Category: Week5

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Week 5: Inspiration and New Discoveries

This week started with presentations from 4 speakers. One from Illini Service Dogs, one from John Hornick, another from Jeff Ginger, and last from our TA Mehmet Aydin.

Illini Service Dogs spoke about challenge areas and resources available to continue exploring this challenges. Since for privacy issues it is hard to get a chance to observe actual training, it was useful to hear of different ways research can still be gathered. This can be transferred to all of our projects even if we aren’t working with ISD, as a good reminder that we don’t have to be confined to our mentors for research and also think out of the box to interview people who might have different insights and provide a different perspective. I have a friend who works at Beckwith Residential Services, so my team is planning to reach out to him for an interview.

John Hornick walked us through the scope of 3D printing and reminded us how big of a field it is. It was inspiring to hear all the different projects that have used 3D printing because it is easy to forget how powerful this tool really is.

Jeff Ginger talked about his experience making as well as the Fab Lab. I have visited the Fab Lab several times because because I was first introduced to it through a class freshman year. Since then I’ve gone back to make laptop stickers as the VP Community Service of my business fraternity, and to make a shirt through a developmental workshop with Design for America. One thing he brought up that really stood out to me was the idea of DIWO. Do it with others is an important way to look at design because these kinds of spaces makes it easy to work with others who have different backgrounds and learn from each other.

Finally our TA Mehmet spoke about design from a broader view, talking about the total experience. He discussed the MRI scanners used in hospitals, and how kids were afraid of going in them. He shared that after making them themed in a fun way like a pirate theme, kids were more willing to go inside. This was a great example to hear especially because they didn’t reinvent a product, yet they still changed an experience. This is related to what we’re trying to do in adding a little more joy into our experts lives, and this example is a good learning lesson to how that can be done without changing the core of the product.

He shared that after making them themed in a fun way like a pirate theme, kids were more willing to go inside. This was a great example to hear especially because they didn’t reinvent a product, yet they still changed an experience. This is related to what we’re trying to do in adding a little more joy into our experts lives, and this example is a good learning lesson to how that can be done without changing the core of the product.

We ended the day with an exercise to organize our insights and find an opportunity area from them. My team did 2 interviews last week, so we were synthesizing the insights we got from both of our interviewees.

We came up with multiple categories ranging from school/work life to personal life. After discussing our insights with one of my team members Huan, I discovered an area of interest that I am curious to explore more which is independence. A lot of tasks our users can already do but it requires another person as well. We originally were looking to explore multitasking but I think another element of that is being able to do things by yourself.

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[Week 5] Evinco – Applications of 3D Printing

This week in class we had two guest speakers. The first talk we had was from John. He mentioned the different applications of 3D printing including bio printing. This was fascinating and we talked about so many different applications including 3D printing robotic soft robotic hands for prosthetics and much more. We also had the head of the fab lab, Jeff, come to speak to us. It was really interesting to hear about all of the different making communities around Urbana Champaign. I thought it was really cool how the fab lab is meant to be for everyone in the community not just students. Jeff mentioned how homeless people have come into the fab lab before to design things. I was also really cool to hear that the fab lab had tools for digital embroidery. The fab lab is also working to develop a bio printer.

Later in class we conducted a stories & experience brainstorm. This was very helpful and Adam helped us to categorize our stories. We ended up creating two cateogries. The first was a frustrations and loss of opportunity category. The second was a potential opportunities category. I have attached a picture below of our final sheet.

I think the stories brainstorm was very helpful. We were able to better understand the experiences of the Paralympic athletes. I think especially focusing on the positives helped us to understand how we can use the rules to our benefit and create a hand ring that is different from a typical hand ring. The example Adam was explaining was that you could create a hand ring that is two different diameters. This could then help if we were creating a covering or casing because we could create two separate coverings or grips. I think it’s good that my team decided to create a category that focuses on the positives. In the HBR Design Thinking article, it mentions how one of the personality traits of a design should be optimism. I believe we were all trying to properly embrace this personality trait in our design philosophy.

I think the project brainstorm was a great way to start thinking about what is the specific experience or story we want to tackle. There are so many different ways we can approach this project, but what would be most beneficial and feasible. I am excited for the idea generation phase to see what tangible product ideas we can come up with. I think our group is going to be able to make a positive impact with our product and I am very excited!

