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A Wearable Computing Prototype

The Wellness
Jacket

An athletic jacket that keeps you protected from the elements while giving you your daily dose of tech.

Prototype video demonstrating the jacket in use.
Role
UX Designer
Team
Group of 3
Duration
1 Month

Collaborators

Marissa Villano · Annie Doctrow · Jyoti Carter

Description

Imagine a top-of-the-line jacket that makes you feel comfortable while giving you your daily dose of tech. Well, look no further! Our jacket is made from quality athletic material that keeps you protected from the elements, including a detachable hood that can be stored in the back of the jacket neck.

Our wellness jacket is perfect for the tech enthusiast. It includes nanotechnology that is a patch weaved into the shoulders, which measures the outdoor temperature and stores solar power for devices throughout the jacket. Nanotechnology is also in the right wrist to monitor internal body temperature and breathing rate; a convenient location for the user to place at the desired body location. A heart rate monitor is sewn on the left side of the jacket. On both arms are black stripes of material, but the right arm's patch functions as a blood pressure cuff.

The digital screen is located on the left wrist and displays outside and body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and can pair with smartphones to display phone calls, texts, and music. An added feature to make the experience better with retractable headphones at the collarbone.

Process

Three designers, three sketches, one combined prototype.

  1. 01

    Sketch

    To begin, we each brainstormed and sketched different versions of the jacket.

  2. 02

    Solicit feedback

    Once completed, we each solicited feedback on our individual sketches.

  3. 03

    Combine

    Lastly, we met to pitch our different design sketches and combine the best features from all to make our final design prototype.

Sketch #1: a pencil drawing of a zip-up jacket labelled athletic material, with a zipper, sinching at the hem, a shaded band on the upper right arm labelled blood pressure tech, and an inset detail of a wrist screen showing a Bluetooth icon and lines of text.
Sketch #1
Sketch #2: a pencil drawing of a jacket laid flat with one sleeve extended, annotated with text and call phone at the cuff, outside temp on the upper sleeve, heart rate at the chest, health result monitor and breathing rate at the opposite wrist, skin temperature at the body, and red lines labelled wires inside jacket.
Sketch #2
Sketch #3: front and back views of a hooded jacket on lined paper. Annotations note a thermometer that touches the forehead when the hood is on, a small sensor between fabric to monitor heart rate and breathing, an upper arm area that tightens, a small lightweight screen embedded in the sleeve that receives calls and texts, a second thermometer on the outside of the back collar for outside temperature, and a wrist sketch showing the screen moving up to the ear to take calls.
Sketch #3

Feedback

What each sketch heard back, and what it changed.

Sketch #1

Praise

  • Good to have screen on the dominant arm and in a compact fashion

Critique

  • Have bands on both arms but only one needs to be for the blood pressure test

Suggestions

  • Make sure the screen is light weight since anything heavy would be uncomfortable
  • Allow the screen to download relevant apps (Peloton/Nike) for on-the-go access

Sketch #2

Critique

  • Cuff for blood pressure would not read well with one cuff

Suggestion

  • Adding a second cuff to the other arm so that the pressure is more accurate

Sketch #3

Praise

  • Blood pressure cuff is a great idea – more accurate reading than a sensor

Critiques

  • Answering phone on forearm may be annoying and difficult for individuals with less flexibility and range of motion
  • While temperature sensor on hood could take accurate internal temperature reading on forehead, if hood is removed or tucked away, this would be inconvenient

Suggestions

  • Add microphone on wrist side of device that slides out to extend device – also add Bluetooth to answer phone through headphones
  • Move temperature sensor to wrist of jacket and hold up to forehead, under armpit, etc., to take temperature in individuals preferred or most accurate location more easily
  • Added Bluetooth feature can also play music uploaded to jacket device screen or from phone

Design Justification

Each feature of the final design, and the reasoning behind it.

Final combined sketch of the wellness jacket. Callouts label nanotechnology weaved into a fabric patch at the shoulders that doubles as an outdoor thermometer and solar power generator, a detachable hood with a back neck storage pocket, a heart rate monitor beneath a fabric patch, retractable headphones at the collarbone, a blood pressure cuff on the upper arm, athletic material, a zipper, a thin digital screen at the wrist, and a second nanotechnology patch to measure body temperature and breathing rate. An inset shows the wrist screen displaying 12:34 with Bluetooth, check, heart and mail icons.
The final combined design, referenced throughout below.

Athletic Material

  • Chosen because the material is comfortable and able to protect the electronic wires running through the jacket
  • Detachable hood that stores in a pocket in the back of the jacket neck

Digital Screen

  • Located on the left wrist, where the design begins
  • Displays body and outside temperatures, the user's breathing and heart rate
  • Pairs with smartphones to display phone calls, texts and music
  • Incorporated feedback: kept lightweight, since anything heavy would be uncomfortable
  • Incorporated feedback: apps such as Peloton or Nike can be downloaded to the device
  • Open question from feedback: what makes this preferable to buying a smart watch

Blood Pressure Cuffs

  • Two cuffs, one for each arm
  • Incorporated feedback: a single cuff would not read well, so a second was added to the other sleeve for accuracy and balance
  • Praised in feedback as more accurate than a sensor

Nanotechnology Patches

  • Shoulder patch measures the outside temperature and generates the solar power that runs the jacket
  • Right wrist patch measures body temperature and breathing rate
  • The wrist is a convenient location for the user to hold against whichever part of the body gives the most accurate reading
  • Incorporated feedback: moved off the hood, where the reading would be unavailable whenever the hood was removed or tucked away

Heart Rate Monitor

  • Sewn into the left side of the jacket, above the heart
  • Takes both the breathing rate and the heart rate

Audio & Connectivity

  • Retractable headphones at the collarbone
  • Incorporated feedback: a microphone at the wrist that slides out to extend the device, so calls need not be answered by raising the forearm
  • Incorporated feedback: Bluetooth to answer the phone through the headphones and to play downloaded music

The Jacket in Use

  • The storyboard follows an avid runner using the jacket to track their health on the go
  • The health screen displays breathing and heart rate, blood pressure and internal temperature while running
  • The main screen offers three options: health monitoring, phone and music, and current outside temperature