Reflection - Prototype

1. I found that it was difficult to find numerous conditions to test if my model works.

2. I can overcome this by thinking about the aspects of the model that need to be improved upon most and to use qualitative testing to find out how much fine-tuning the model requires to make it most suitable.

3. 1) How the model is tested is based on the design considerations made. 2) Testing can be classified into two different types of testing, qualitative and quantitative testing.

Ergonomics (Product Description and Idea Trigger)

i) It is used to open cans, as it is a metallic-grey can opener mostly mae out of metal. It has gears on it to help it to use the scissors action to cut out the top of the can. It has a grip similar to a pair of garden scissors. The only few parts of the can opener that is made of plastic is the bottom of the grip with a hole in it so it can be hanged.

ii) It has to be made of metal so it would be able to cut the can. It also has to have minimum sharp points so it would be safe for the user. It also has to be light so that the user would not drop it. The grip has to be comfortable and has a lot of friction so pe

ople with sweaty palms would not slip out of the user's hands. It has to be easy to use so that there would not be confusion and the user would not damage himself/herself by accident.

iii) Yes, the elderly might find it too heavy and might drop it by accident, if the product were to drop, it might be dropped on the elderly's foot and injure him/her.

iv)

Ergonomics II

1) It is the study of how efficient people are in their working environments.
2) They are:
-Safety
-Comfort
-Ease of Use
-Productivity/Performance
-Aesthetics
3) My product example is the iBot 4000

:-It is safe as it is very stable, being able to not blow the user backwards even when the user is using a gun like in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39JWZUcDbL0 .It can return back into the regular wheelchair shape if preferred. It can also go over bumpy and uneven terrains that curl up to 5 inches. (Source for the picture: http://www.craighospital.org/IMGS/SCI/ibot1.jpg )

-It is comfortable as it has a calf panel, headrest, armrest, seat cushions and footrests. It can also allow someone to travel safely at eye level so they can feel like when they are standing as it would be higher. (Source for the picture: http://www.gizmodo.com/images/ibot.gif )

-It is easy to use as it only requires a User Control Panel (UCP) to control the iBot's movement. The UCP can also be detached to allow the user to move the iBot into a vehicle to be kept when the user uses a car. Being able to move the iBot 4000 at a distance, the user can keep the iBot 4000 without having the chance of getting injured.

-It has high Productivity/Performance as it is able to be used in 5 functions, to allow the iBot 4000 to adapt to different situations, which are if the user wants to reach up high, when the user wants to climb the stairs, when the iBot 4000 goes over uneven terrains, when the iBot 4000 is positioned like a regular wheelchair and when the user has to move the iBot 4000 into a vehicle without the user on it. Information on the function of the iBot 4000 can be found on the website for iBot owners to find information on the iBot 4000: http://www.ibotnow.com/faqs_general.html . (Source for the picture: http://www.burgerman.info/ibot3000/balance.jpg )

-It is Aesthetic as it is a new design that was not used before, allowing the design to be more unique towards other designs. (Source for the picture: http://marketplace.sibaya.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ibot_wheelchair.jpg )

