Student Projects

— 3 minute read

L-ONE project initiated at Woodbury University's Applied Computer Science program, mid-semester through the freshman Interactive Prototyping studio. It was great to see the students approach the project in creative and unique ways, using the base hardware platform and template code as a springboard to imagine different wearable device prototypes addressing a new and unprecedented social need.

Freshman student Chanel Tiana Cruz created a prototype named tr6cker. Chanel wrote: "I decided to name it this since I wanted it to be something short. The '6' in the name is supposed to be a backwards lowercase 'a'. I replaced it with the number six because of the six feet apart rule. [...] The outputs I implemented in my project is a graphical picture to the LCD and an audio sound that comes out of a speaker. For the graphical picture, there are two red exclamation marks and a yellow happy face between the two exclamation marks. These pictures appear whenever the sensor camera detects that there is a [thermal] blob in the camera view."

Tr6cker prototype by Chanel Tiana Cruz
Tr6cker by Chanel Tiana Cruz

Anna Grubinski Ossyra designed BRAD, an acronym for Body Rear Approach Detection. Anna's prototype is a "device to be worn on a belt. The sensor is housed within a 3D printed enclosure which is attached to the belt pointing to the rear. The M5Stick is attached to the left side of the belt for easy user interaction including visual and audible warning, and access to the home button. The device detects a person approaching from behind and [...] gives an audio and visual warning."

BRAD prototype by Anna Grubinski Ossyra
BRAD by Anna Grubinski Ossyra

Vartan Arzumanyan came up with Citrus Glasses, a prototype of sunglasses that output a sound clip to notify the user that a human is approaching. Vartan wrote that "my experience working on this project was phenomenal. Because, it was combined with hardware and software to create something great during this pandemic."

Citrus Glasses prototype by Vartan Arzumanyan
Citrus Glasses by Vartan Arzumanyan

Abigail Maki prototyped PinM5, a concept for a wearable pin that would alert the user with vibration, color and sound. Abi stated that "designing hardware for COVID-19 was an interesting and relatable concept because it made me think about emergency situations and how people would react. How much is too much, and how alerts should look or sound?"

PinM5 concept by Abigail Maki
PinM5 by Abigail Maki

Sungmin Lee's M5 Temp Type-D imagined "an alternate future where COVID 19 gets worse and becomes a deadly virus. [...] During the deadly virus situation, firearms can be misused by certain people. So, I wanted to design the device as armor so users can protect themselves."

M5 Temp Type-D concept by Abigail Maki
M5 Temp Type-D by Sungmin Lee