Toco: a touch-based alarm clock ⏰
As Toco is an alarm clock created for Alycia, a blind and hard of hearing woman. My group of 3 worked with her over 3 weeks to help solve her problem of not waking up on time in the mornings due to her alarm clock.
Our primary focus with this project is to create an alarm clock that uses a braille and vibration system. This allows Alysha to use her other senses rather than relying on her sight and hearing when using it.
Duration
3 weeks (April 2022- May 2022)
Skills and Tools
User Research
Rapid Prototyping
C++/ Javascript
Electronics
In collaboration with Noni Shelton and David Wu
How It Works
The clock works using a braille interface and buttons for setting hours and minutes
Using a solenoid hidden behind a piece of yellow fabric, it taps out the alarm time so that Alycia knows that the right time is set.
At the back, there is both a power plug and a plug to connect to the bed shaker, every button and plug is labeled with braille.
Problem Space
During initial meetings with Alycia, she quickly identified her morning routine as a problem, stating that it is hard to set her alarm clock correctly so she often wakes up too late or too early.
Group Ideation and Prototyping
Based on our initial meeting, our group decided to focus on the question:
How might we create an alarm clock for a blind person who is also hard-of-hearing?
3 prototype concepts for different clock interfaces
Second Meeting with MVP Prototypes
During our second meeting with Alycia, we received some feedback on our prototypes and chose 1 direction to pursue:
using a traditional round interface and a series of buttons to inputting time and setting the alarm.
For the braille, we decided to use Dymo tape based on Alycia's suggestion
Dymo Tape for Braille
Prototypes for clock interfaces
Final interface design sketches and form making
During our 2nd meeting with Alycia, she asked us to make her clock with a "Hippie Flower" theme. With this in mind, we came up with the idea of having a big central flower as the main interface.
In order to make the clock itself, we measured the approximate dimensions of our electronics and wires to create a laser-cut box. We chose this method for its efficiency.
Final Product Development
Wiring electronics
and coding
All electronics were fitted into the main body and buttons were screwed into their respective slots.
Diagram made to show wiring and components used.
Reflections and Thoughts
This was a very unique experience and I was grateful for this opportunity to create a product that helps someone directly.
It was also one of my first experiences working with people in other majors (engineering and information systems), so we spent a lot of time making sure we were communicating our ideas clearly. Overall, I think we worked well as a team as we each took responsibility based on our strengths.
We were very focused on getting Alycia all the functions she requested for and tried our best to meet those needs first. In the future, we would work on refining the form and creating a more streamlined process of using the clock.
