Shake & Wake
For my prototype this week, I created a wearable wristband that serves as a vibrating alarm and sleep tracker. The alarm is ideal for users with roommates on different sleep schedules who would not want to be woken up or for users with hearing impairments. The device also has sensors to record the user’s pulse and breathing throughout the night. The device uploads a personalized report of how long the user slept, based on when they set the alarm. It can also rate the quality of the user’s sleep from their pulse statistics and changes in breathing. This prototype would be relatively feasible because this technology already exists and is used in other products on the market.
The prototype is built with stretchy fabric made of a cotton, polyester, and elastic spandex blend. The bracelet has a white button sewn on to represent a digital button that allows the user to set their alarm by twisting the dial on the button. The bracelet also contains an LED light that flashes when the alarm is triggered to help wake the user.
I was able to test the fit of the prototype on three users with varying wrist sizes to ensure the elastic would stretch comfortably over different sized hands. I concluded that the design of this prototype seems effective and helpful for the target user group. However, one necessary improvement is making the dial on the main button more accessible to users with limitations in their grip strength. Users with arthritis may have difficulty twisting the small dial to the correct time. I would need to consider testing with a larger button that includes notches along the button’s rim to make gripping the dial easier. I could also test other methods for setting the time such as swiping along a touch screen to slide to the desired alarm time.