Ergonomics I

The person in the workplace on the left would be A and the person on the workplace on the right is B
1)
-A is messy as there is a lot of unnecessary stuff on the table with little workspace and is cluttered, making it hard for more things to be placed and it is easy for things like mugs and cups to topple, and his chair is also breaking apart, so he puts the broken parts on the table. B has much less items on his table so he has space for him to feel comfortable.
-A's computer monitor screen is too far from him, so he has to use glasses and a magnifying glass to help him to see what is on his screen, making it hard and wastes a lot of time to do that. However B's monitor screen is adjustable, allowing him to adjust the screen to suit the distance from the screen to himself, saving the time that would be used to looking at the screen through the glasses and magnifying glass. The table also has a access rail which allows the user to place items such as monitor and free up space on the table.
-A has two desktop lamps on his table to use when it is darker, however, when he needs to adjust his lamps, he would get burnt by his lamps as it overheated, making it dangerous to the user, if he were to experiment the brightness of the lamps, it would be wasting time. The lamp is also too bright and in the wrong position. The light of both lamps is also too glaring, making A wear a pair of goggles, and the glare of the light also made it harder for A to see the computer monitor. B's lamp light is smaller, but it can be adjusted without getting burnt, and since it covers a smaller area, the lamp allows him to focus on what he is doing currently, the light would not spread around the workplace, and also not having a glare that would hurt his eyes. Since the lamp is adjustable, he can move it away when he does not need it so the lamp does not obstruct what he is doing afterwards.
-A's chair is too high, taking away his freedom of movement of his hands, and also is complicated and has parts that will fall out, making it inconvenient for A to take his mug to drink or any other objects. Since the chair decreases A's range of which his arm can reach up to, he has to move his chair around, wasting some time. B's chair has a adjustable armrest, allowing him to move it upwards for his arms to rest on when he leans backwards and holds his cup to drink. This allows him to adjust to different situations. B's chair also has a back rest and neck rest, to give comfort to the user. The chair is also flexible, allowing the user to adjust according to the sitting position of the user, giving the user a freedom of movement.
-In A's workspace, the laptop is not high enough, making the user keep on changing the position of books or files, giving him an awkward position to type. In B's workspace, B has a laptop holder which allows B to raise the screen up to a comfortable position and also adjust the height of the laptop's screen.
2) A has a messy area, making work more troublesome and uncomfortable to do. And on B's desk, it is more empty to allow B to work comfortably so he would not feel restrained.
3) When designing a workspace, we have to consider the comfort the user would feel when using the workspace, the space the user has, the simplicity, efficiency, freedom of movement, the lighting and the safety.
4) Ergonomics allow workspaces or work environment to be more comfortable and also allows the user to work more efficiently and have more space to have freedom of movement.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

In a nearby void deck, I observed an old man carrying bags of groceries back from the market. After I interviewed him, I found out that he was living with his son's family and he mostly helps out with the chores even though he has poor eyesight. Before, he had to travel to his daughter's home to take care of his nephews. But recently, his daughter quit her job to take care of her children and the old man could stay at home instead. I think that his children had taken him into consideration and did not want their father to travel a lot because of his old age. He said that he still had to take care of his son's children, but they are older than their cousins, so they are easier to take care of, allowing him to be more relaxed in life.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

After observing my maternal grandmother for a day, I realised how hard it is for her to move from the living room to the kitchen or bedroom. At home, she would avoid walking as her maid could help her get water and prepare food but she walks when she goes to the toilet or to her bedroom to rest. Whenever my grandmother goes out, she would have to use a wheelchair so she does not need to walk and her maid would push her as her arms are too weak to push herself on the wheelchair for a long period of time.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 2

After observing my grandfather in his day, I found out how long it takes for him to cook meals. He has to cook for my family everyday without a break. Having to remember all the recipes all the time and sometimes add new ones can be quite hard to do. Whenever he starts cooking dinner, after every dish he would stop to have a small break and start to smoke, before continuing. Frequently my grandfather would get burnt while cooking, making it inconvenient for him to stop cooking halfway and wash the burnt part. Although he has put on plasters on his fingers so when cooking oil hits his fingers, it would not be as painful, I can see that he is enduring the pain but does not show it, as he had been cooking for a very long time and might have gotten used to the pain.

Holiday work - Part 1:Understanding the 'The Elderly Challenge'

1) The key recommendations are to make homes less likely for the elderly to have accidents, to make places and public transport more accessible and convenient for the elderly, to help the less well off Singaporeans be able to use the services which help the elderly and to keep more senior citizens fit and healthy

2) The Government want to make an elder-friendly environment by introducing more safety features to senior homes and making them more accessible and convenient for seniors.

