Initial Ideas and Concepts

Concept 1: VR Headset with Bird Drone

“As a way to combat the rising isolation and suicide rates in the bed bound and disabled community, the virtual reality concept uses a live broadcasting system as a way to promote socialisation and entertainment in such groups. By use of a controlled bird-like drone (through a number of accessible adaptations) the patient can explore a chosen area of nature (e.g. beach, forest) in a way it has never been interpreted before and for themselves could be for the first time in months/years.”

From this research a wish was to capture and communicate the idea of community and social activity through the bird drone design by allowing users to pick an area of interest and speak to their neighbours or carers about what they see or why they picked such an area which may ignite other people’s own memories and begin the creation of social bonds needed at the late stage of life or in the midst of a crisis. This is to combat the epidemic of loneliness and depression whilst preserving many positive benefits such as independence and developed cognitive function (both of which are essential in the battle against dementia). Furthermore, by introducing VR to an elderly audience or perhaps that of a life-altered patient could provide a new hobby or interest to such people who feel defined by their situation or may have lost a life long passion due to one reason or another once again creating a positive mentality and in this case specifically, introducing a new demographic to a new age of technology.

From research development conducted at tentsmuir, a medium sized drone consisting of anywhere up to a 75-90cm long wingspan could easily manoeuvre the open tree areas surrounding the more dense forest, this would allow for patient piloting with a reduction in the fear of a collision occurring with a margin for error. Investigation into types of birds and the aerodynamic design of birds was also conducted which lead to the final concept of a Peregrine falcon styled drone due to its overall fast paced and agile design, perfect for those wanting a sense of freedom through the eyes of a bird. The large wingspan is also accommodating of a large cylindrical-type body which could safely hold a camera and external broadcasting source in the form of a possible Arduino XBee Shield within the body of the drone which would then transfer to the handler’s VELLEMAN or broadcasting kit which would amplify the range of the broadcast or even saved through a usb attachment for later showcasing. During the initial research stage, the use of a 360 degree video in conjunction with the headset was also considered, saving on time, money and resources and creating a similar effect however I viewed this as removing the control the patients utilising this concept to trying to free themselves and just restricting them once more and not utilising the concept to its full potential.

In order to experiment with the overall concept an experience prototype was trialed (an experience prototype is the “simulation of the service experience that foresees some of its performances through the use of the specific physical touchpoints involved.). Due to the quick manner of creation for this aspect of this section of the project, an implying technique was utilised with the experience, a crafted controller was created with a monitor displaying a previously filmed nature experience providing the sense of control and overall style of the final concept – of which I wish I could’ve developed further into a true working headset with an inset screen (presumably a phone) which could then be worn providing further insight into the design. The controls for the drone itself was an interesting challenge because due to the disabled nature of the demographic, extensive arm and hand movement cannot always be expected to allow for standard controllers and instead a hand motion controller was designed which allows for the simple tilt of a hand to control the direct of the drone with the use of a tilt sensitivity meter to create a more accessible design for a range of abilities with the possible addition of eye tracking systems for those experience complete paralysis creating a truly accessible product allow all to reconnect with nature.

Concept 2: VR Meditation Room

Through the use of a critique and further research into VR, a scheme for a VR meditation-style room was provided which served to amplify the social aspect of the previous concept by placing an arrangement of patients within a nature-focused broadcasted environment who can then discuss and tell tales – reducing isolation and, to those who can, an environment they can truly venture into. This would be completed realistically through the use of a CAVE (cave automatic virtual environment) system where projectors are pointed to the outer walls of the room itself with glasses used to immerse the participants further, created back in 1991. This has been completed with regular projection-based screens and more technical Nvidia 1080p displays the latter of which would not require the glasses as much as the former to to its high quality nature yet requires permanency over the transportable screens. 

To develop this concept of an interactive environment aspects of furniture were then integrated (bringing use to the previous Interior aspect of the previous project) in the form of: couches, chairs, pillows and toys all with a connecting theme of nature. Rock shaped pillows in a variety of shapes and design were integrated due to their accessibility being used with the chairs, within hospital beds, on the floor with younger patients and even providing grounding (a technique used to firmly place someone in their environment, used to calm and bring someone into the present moment). Building on this, research from the stimulation (stim) toys product design project also provided relevance as aspect of sensory involvement became a main focus for the furniture within the room itself due to the resources of three of the main stims: repetition, visual and sounds this overall would create a more inclusive room for those suffering with aspects of sensory overload and autism whilst creating a more in-depth environment for all.

Through development it was also dictated that a viewer or screen selector would also be created for the ability to alter the surroundings within the room. This was created through the utilisation of a website creator with coding leading to already existing livestreams online. For the app design itself, graphic design became a large issue which affected every inch of the design: menu selections had to be large enough as not to be difficult to touch for those with accessibility issues;  selections had to be clearly signposted with symbols over text due to a possible disconnect in languages spoken or issues such as dyslexia; the website required a sleek, modern appearance to its design as not to look out of place. Due to being involved with patients and being generally set within the confines of a hospital a nurse alert system was also implemented with the idea being that any patient experiencing or observing an issue can select this option with an alert going out to the closest nurses’ station, providing safety.

https://tophat0204.wixsite.com/idridapp

In tandem with this application, a small room display was created using foam board and tracing paper to imitate the light ray feature that would be found in the realistic final design alongside a set of stereo speakers which was then soldered to a connecting 3.5mm jack to allow for sounds from the livestream selected to be played within the ‘room’ itself whilst the experience participant views the visuals shown. Initially this concept would’ve been worn on the head itself and consisting of an entire cardboard box setup with the same aspects however this was difficult to propose to others to use, difficult to document and would more than likely not involve visuals due to the lack of balance with the weight of a screen that fit the box.

Concept 3: VR Social Device

As a continuation of development, a critique was setup with Graham Pullin Programme Director of Digital Interaction Design for his own interpretation of the projects. It was believed that the VR meditation space was too broad more computer lenient than design despite the accessories added with the insights for a smaller, more privatised design being implemented in a similar manner. From this I reverted back to the original VR concept yet decided upon building more into the social aspect of concept 2.

For this a small personal screen idea was created, this would have several livestreams which the patient could individually choose from (which imitated the application from the prior concept). This allowed for a more individualised private viewing experience for the user with a possible social aspect found in a messaging and sharing service. This would provide an in-between of both concepts which would compliment the needs of the initial critique alongside the recently relevant information and generating an overall more developed, finalised concept.

References: https://learningspaces.dundee.ac.uk/soc-dig18-amaduncan/2019/04/19/references/