An ambitious passionate designer desiring to dissolve complexities. Looking forward for a place where I can contribute my skills and explore new challenging works.
ANUBHAV
A REAL FRIEND AT DARK
Self Initiated Project
ABOUT
Say bye to complications
A Powerful versatile tool for the visually impaired students that would enable them to read their languages and also do mathematical calculations efficiently. A one of the kind invention, Anubhav replaces the conventional dual tools: Braille Slate and Taylor Board with a single tool that shall let the students read as they write like any other person with vision.
RESEARCH
Looking beyond habituations
One tool that the visually impaired are proud of using is the Braille, a language meant only for them. It has almost attained saturation in terms of design and there has been no notable change over the past few years in the refinement of learning tools which are specific to the visually impaired.
As per statistics, 48.5% of the people have disability in seeing among the different types of disabilities faced by people in India. Similarly as per WHO, visual impairment is the second most common disability in the world after depression and it is prevailing mainly in developing countries.
Research was mainly conducted at the Kanpur Andh Vidyalaya (Blind School). During the 5-6 months of research in the school, observations were made in various day to day activities of the kids - navigating, playing, reading and writing, eating, memorising things, interacting with people with vision and learning new things. Among this the most habituated challenge for the kids were the usage of conventional tool for reading and writing. It was also difficult to carry such bulky Braille devices.
EXISTING PRODUCT TEARDOWN
Braille Slate
The Braille Slate uses the concept of embossed printing and has been the tool for blind to write without assistance. Braille consists of arrangements of dots that make up letters of the alphabet, numbers and symbols. The basic Braille symbol is called the Braille cell and consists of six dots arranged in the formation of a rectangle, three dots high and two across. The braille cells are evenly spaced and all symbols, letters, and numbers consist of one or more of these six dots. To avoid smudging, embossing is done on a thick paper which makes it bulkier.
Braille Slate
Stylus, a metal pointed device that punches dots into the paper. It has a small handle to grip it firmly and comfortably.
Back slate with depression of cells of 6 dots each
Raised dots at the end of rows on the front slate denotes the line numbers
Rectangular windows on the front slate, fit over each 6 dots on the back slate
A heavy paper is placed by sandwiching it between the two slates. With the help of stylus, tactile dots are made by pushing the pointed end of the stylus into the paper over the depressions. The paper bulges on its reverse side forming dots.
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EXISTING PRODUCT TEARDOWN
Taylor Board
Taylor Slate or board is used to do mathematical calculations like arithmetic and algebraic functions. It consists of a frame measuring 11 by 17 inches having set of openings in the shape of eight pointed star and different types of pegs with different orientation to represent various numbers, symbols and operators. It also has a tray to hold these pegs. The pegs are slightly embossed, which helps in identification of the orientation.
The slate has only 25 rows and 25 columns, which limits the calculation length. Hence, one cannot do long calculations. It is also a slow and a tedious job.
Taylor Slate
The metals board has an array of holes which are 8 edged star shaped and they hold the pegs.
The angle of insertion determines the numerical value. With the bar side up, the positions run 1 through 8 and flipping the pegs over the values 9 and 0, with the remainder of the positions determining the operation.
The pegs which are generally one inch long, have a bar shape at one end and two conical projections at other end as per the various arithmetical denotions.
Orientation of Pegs
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ANALYSIS
Design Insights
Braille Slate:
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Longer Learning time
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Write from right to left and read from left to right
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Cannot read and write at the same time - without flipping the page.
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Cannot refit the page once it is removed and cannot continue the writing.
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Taylor Board
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Doesn't get faster with time
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Misplace pegs in different holes
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Heavy and bulky
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Often lose the pegs
ANALYSIS
Design Insights
Braille Slate
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Longer Learning time
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Write from right to left and read from left to right
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Cannot read and write at the same time without flipping the page. Hence, making it difficult to do mathematical calculations
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Cannot refit the page once it is removed and cannot continue the writing.
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Taylor Board
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Doesn't get faster with time as Braille slate
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Misplace pegs in different holes
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Heavy and bulky
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Often lose the pegs
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Taylor board can only be used for doing mathematical calculation as a calculator.
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To design a smart automated medical instrument for the ecosystem of pathology labs, that shall enhance the body fluid analysis by providing the pathologists and lab technicians with standardised, traceable and reliable data using the technology of artificial Intelligence.