3) i) We can top up our Medisave Accounts so we can afford healthcare services. ii)

4) i) We can organise some events for the elderly to help them to exercise. ii) We can help senior citizens when we see them. iii) We can volunteer to help our neighbours who are senior citizens living alone, who are weaker, etc

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

When I observed my grandmother with more alertness, I realised how troublesome it is for the elderly when words are too small for her eyes to see. She normally would have to strain her eyes to read small-print words, this is also quite slow as she has to slowly identify each chinese character. She also asks other people to help her read words too small. My grandmother feels that it obstructs her reading and she tries to avoid it as when she strains her eyes it hurts. She feels that it is very painful if she opens her eyes for a long time. My grandmother rests her eyes often to cope with her eyesight problem. All these problems occur as my grandmother's eyes are getting old.

Reflection for ADMT Trip to NEWater Plant

1) What are the 3 key takeaways from today's visit?

i) NEWater has no minerals.

ii) The process of cleaning the water into NEWater requires 2 stages of using membrane technology and 1 stage of using Ultra-Violet Light.

iii)NEWater needs to mix with normal water before its flows through the pipes if not the concrete in the pipes will be corroded.

2) Name 2 concepts that you have learnt today?

i) I learnt how the water is cleaned in detail, before I briefly know what happens.

ii) I learnt about what happens to NEWater after the stage using Ultra-Violet Light

3) What is the 1 interesting thing that you have learnt today?

I learnt that NEWater would corrode the concrete in pipes if it does not mix with normal water to regain the minerals it should have.

4) What are the things that you can do to help with water conservation in Singapore?

I can save water so the water would last longer if we could not acquire more in an emergency.

Personal Reflection (8th Mar 2010)

Qn 1) What are the 3 key takeaways from today’s lesson?

i) Our plans need to have everything thought out to be able to execute to well.

ii) Work should be spread evenly so everyone would not have to work overtime.

ii) We should understand the final product to be able to answer questions about information we did not explain properly.

Qn 2) Name 2 concepts that you have learnt today pertaining to design and describe why is it important in design?

i) We should set goals that are required to achieve a bigger goal so we can try to achieve the biggest goal one step at a time by conquering the smaller goals. This way we can learn how to design without mistakes properly without any misconceptions.

ii) We should have a clear understanding of what we want to design before starting, this way we need not pause to decide on the design when we have started

Qn 3) What is the 1 interesting thing that you have learnt today?

The questions we give to others should make sense if not the person answering the question long everyone else would get confused.

Photography on People

Here are the photos I took of my classmates:

Arthur

Mitchel

Matthew

Photography

1) Some common types of photography would be amateur photography, animal photography, scenic photography, aerial photography, commercial photography, forensic photography, medical photography, urban photography, sports photography, satellite photography, etc (more from http://www.mediacollege.com/photography/types/ )

2) Different lenses, tripods, flashes and colour filters.

3) It is the opening in front of the camera that allows light to go in, the bigger the aperture, the more light enters the camera, making the picture brighter.

4) The focus allows the camera to adjust its lens, adjusting the picture until it is sharper.

5) It is how fast the camera opens and closes its aperture, the slower it is, more light will enter the camera, if the camera is wobbly, the image will become blur. If the shutter speed is too fast, there might not be able to have enough light to enter the camera, making the image darker.

6) ISO speed is how sensitive the film is to light, if the ISO speed is too high, the image might not turn out as expected as some of the dark area might be brighter in light.

7) Metering is when the camera auto-adjusts the aperture, ISO speed, shutter speed and focus.

8) White and Black Balance is to instruct the camera whether the image is bright or dark, if you use the "White Balance" feature on an image of a dark piece of cardboard, the camera would think it is white and adjust the surrounding colours accordingly, making them brighter.

