Author: Trevor Sibby

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Semester full of Digital Making !

Wow the semester has flew by. I remember taking my disability design course and being heavily encouraged to take this course from my professor Dr Deana McDonagh. I heard countless success stories and instantly got interested. I remember the entire process  of sending a resume and asking access from the instructor. It made the course feel even more official and selective. I wanted to take the course because it could present even more fabrication resources and help me in product development in my startup.

Expectations…

Initially I didn’t necessarily know what to expect. From the course description I thought maybe the the class would be very hands on and explore various methods of fabrication. Even with these little to no expectations the course don’t over promise anything. The course itself wasn’t perfect but it was an overall great experience. It challenged us to think outside the box and look at what we usually consider problems as areas of opportunity for innovation. The structure of the course prompted us to use the parameters set and essentially work through things, which allowed us to learn even more. This style of teaching could go one of two ways. The class could be way to lose, which causes confusion and lack of understanding of expectations. Or it could be how this course went and really give students the opportunity to explore, fail, plan, and execute on an idea.

This course further enhanced some fabrication skills I already have and taught me some fairly new ones as well. As an industrial designer I’m constantly doing project and solving problems. Design thinking, user centered design, empathic design are all things this course subtly hinted in throughout the semester. The workshops enabled us to gain new skills and learn processes. Many of, if not all the guest speakers, provided meaningful insight throughout the semester as well. There are so many takeaways from this class.

Solestice

I was partnered with two bright young women from the college of business. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. We had a great dynamic and right away knew what we wanted to do for the remainder of the semester project.Through the many conducted interviews and mentors stories we gravitated towards Jenna. She shared with us the story of a time where she slipped on ice immediately after exiting her car. This happened all because she can’t wear boots due to the heavy nature of them. This prevents users like Jenna  and other prosthetic users from wearing them as their residual limbs are not strong enough to carry the amount of weight the boot has. This is where Solstice was birthed. We aimed to figure out a way for Jenna to increase traction without adding adding additional weight to her shoes. Our main goal was To create an attachable, lightweight shoe tread that can be used to travel in a variety of terrains.

Low Fidelity Prototype

My group and I brainstormed countless times trying to figure out how to make this idea into a real thing. We’d sketch  ideas and somehow came up with the thought of incorporating spikes ( like in track shoes) it would help with traction. Unfortunately after creating a low fidelity we realized that our user may be required to take said device off when walking indoors. We also wanted to make it as easy to use as possible, while providing a comfortable fit we thought to use velcro. This set us up perfectly to further ideate on this idea and create our very own functioning prototype at the makeathon.

At the Make-a-thon itself team Solstice focused on three main components of creating this product:  Arduino, molding, and attaching. The arduino portion was super cool and challenging. It was my first time coding and working with circuitry. Essentially this would add a unique tech factor to our tread that would allow users to have a sense of force feedback. From research we found prosthetic users have issues shifting weight which can lead to gaits abnormalities. This small pressure sensor would give them that data and in term help prevent this from happening. The design itself was fairly simple. We coded an Arduino Uno to illuminate LED lights that indicated pressure being applied. To create the pressure sensor, we sandwiched a piece of foam with two pieces of copper. Ideally, we wanted for there to be three lights, each indicating where the user is putting pressure on the tread. This would enable the user to ensure they are putting enough weight on their prosthetic to maximize stability.

In terms of creating the tread it we wanted to use a molding compound. This would allow for a lightweight thread, but ensure a grip tread form that resembles that of your regular high traction shoe. We created a mold of a shoe outsole. During this process, we coated the shoe in baby powder and mixed the molding compound to a viscosity similar to pancake mix. We held the shoe down until the mold dried. Following, we used a hot glue gun to fill in the mold with thermoplastic material. After the mold was completely filled, we used a heat gun to smooth the top of the sole, making sure the edges were slightly taller than the inside of the sole. The thermoplastic material we used was similar to silicone and, per our research, is a material that creates enough friction to prevent falling on ice.