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Week 5 Reflection

This week’s class was a very informative one. During our class session, we were fortunate enough to have 4 different speakers to join us in class. The speakers were: Illini Service Dogs, John Hornick, Jeff Ginger, and Mehmet Aydin. Each of them touched on a different aspect of the 3D printing. First, Illini Service Dogs as one of our clients gave a presentation on possible ideas that we can work and develop on as a project. Next, John Hornick, the author who wrote 3D Printing Will Rock the World, joined us virtually with the help of online video software Zoom. His presentation focused mainly on the applications of 3D printing and some trends the technology is headed towards. For me, the most fascinating part of his presentation was on how hospitals and medical schools are now investing in technology which will enable us to print organic tissues, bone structures and even organs in the future. I think that this is a really exciting technology as it will no doubt improve the lives of millions and possibly put an end to the horrific organ harvesting crimes. After that, we have Jeff Ginger who is in charge of the Fab Lab in Champaign-Urbana community. Jeff was a very energetic speaker and he shared mostly creative and inspirational moments in his and his student’s life. After his presentation, I am really looking forward to visit the Fab Lab and start to put my ideas into physical products. Lastly, TA Mehmet Aydin guided us on our thinking process in his presentation. I particularly enjoyed his example of the MRI machine for children. I agree that it is important to shape the experience of your clients to fit the purpose of the product.

To wrap up this week, I think it is really awesome that we continue to get different voices to share their take on 3D printing or creative thinking. My team and I have gathered a lot of information during our research phase and is excited for the direction we are headed in.

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Week 5 Reflection

This week in Digital Making three guests came to our class to share their insights. These guests included a member of the Illini Service Dog, John Hornick, and Jeff Ginger. We started by talking about possible opportunities for design within the service dog experience, then learned a lot about advancements within the 3D printing world, were exposed to the amazing network of Fab Labs, and finally met up with our teams for a brainstorm activity.

A few opportunities the Illini Service Dogs were presenting our class were redesigns of collar and leashes, a better way of connecting leashes to wheelchairs, FOB attachments to carabiners to open and close cabinets, better designed problem collar so it is easer to take on and off, and finally an easier clasp for the vests the dogs have to wear. As for research opportunities, we were encouraged to talk to occupational therapists, physical therapists, personal assistants and expert users. 

https://dailyillini.com/features/2015/12/08/the-challenges-behind-the-service-university-student-reflects-on-life-before-after-service-dog/

John Hornick was extremely well versed on the history/progress of the 3D printing world. He shared a lot of interesting information. My biggest takeaways were democratization and customization. 3D printing allows people and patients to physically see ailments in the 3-dimensional world giving a lot more people access to information that wasn’t able to be expressed before. John also talked about the customization 3D printing is capable of. There is great strength within 3D printing. These technological advancements have aided in facial reconstruction, implants as well as 3D printing of skin! Wake Forest University’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine is 3D printing cartilage, organ tissue and even skin for the U.S army. 

Our final speaker for the day was Jeff Ginger who works at the UIUC Community Fab Lab. He is an expert problem solver and critical thinker. Jeff introduced us to his world of Fab Lab. Fab Lab actually is a network of fabrication labs across the world who hold conferences and offer easier/cheaper access to extremely expensive tools to the general public. 

Through our team brainstorm we decided were want wheelchair users to feel unique and proud of their individuality by using the customization found through 3D printing. We realized there were barriers and we will need to do further research on such as finding out what parts will need to be replaced most often, as well as interviewing young wheelchair users to see what kind of additions they would think are cool!

Matthew Lee writing ideas down during brainstorm.
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Week 5 Reflection

This past week in class, we had presentations from 4 speakers. One from Illini Service Dogs, which provided us with updates and ideas for potential opportunities to explore this semester. The next was from  John Hornick, the author of 3D Printing Will Rock the World, via zoom. He spoke to us about what is going on currently in 3D printing, and where 3D printing will likely be in the near future. It was such a cool experience to be able to hear from an expert who knows so much about the industry. One of the things that fascinated me the most was that they are able to 3D print skin and are working on the ability to 3D print bone. He mentioned that they want to utilize this technology in hospitals and VA hospitals, which is incredible. The future of 3D printing is surely going to be amazing!

Our next speaker was Jeff Ginger of the CU Community Fab Lab. Jeff spoke to our class on behalf of the Fab Lab, which we will be visiting as a class in the upcoming weeks. Last semester I took Jeff’s course in Usability of Digital Interfaces, and it was one of my favorite classes I have taken at U of I. Jeff is such an interesting and energetic person! He is full of a lot of knowledge about making and has a very positive attitude that makes his classes fun and exciting. I am very much looking forward to visiting the Fab Lab and learning more from him.