9) The Camera Composition should be so that the frame of the image should be not too low so that the top of the person's head is not seen and the frame of the picture should not be too high that the person in the image would seem small. The frame should be leveled such that the eyes are at the top third of the width of the image, the person's neck should not be "cut" off such that the person's head seems to be "floating". There should not be anything sticking into the image, including light poles, phone lines or antlers hat appear to be sticking out of the person's head. Lastly, the image should have enough space for the person to walk around if he is standing up, he should not be at the edge of the photograph.(Source: http://photoinf.com/General/ITRC_UMT/Composition_Basics_-_How_to_Get_Good_Pictures/Camera_Composition.htm )

10) Some photography techniques would be high-speed photography, tilt-shift photography, black and white photography, motion blur photography, infrared photography, night photography, smoke art photography, macro photography, HDR photography, RAW processing, panoramic photography, etc (Source: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/22/the-ultimate-photography-round-up/ )

Difference between Perspective, Isometric, Oblique and Orthographic Drawing

While Perspective Drawing is to show on a piece of paper how objects can look smaller the further away you are from it, Isometric Drawing is different as it is viewed from a far enough position so that perspetive drawing is hard to notice and Isometric drawings are drawn in such a way that one edge will face you and is of an angle of 120degrees. Perspective Drawing(top, source: http://jhh.blogs.com/anthos/images/perspective_1.jpg), Isometric drawing(upmost top, source: http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/handouts/drawing/index_files/fig_02.jpeg)

Orthographic Drawings are quite different from the other drawings, Orthographic Drawings are actually Isometric Drawings, with the rear, left and bottom views "cut" off and the other three views separated. Source of Orthographic drawing on bottom: http://www.tpub.com/steelworker1/14250_files/image054.jpg

Oblique drawings are supposed to show the viewer a 3-D perspective of an object, with the width of the object as the front view of the object. How long the object's length is but is blocked by the width is called the depth. There are three types of oblique drawings, the first one, the cabinet drawing has the object's depth cut in half. The second type of oblique drawing is the Cavalier drawing where the depth is at full length. The last type of oblique drawing is the normal kind where the depth is cut by three quarters. Source of the Oblique drawing on the bottom: http://www.tpub.com/content/engineering/14069/img/14069_178_1.jpg

Definition of theme - Environment

From MacBook Pro Dictionary

1) The surroundings or condition of which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.It could be the environment of which you study in or you read in, etc.

2) The environment is the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical, especially affected by human activities. This kind of environment can be a pond environment or a forest environment where animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms live together in a predator- prey relationship.

From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/environment

1) The aggregate of the surrounding things, conditions, or influences. For example, "The environment we live in is a hostile one as there are war going on in the neighbouring countries."

2) The air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and effecting a given organism at any time. For example, "The environment the sparrow lives in right now supplies it with sufficient air, water , food and warmth for it to survive."

3) The social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or population. For example, "The environment children live in nowadays give them too much comfort that usually they lack of survival skills."

4) The hardware or software configuration, or the mode of operation, of a computer system. For example, "In today's fast-paced environment, messages sent through email or SMS can be immediately answered by the other party."

5) An indoor or outdoor setting that is characterised by the presence of environmental art that is itself designed to be site-specific. For example, "This art museum' environment has been changed to suit the art-lovers who like to come here to view the pieces of art masterpieces."

From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environment

1) The circumstances, objects or conditions by which one is surrounded. For example, "You would be surrounded by huge piles of useless rubbish if you step into that storeroom."

2) a : The complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (such as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival. For example, "Star-nosed moles require darkness, lots of soil and food to survive well."( b : is similar to meaning of environment number 3 of dictionary.com)

3) The position or characteristic position of a linguistic element in a sequence. For example, "The different dialects evolve over time in each province of a country is a result of their different linguistic environment."

4) A computer interface from which various tasks can be performed . For example, "Facebook and Blogger are different environments of the computer."

1)ADMT means to me as a chance to learn more about technology and media.

2)An ADMT student should be creative, innovative, be well-versed in using many kinds of technology and be willing to learn new things all the time.

3)My aspiration as an ADMT student is to be able to know how to use many different types of technology and to be able to make animations.

4)I can achieve my aspiration by learning more about the latest kinds of technology through the Internet and practise using technology to do schoolwork.

5)If there is no art or design, people would not be able to make the proper clothes we wear today, and if there is no media or technology, inventors of the past would not be have invented all the useful technology that we use today and life would be like the cavepeoples'. Without design, people would not even be able to build the kampongs that the early pioneers of Singapore used as houses.