and began sketching which later transformed into digital models.
DIGITAL MODELS
Headband and Ears
We used Fusion 360 and SolidWorks to model a headband for users to wear and ear molds for some animals which would attach to the corresponding location at which the ears are located on that animal. This would enable the user to hear the sounds around them how these animals would hear them. This allows them to experience how ear shape and ear placement affect the sound we perceive.
Phone App
We designed a layout of the visual user interface that the headband works with. Initially, the user would select which animal they would like to hear like. The app instructs the user where to place the ears for the particular animal they have selected and adds a visual element to the experience. At the end of the module, a short blurb would pop up explaining the reasons for the difference in sound compared to what humans hear.
REFLECTION
This was my first design challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. I enjoyed having a prompted question for the product to address. It was also my first exposure to design thinking. I learned a lot about the first steps of the design process and how it is crucial to explore all kinds of ideas in order to come up with a truly unique and innovative product. I hope to use the skills I learned in the future, whether it be in school, industry, or for personal projects.
​
If my team and I were to continue this project, the next steps would be to create a low fidelity prototype of both the physical product and the app and perform user testing on them Based on the feedback and observations, we would make changes to the design and iterate on the products in order to improve them. Once we believe they are ready, we would contact vendors to sell the headband and ears and launch the app and continue to improve the designs.