PROBLEM BRIEF
Our focus in this project
Design a solution for visually challenged children that will help them to read and write simultaneously in the same direction and to perform mathematical calculations on the same device, which has a comparable price as the devices of same kind.
IDEAS
Deep Diving
It is always challenging to move over the conventional ways and learn a new method altogether, especially for the blind students. So the bigger challenge is to design a device that makes the life of the visually impaired students much easier and enable them to learn as quickly as a kid with a normal vision. A device that is affordable to the developing as well as underdeveloped countries.
Following Ideations were done :
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Braille Slate
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Using the same side of paper for reading and writing
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Raised dots instead of depression
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Hollow tube stylus instead of pin type stylus
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Taylor Slate
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No more carrying a separate slate for your mathematical calculations but everything embedded in a single device
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Able to read the numbers already written
Two in One Stylus
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6 spring loaded writing tubes with internals pins
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Special Slate
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Hand held
Slate without erasing
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Simple to read and write at same time
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Vertical and horizontal sliding mechanism which has a rail with slots at predefined intervals
Slate with self erasing mechanism
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Simple to read and write at same time
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Vertical and horizontal sliding mechanism which has a rail with slots at predefined intervals
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Tube type stylus
Braille slate with single line stencil
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Simple to read and write at same time
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Complicated sliding mechanism shifted to shifting stencil
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Tube type stylus
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INITIAL CONCEPTS
4 concepts
Multiple iterations were done, with focus to avoid flipping the page to read and also to read as one writes. Based on different parameters like usability, features, cost, competence with existing product etc the four concepts were rated and overall the 3rd and 4th concept were chosen for prototyping.
IDEAS
Prototypes
Concept 3 and Concept 4 were prototyped.
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Rapid prototyping processes like Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Laser Cutting & etching and Abrasive Water Jet machining were used.
TESTING and REFINEMENT
Usability Testing
Prototypes of concept 3 and concept 4 were tested with help of students of Kanpur Blind School. For two weeks the students were given multiple tasks such as writing poems, stories, speed writing in english & hindi and mathematical calculations,
Concept 4​
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Simplicity & ease of use
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Children picked up writing speed really fast in 2 weeks
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Confident
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Doing mathematics was faster
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Happy with the stylus
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Concept 3
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Speed was hampered
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Suggested to have line numbers in both the sides
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Preferred bigger dots
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Found the unidirectional stencil difficult to use
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INTRODUCING
Anubhav - One Solution for all this problem
A single simple slate that shall ease all the difficulties of the contemporary Braille Slate. No more separate Taylor board to do your math. No more of writing right to left and no more flipping pages to read, Anubhav lets the visually impaired students study as effortlessly as a student with vision using a paper and pen.
ANUBHAV comes with a simple slate like mechanism similar to the Braille slate except that Braille cells on the bottom slate is raised and the top slate is empty on the inside with just an outer frame having slots on either sides. A stencil replaces the purpose of rectangular windows and, the legs on either sides lets the user to flip it vertically and enter into the next line. There are line numbers on either sides of the rectangular top slate along the slots, helping the students to track the line as well.
The stylus used is a concave tipped stylus with an inbuilt felt nib, which when positioned and pressed on the paper creates embossed impressions along with ink dots. On flipping the stencil, the student can read the line as it is without having to flip the page.
Back Slate with
raised dots
Stylus
Metal Stencil
Top Slate with
slots
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Bottom slate with raised dots spaced in Braille cell with 6 dots each
Slots on the top slate along with embossed line numbers
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Slate
Stencil
Stylus
Evenly spaced cells with curved edges to guide the 6 raised dots on the bottom slate
Leg supports at the either edges of the stencil that fits into the slots of the top plate
Ink Pad
Stylus grip
Felt nib
Concave tipped stylus
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USAGE
How it works
FINAL VALIDATION
Final prototype testing
With all the feedbacks incorporated from the first usability test, a fully functional prototype was prepared and tested. The prototype was given to the children to practice for 3 weeks and then few tests were conducted against Braille slate and Taylor slate. Anubhav was still slower than current braille slate by 2.6 sec (avg.) where as faster than Taylor slate by 100secs (avg.).