08.01 to 19.01.2018 | Andreas Dobler, ZHdK IAD
The concept seminar addresses notions in preparation for my final thesis work. This blog serves as my personal journal that reflects my learnings and my progress during the two-week seminar. The seminar is divided into two parts: an investigative week with quick exercises and iterations, and a second week with more independent work where I can advance my prototypes, engage in field study and test out some ideas.
Kick-off:
Today was the kick-off of the BA concept seminar weeks. After a short introduction from Joelle and Antonio, we open up our thesis with a first exercise. We started with gathering 20 ideas in one hour which relate to our chosen topic. It was not so easy to come up with 20 different ideas in such small time gap. So I really concentrate on three of my most interesting topics.
For my main topic, I decided to go in the field of «computer-based assistance», especially for human purposes. Of course, that represents a really big topic with countless application possibilities. As a first step, I tried to figure out a smaller scope. For that, I predefined three sub-topics, that interest me very much and where I can imagine to work for several months.
Investigation:
In this step, the goal was to declare possibilities ways of an investigation into the scenario «making the daily routine of elderly people more comfortable & enjoyable». Here I fall back on some popular IDEO methods and strategies. With these methods, I tried to create a possible linear process for a step by step investigation.
Manifestation:
I dig deeper into the «question what could be the biggest problems/challenges in the daily life of aged people?» What solutions do still exist in that area? The main information needs to include a concrete perception of the actual installation, product or object.
Individual work:
Today I used the time to start in field-research. Which solutions with purposes for elderly people still exist on the market? And for which specific problem or use case? I also went deeper into the question what could be the biggest problems/challenges in the daily life routine of aged people.
Pretotype:
Today I started making a pretotype (pre-prototype) with focus on how could I find real problems. My thesis & my therein included statement is about using new technologies (especially with using the possibilities of IoT) could make the daily routine for elderly people more comfortable & enjoyable.
Mid-presentation:
This morning we presented our current state of research and gave a review of the last week to the class. After that, each of us got personal feedback from the mentors and class. Now it's just one week left until the end of the course. Thereby a good schedule for the remaining days is needed.
Research & Media Day
This day I used the time to dig deeper into the topic of the relation between technology and humanity. I read a very interesting book from Gerd Leonhard «Technology vs. Humanity» which gave me new critical perspectives on developing new technologies that are becoming even stronger. I also deal with residential situations of older people based on statistical data.
Mentoring & Physical Prototype
After an efficient and helpful mentoring with Joelle I had a good feeling for the last 2 remaining days. After that i thougt about a possible manifestion of the need-tracker. For that I cuttet first draft with the laser cutter.
Essay & Selftest
Based on my research I start with writing my 5-page essay for a half day. The other half I used for upgrading my pretotype, which includes now latitude & longitude values. With these two additional values, it is possible to map the problem to their specific location. Now it's time for a first selftest.
Final Presentation
The last two weeks really helped me to clear my focus. It brought me a useful topic, in which I can combine personal interests and also a personal relationship with my great-grandmother.
I'm sure that new technologies can make the daily routine for elderly people more comfortable and enjoyable. The question is just in which way? It’s time to break the limitation of commercial used technology only for industry and younger people for other areas of application. Technical solutions must also create a direct gain for elderly. This requires more concepts and solutions as already exists today.