Our third presentation was from our TA Mehmet Aydin. He gave a presentation about Design Thinking and how it can be used to improve situations of all kinds. He showed us the children’s redesign of the MRI machine. He also explained to us our exercise for the class which was going through what we know about our opportunity so far, and organizing our ideas on Post-its. This was a helpful exercise as we worked through it with Adam, one of our mentors, and we were able to clearly define our opportunity areas we will be exploring further in the class.

I am looking forward to learning more about Fusion this upcoming week and beginning to dive into the ideation stage of the process!

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Week 5 Reflection – Revolutionize the World

This week’s class is full of talks and activities. I personally learned a lot form the second and the third talks.

John’s Speech

The second speech is on how 3D printing influences the healthcare industry for people with special needs. Previously, I knew 3D printing was starting to play a huge role in the industry, but I didn’t realize it has already revolutionized people’s lifes to this extent. The speaker, John Hornick, shared some key elements on the influence: innovation, democratization, customization, any part/anywhere/any time, bio-printed replacements, and biomechanical products. Among them, democratization is something that I didn’t expect. I have learned how 3D printed products can be customized to each individual and can be produced anywhere. This makes the production of personalized products on various scales possible. What I didn’t consider is that due to this feature, the technology enables everyone to access and create objects. I regard this as a crucial factor because this allows more people to design and make what they have in minds into reality. By making more people access to innovation, we can see more creativity emerge in different industries that meet more personalized wants and needs. In the future, it may be possible that everyone can bring their ideas into reality, and everyone can benefit from creativity easily because the products can be carried out in all area of the world.

Jeff’s Speech

This echoes with the third speech we have from Jeff Ginger of the CU Community Fab Lab. During the talk, we learned what Fab Lab offers to the public. The speech reminds me of the WeWork that I have been to in Shanghai, China and Israel, and I believe this kind of business model can significantly change how people work and enable more people to realize their ideas. In the WeWork in Israel, it has an innovation lab. People at WeWork can get access to all those expensive machines by paying a fee. This encourages entrepreneurship and makes startups to be able to survive at the initial stage since they can scale according to the demand instead of buying all the equipment they need. This is what Fab Lab offers as well. People just need to pay a material fee, and they can access all those expensive equipment. More importantly, the lab is open to anyone in the community. According to Jeff, the Fab Lab is accessible to anyone who has the interest; even homeless people can come to the lab, which is not very common in other labs. Equal accessibility and affordability enable the community around the Fab Lab to learn and express their creativity. As Fab Lab expands its footprint on a global scale, it brings democratization and customization to all over the world.

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Week 5 Reflection

This week was a little different for me–due to unfortunate circumstances, I could not be present in class. Furthermore, I could not look at screens all week, so I had very limited communication with my team members. Due to this, my reflection on this week will be centered around my team’s progress in our research.

My team interviewed our mentor, Jenna, this week. As a reminder, our project is focused on creating a shoe tread to facilitate walking on ice and snow for prosthetic users. Some key takeaways from the interview are:

  1. It is important that the tread is light and easy to attach and detach.
  2. The height added from the tread should be as minimal as possible.
  3. The first prototype should fit to gym shoes, since those tend to be the most comfortable shoes.

In addition to interviewing Jenna, I have conducted some more secondary research. I wanted to start learning more about specific materials and designs for our shoe tread. I came across an article that describes the benefits of winter car tires over all-season tires. From the article, I learned that the rubber material is more important than the tread design. Winter tires are made of a rubber compound that remains soft and flexible in low temperatures, which increases traction. Thus, we need to take this into consideration when choosing a material to create the tread with.

Another article I found shares the best gear for walking in snow and on ice. The article showed a variety of tread materials and designs; some were made of rubber, some of stainless steal and some had sharp spikes while others had small cleats. We will need to decide on tread design and material(s) that are lightweight and create good traction on snow and ice. Lastly, through my secondary research, I also found that it is important that the tread can easily fit into a purse or pocket. This way, anyone can use the tread no matter where they are going.

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Two Roads Diverged, And I Made Peace With The Idea Of Not Trying Both

INFO-MANIA.