For the sake of time and resources we opted to utilize velcro for our attaching method. It wasn’t the worst choice but also wasn’t the best as it came with its own constraints.

Overall I really did enjoy this course. From the challenging nature of it to its looseness it was a great experience. I got to learn new and exciting skills. I got to meet some amazing people. Most of all I got to make something with newly found campus wide resources. I’ve really grown as a individual because of this course. I find myself a better teammate. The collaborative portion of this course really ties teams together and promotes all hands. Hopefully you’ll see a team Solstice sole on the market. We really did nurture this product and can’t wait to see it reach its full potential. Never stop making!


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Nouvo

August of 2016 changed the lives of my closest friend Amaury Saulsberry, who I consider to be a brother of mine. He created Nouvo shortly after his younger brother was diagnosed with a severe case of GERD, commonly known as acid reflux. It took about four months for him and his family to get the proper diagnosis, and by the time they did 80 percent of his brothers esophagus was damaged.

This led to the beginning of Nouvo. Nouvo is a healthcare tech startup that has created a smart pacifier that monitors  pH and temperature levels in infants saliva as a biomarker for acid reflux. The scope of the technology goes beyond just that as this data of the child’s vitals could potentially pinpoint many other ailments. This smart pacifier is patent.

This is our smart pacifier and integrated app

Through the University wide resources Amaury and the team were able to get act on entrepreneurial endeavors. Course in TEC, BADM, ARTD, Engineering  and even attending workshop and office hours for EIR ( Entrepreneurs In Residence) at the Research Park helped Nouvo get started. We were able to create our first working prototype with resources and skills learned here at the university.

Even now we’re finding more and more helpful resources the university has to offer. We’ve been able to accelerate our rapid prototyping with the use of Fusion 360 and the maker lab 3D printers. We’ve also upped our fabrication by utilizing the tools at the FabLab. They have a wide range of filament options, laser cutters, and milling machines. We were actually able to use the milling and 3D printing at the FabLab for the circuit board that housed our prototype. These Helped us be one of the health marathon winners this year.

To date Nouvo now has a team of six. All of whom are fellow students ranging from engineering to industrial design backgrounds. The advisory board is comprised of doctors, an FDA lawyer, financial specialist, and much more.

  • Nouvo at TechNexus

  • Nouvo at Think Chicago Roadshow

Nouvo showcasing at EoH 2019

Currently Nouvo is awaiting patent acceptance and the FDA approval process. The product is considered to be a class II device and could take upwards 9 months. During this time we are working on developing our other connected health products. We are working on acquiring additional funding that will go towards perfecting our MVP.

Links to a few of our featured articles

IL Startup Nouvo Is Making a Smart Pacifier to Diagnose Sick Infants
2019 Health Make-a-thon

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2018-07-29/wired-amaury-saulsberry.html

https://foxillinois.com/news/local/startup-social-gives-sneak-peek-at-student-innovations


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Week 11!

This week was the final stretch before the week of the Make-a-thon. Class began with Professor Vishal clearing up everything regarding the Make-a-thon. The expectation and resources available during this event were explained. Once Vishal finished up we were given a presentation from social innovation representative Valerie. Valerie introduced to the class an opportunity to continue furthering their innovative ventures, while receiving non dilutive funding. This opportunity is provided by a program called the iVenture Accelerator. Which is a startup incubator. It’s a 10 week summer commitment and a full academic year seminar course. Participants receive $10,000 of funding and stipends throughout the summer. They not only provide this funding but have a pool of resources ranging from experts to additional funding opportunities. I am actually apart of the iVenture Accelerator. They really dive deep and help further your idea. They’ve introduced us to so many useful/helpful people. It’s really like a family. They bring you along and you become apart of this amazing ecosystem.

