UnderWing
a smart armband that detects febrile seizures and other temperature abnormalities in babies
Duration
9 Weeks
(2020)
Team Members
Jonathan Chan (machine learning engineer)
Lea Daigle (mechanical engineer)
Cristian Junge (engineer, business)
Sangho Lee (material science, engineer)
Jeremy Ney (business)
Shreeya Rajgarhia (designer)
Taylor Robinson (mechanical engineer)
Type
Student (RISD x MIT)
Tools
User Research
Surveys
Prototyping
Wireframing
Figma
Design Sketching
Rapid Prototyping
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Premier Pro
Pitch Video
Adobe XD
Scrum Method/Agile Development
Rhino 3D
The Problem
A febrile seizure is a convulsion in a child caused by a spike in body temperature, often from an infection. They occur in young children with normal development without a history of neurological symptoms. It can be frightening when your child has a febrile seizure, and the few minutes it lasts can seem like an eternity. Emergency medical care is needed for repeated seizures or those lasting over 10 minutes. There are 24.3 million children between ages 0-5 today. Our conservative estimate is about half a million children between that ages of 0-5 have febrile seizures each year.
The Solution
We created UnderWing, a smart armband that detects febrile seizures and other temperature abnormalities in babies.
View our Final Report
Design Process
01. Research
02. Mood Board
03. User Persona
04. User Journey Map
05. Sketching and App Structure
06. Prototypes and Wireframes
07. User Testing
08. Higher Fidelity Prototypes and Surface Design
09. Final App
10. Final Product
11. Pitch Video
12. Concluding Thoughts
01. Research
We did a market analysis of the other baby monitors available. We discovered barely any other wearable and reusable temperature tracking solutions. A market analysis also showed that this idea should lead to a profitable product.
We then proceeded to interview parents to learn about what they were looking for in our product. We found that the parents were looking for a solution that had high temperature accuracy, continuous monitoring, and is designed with a cozy look and feel for their sensitive babies.
02. Mood Board
After having a brainstorming session with my team, I collected the different ideas we had and created a mood board to help us better visualize our ideas.
03. User Persona
We discovered that our personas value a highly accurate, comfortable, and easy to clean solution. I realized that one of the most important aspects of our solution would be earning the parents and other caretakers' trust. We decided we wanted a solution that was affordable for lower-middle-class parents.
04. User Journey Map
I created a quick sketch of the journey a user using our proposed solution. We analyzed the current user journey map and identified the pain points to our users in order to give them a better experience.
05. Sketching and App Structure
Here is the master list of all the elements we wanted to include in the app. We analyzed how the onboarding would work and how we would deal with notifications since those were extremely important parts of this experience. This organization led to the basic structure of the app.
06. Prototyping and Wireframing
We created the initial wireframes of the app using paper templates but quickly moved to using Figma. You can try out our Figma prototype here.
I started with creating prototypes to explore forms of the armband and clasp systems to test the interaction. I actually bought a life-sized doll to help with informing the interaction design.
07. User Testing
We went through several rounds of user testing and feedback at the end of each sprint including a survey through Survey Monkey. The comments we received on our final design were extremely positive and we hope to keep working on it.
08. Higher Fidelity Prototypes and Surface Design
I created some higher fidelity mockups of our product and did simulations of putting on and taking off the band. This helped ensure that the parents would have a good experience of being able to quickly put on the band. This also informed us that the band was not too bulky for the child to wear. Having the life-sized doll really helped here to communicate to the other group members and peers when I acted out the interaction.
I created a color palette, logo, and custom illustrations and animations to use in the final app. I picked the name of our product, 'Underwing' which means to act as someone's guardian or protector. It is also a play on the position of the band which is under the child's arm.
09. Final App
10. Final Product
Our armband is made with a skinsafe waterproof silicone. It has a button to turn it on and off, pair, and to control the alarm. We have a dry adhesive around the sensor to improve the accuracy of temperature readings. The band has holes for added breathability and flexibility. It has grips for a more slip resistant design. Our adjustable clasp mechanism fits children from 2 months old to 2 years old. Based on our conversation with the patent attorney, these features make for a patentable design.
Below, is an exploded view of our product. The silicone armbands has holes to be more breathable. Encased within this silicone is a battery, buzzer, thermistor, memory card, and bluetooth module. We built working prototypes of the electronics that sends data to Google sheets and an armband that can be tested for comfort on children.
After speaking with our users, we quickly learned the importance of recharging and battery life. It should take 1 hour to full recharge on the wireless charging plate. The battery should last 5 days when fully charged. This allows the band to be worn throughout the duration of a child’s sickness. The charger is also a central hub for bluetooth connection.
11. Pitch Video
I created a pitch video to communicate what our product is, does, and who it’s for.
View our Final Report
12. Concluding Thoughts
A sketch of our potential market trajectory after analyzing that of our competitors.
If we were to continue working on this product, there are the milestones we plan to pursue.
Some frequently asked questions answered!