This week, we had four presentations: one from a Sneha Subramanian of Illini Service Dogs, John Hornick (author of 3D Printing Will Rock the World), one from Jeff Ginger of the CU Community Fab Lab and the Illinois Informatics Institute, and one from our TA Mehmet Aydin. In line with our focus on human centered design, Illini Service Dogs (ISD) had some ideas, specifically about improving disabled people’s ability to independently work with service dogs, that they were hoping to collaborate with us on. John Hornick gave us incredible insight on the meta-trends within the 3D printing industry. The three main trends that John has observed to be true of the 3D printing industry are: 1.) 3D printing spurs innovation 2.) 3D printing increases democratization and 3.) 3D printing is all about customization. John informed us on the many different groundbreaking 3D printing projects going on all around the world in pretty much every field you could think of, and it was really inspirational to hear about all these success stories and incredible innovation. I was especially intrigued by his mentioning of research in bioprinting replacement organs, an idea that I had actually looked into six years ago for a high school biology assignment. Listening to John’s presentation reminded me of all the different angles we would need to look into for our project but also reminded me of the endless possibilities – opportunities – that we have when working with 3D printing.

One of our four presentations: Mehmet teaching us about how to go about thinking while we create our product.

The next presentation was from Jeff Ginger, whose high energy and excited gestures were refreshing after absorbing so much information in such a short amount of time. Jeff let us know about the network of Fab Labs as well as the amazing resources we have available to us at the CU Community one. It was kind of shocking to realize that there were so many resources available to us as UIUC students that I did not previously know about! Jeff was really passionate about his work, and he had a way of talking that makes you want to quit whatever you’re doing and pursue fab lab creations full-time immediately, just from listening to him.  The passion that we saw from him for his projects is definitely something that I will remember and make sure that I also feel in any future projects that I work on. I want to be able to be someone who can inspire others to take a chance based purely on the energy from my own passions – just as Jeff did for me.

CONVERGING ON FEAR.

When Mehmet gave us his presentation, he taught us about design thinking. he mentioned the idea of diverging and converging, and then repeating the process. Through this, I learned that I personally find the converging process difficult. I love coming up with new ideas and the many different possible ways we can implement an opportunity, but my indecisiveness and lack of confidence in my own creative abilities tends to show when I have to make a decision on which one to proceed with. In other words, I often let the fear of failure and ‘doing something incorrectly’ get in the way of my decision-making process. This was something that I have always known about myself in the back of my mind, but never before have I had to confront it head on like this. It made me grateful for the insight of my other group members, the mentors of this class, and the course itself for giving me an opportunity to grow not just in knowledge but as a person. This is not a problem that will be solved by one presentation, but finally being able to acknowledge the problem is a start.

  • Solestice’s brainstorming session result.
  • Stories & Experience framework that we worked off of.

Besides personal growth, Solestice was able to analyze all the information we had gathered so far. Through the Stories & Experiences framework we were given, we were able to break down the emotions and the facts of our project. Being able to visualize information like this was really helpful in showing us which direction to take our tread attachment idea. We will definitely be using this method to organize all future thoughts on new information we acquire in the future, especially since we have just set up an interview with a teammate’s professor who makes shoes in his free time. Overall, this week was a week of confrontation and growth, of diverging from expectations and converging on a direction to take our project.  

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Diverge, Converge, Repeat

Class today was quite speaker heavy. Amongst everyone who presented a PowerPoint of sorts, we had 4 different speakers… lots of information to take in, however a few ideas really stood out to me. Initially, I would love to start off with the idea of diverging and then converging. I like to think of this as ideation then analysis. Our readings labeled this process synthesis. We capture our learnings, discover the significance of them, and ultimately create actionable takeaways to move forward with.

One of our TAs presented this concept right before our group activity. It is crucial to let ideas out, having them free-flow and generate one after another. Nonetheless, it is then necessary to analyze these ideas and converge your choices to be able to make a focused decision. Overall, today’s session was an epitome of that. The 4 speakers presented countless ideas and insights, which we then had to prioritize and analyze within the scopes of our projects within the DRES community.  

Accordingly, the two ideas which I converged on by the end of class were customization and accessibility, which yes does seem like the recurring theme for me and my group. John Hornick initially mentioned customization as one of the pillars of 3D printing. Customization allows for individuality and personality to be expressed through utilitarian design, which is an extremely rare combination. Until now, wheelchairs have been viewed as a means to an end, with limited ability for the user to inject his or her own ideation into it.

3D printing encourages individuals to take matters into their own hands and solve problems with an initiative – their own initiative. This individual empowerment is what the final speaker, Jeff Ginger from FabLab honed in on. We were shown the plethora of the design spaces available, however merely 7 were available to the general student population. The rest required some sort of special access. He dubbed this rather useless and inefficient, and frankly I agree. What good are resources if they are not accessible?

Our team looked at this within the scope of wheelchair accessories and creating something which the target community that they will actually want. We want to make it accessible through not only price point, but also desire. This will require analyzing consumer product trends and created marketing campaigns to increase the product awareness once we launch. Design is insignificant if there is not a user desire.