After Valerie’s presentation we met with Milestone Labs to give them an update of our progress to date. My team and I are team Solstice (team 1) so we went first. The folks at Milestone gave some good feedback and advice. They were delighted with our interviews and direction we’re going in. One thing we didn’t do was provide as much of our product as possible. We still have to do more sketches and ideation around a few key details regarding our product. From this meeting my team and I reconviented to brainstorm, reflect, and conduct a list of materials we need for the actual Make-a-thon. As a team we found this material called hydrophilic rubber, which is usually used in winter tires. We have a meeting with a material science professor to give us even more insight on materials and such. Also I have a professor who is a shoe cobbler on hi own time and he pointed us to a few materials as well. None the less we’re super excited for this event and our more refined product prototype!

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Make-a-thon

This week we got an introduction to the Make-a-thon. The participants of this event go beyond our Digital Making seminar course. Its expanded to Industrial design students from Dr. Deana McDonagh and Jim Kendall’s course, as well as students from Jeff Ginger’s Makerspace. This pre-event to the actual Make-a-thon gave us a general overview of what was going to take place leading up to the weekend long event. Later during the session there was a panel of a few returning experts and a few new ones. Some new faces were Isaac, John, and Steve. They all spoke about their disabilities and the daily frustrations they face. The panel even discussed some of the unique ways they’ve adapted to make the best of their situations.

John’s sock with three attached loops
Joh’s sock with three attached loops

Above is an image of one of John’s sock. I thought this was so simple, yet very effective. Apart of John’s condition is very minimal grip strength. So task like putting on socks or buttoning a shirt is difficult to him. A simple life hack he came up with was sewing loops on the outer edge of his sock, which he can fit around his fingers and pull on the sock. It crazy to think this is all it took and it making a huge difference.

Steve from the panel also gave us an overview of Clark Lindsey, which is a  premier retirement community for today’s accomplished adults. From the presentation he gave I found there to be quite some opportunity in this specific sector. He put a heavy emphasis on fall prevention. Maybe we can design some sort of new innovative thing around this opportunity.

The last part of the Make-a-thon pre-event was a social portion. This time was for everyone to meet and talk amongst each other. Since we’ve been working on our project for sometime  used this portion to to talk with some of the new experts and students to see if any wanted to get involved. We did meet a potential new team member from Jeff’s makerspace seminar. She seemed very interested in what it was Solestice is trying to do. After this It really just turned into a team meeting where we mapped out what we needed to from the session up until the Make-a-thon itself.


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FabLab 3.0

FABLAB 3.0

This week we returned to the FabLab for the third time.  It was very interesting because we were going to be using all the skills we learned from the previous visit to finally assemble our watches.  Brandon, a worker at the Fab Lab, gave an introduction to the Arduino Uno. We learned the types of code and some basic functionalities of writing the code language. Once we wrote out some code we then attached the LED to the audirono. It worked an we moved on to adding the motion sensors and writing the code to run indefinitely. The serial code sneezed when the audition was being tilted and showed the values of the switch; seeing the watches purpose was to capture motion of the wrist.

Image on the left is of the basic audirino plugged in
Image on the top right is of the LED attached to audirino
Image on the bottom right is of the scaled model of an audirno the Fab Lab made

Once we finished finalizing our code we shifted into assembling. We all had a Fusion file of the assembled watch. The class previously laser cut the parts of the watches with unique designs for customization and callout to help with the user experiences. We used super glue to glue to top base and washer. We then attached he aurino to the bottom board with adhesive sttrips. In Order to keep the wires in place we bent them on the board and zip tied them together. After this we placed the three portions together and pulled the sensors through the whole. To keep it all in place, we clamped the watch  together using zip ties. We then attached the sewed wrist strap me made in the previous weeks as well. Lastly we attached pre 3d Printed holders for sensors to rest inside.

The process of assembling the watch. Also showcasing the cool design. Its stained, polished and has an optical illusion engraved in it.

The last part of class was was focused on storying boarding. As an industrial designer we storyboard all the time. We do it for pretty much every project so I am quite familiar with it. Being apart of Team Solstice, we came together to figure out what we wanted our users experience to be. We had to think about how’d they find the product, obtain it, use it, and how it’ll ultimately affect their daily lives. As you can see below there’s my teams rough storyboards. We began by identifying ou users, which in our case people with prosthetic legs. We then moved into how our users might find our product. Since we’re in the digital age we thought though the internet, word of mouth, and social media. Pretty much each of the boxes shows the process the user will have with the product. One that covers the entire journey from finding it, getting it out the box, assembly, and using it.

Solestice’s storyboard


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FabLab 2.0

Inkscape vector file of watch to be laser cut

This week we returned to the FabLab. We continued to familiarize ourselves with all the tools and tech the lab has to offer. We specifically learned a vector editing software called Inkscape. Through this workshop we learned how to create basic shapes, manipulate them, and produce more. After learning the basics of the software we learned to transform images into vector graphics. These skills were then applied to a customized watch. The watch is a device that allows patients who have to do bicep curls and rotation in wrist during rehabilitation. The base of the watch consist of 3 wooden circles, two of which have rectangles on each side. I thought it would be help patients if the watch had small arrow indications of which way the device goes. The top layer rotates, so I designed an arrow pointing in the direction of proper rotation.

3 layered watch with electrical components

After this we moved into sewing. Unlike most of my peers I have experienced sewing. My sophomore year I sewed a jacket with a sleeping bag attachment completely from scratch. So during the tutorials and walkthroughs I was a couple steps ahead. We all picked the fabrics we wanted our wristband for the watch to be and then cut it to scale.  We sew it right sice in and sewed the seam. This created the sort of sack like appearance of the band. Getting it right side out was a hassle, it required us to use these thin wooden rods to pull the fabric through. We finished up by attaching velcro strips to the band to ensure a comfortable and secure fit to the wrist.

Images showcasing the process of sewing and creating the band for the watch

The second half of class each group presented to Milestone Labs and Adam Bleakney. We’ve made a lot of progress since last speaking with them. We got a lot of insight from this conversation. We realized we hadn’t thought everything thoroughly. Our design is solid but we have to really hone in on the attachment aspect of it. The overall ease of use should be convenient for the user. They also asked a lot of questions regarding materials of our device. We are currently scheduling a time to interview a material science professor here at the university. This week I have scheduled a virtual interview with my physical therapy. We also have a meeting this monday with my professor who handmakes shoes. We plan to do a bunch more research structured around our opportunity and project idea.

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FAB LAB!!!!

This week I wasn’t able to physically be in class due to some unfortunate circumstances. I was however able to visit Jeff and see the Fab Lab prior to this weeks workshops. I learned of some of the complex filments and advanced 3D printers. I got to know a bit of the staff as well. In terms of class, I was able to get up to speed from my wonderful team members. This week was the start of our workshops through the Fab Lab. The class was given a tour of the entire facility by Jeff Ginger, who is the director of the lab. He gave a presentation during last weeks class. After the initial tour the class was split into different workshops within the fablab. Some people were learning the laser cutter while others built circuits.

After this the class went back into their  groups and brainstormed for the remainder of the class period. The TA also assisted during the brainstorming session given a different prompt every 3 minutes. This helped further our ideation and conceptual prototyping, while designing with an open mind. My group was able to rapidly draw up multiple porttype ideas with the given parameters of the prompts. In case you forgot,  we are developing a shoe tread to facilitate walking on ice/snow (all terrain) for prosthetic users. By the end of this activity my team was able to come up with a MVP. They chose the easiest and most feasible of the concepts that we can make a crude prototype of. By next class we will have a usable prototype of our tread attachment. It will have velcro straps to connect with the shoe and acchatable spikes on the tread.

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Fusion 360 Workshop

This week we focused on the CAD software, specifically Autodesk Fusion 360. Prior to class this week we learned quick shortcuts and the basic fundamental of parametric designing. Dan Banach, education program manager at autodesk, gave an immersive presentation of the world of Fusion 360. He has more than 30 years of Fusion 360 knowledge. He was there from the very start. It all started with a 3D model of a five and quarter sized floppy disk. Dan also simply broke down the ideology of the cloud product innovative software Fusion 360, into three main components: use, design, and make. After his intro  we had the task of going through a tutorial of creating a phone charging stand. This helped us get even more familiar with the functions and capabilities of the software.


Dan Banach during the Fusion 360 Workshop

I myself have some knowledge and previous with CAD. However its with solidworks, which is a lot different from Fusion 360. You have similar capabilities, but solidworks is far more complicated. I like how simplified Fusion makes computer aided design. The shortcuts and keys were super easy to pick up on and the drop down menus house every function. Solidworks took me some time to get a stable grip on. Both softwares are great in their own respective ways. Regardless of which a person chooses you’ll still get a understanding of not only parametrics but design thinking. The software gives you a different method of approaching problems and design decisions. The simplest thing from a curve to the material itself of the product all attribute to the overall product.

My final design and render of the phone charging stand

After the Fusion Workshop ended we were given another on “How to Statements”  from our TA Mehmet Aydin. This activity allowed us to further explore the centralized themes within our ideas. After choosing the top three themes, which we wrote out in concise sentences, we created a how to statement. Essentially staging  a question of how were were going to do some of the things we sought out to solve. Like mentioned in last week’s presentation his is a cycle within the design process. We came to conclusions last week, but this exercise allowed us to revisited, rethink, and revitalize some of those ideas. I feel like now we have a pretty concret grip on the opportunity and the market in which we’re trying to infiltrate.


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Week 5

This week we were introduced to four guest speakers: Sneha Subramanian from the Illini service dogs, John Hornick author of “ 3D Printing Will Rock the World”, Jeff Ginger from the CU Community Fab lab, and the Illinois Informatics Institute. We began with a brainstorming session with the Illini Service Dogs. We specially were looking at areas of opportunity with improving disabled users independence with service dogs. Ideas bounced around and some really interesting things came from this. After the brainstorming session John Hornick brought so much of the 3D printing industry to our attention. There are so many trends out there, but John emphasised 3 main trends. One of which is that 3D printing spurs innovation, it also increases democratization. Lastly 3D printing is full customizable. I personally really enjoyed all the different innovative projects globally that John mentioned to us.

Jeff from CU community Fab lab gave a very energetic and passionate overview of the lab itself. He told us of all the resources and network we have here on campus. He then went into showing some of his personal projects, all produced at the CU Fablab. He designed this really cool solar power laptop case that charged his laptop. He also created this octopus dongle sort of thing that has every plug in port you could think of. Jeff seems to really be passionate about innovation and I though his overall presentation was inspirational.

After the guest presentation we were given on from our TA Mehmet Aydin on Design Thinking. During his presentation he introduced us to the Design Thinking Modules. You have Inspiration- Ideation- Implementation model. You then have Empathy- Define ( we focus on defining the opportunity from an empathetic standpoint. Then you have Prototype- Test phase. Mehmet also mentioned the idea of diverging, converging and repeating the entire process. You have to just do it. It kind of ties back to last weak guest Mike Henson statement of, “ Fail early, fail often.” The design process is a process of decision making and doing things. You have to ideated on an idea and act on it. Fail and fail and through each failure new innovation ill emerge.

Once Mehmet’s presentation  we broke off into our teams to do a “Stories & Experience” exercise. The task of the exercise was for us to look at our interview Q/A and diverge deeper insight from them.We were able to really figure out our users frustrations, emotions, limitations, pretty much the good and bad. Solicestice in particular, was able implement the experiences of the user to create more value with our potential product. It gave us a framework to further structure of customer discovery and validation of the idea itself.