Wristwatch Design for the Visually Impaired
Students further their understanding of the engineering design process while combining mechanical engineering and bio-engineering to create assistive devices. During this extended activity (seven class periods), students are given a fictional client statement and required to follow the steps of the engineering design process (EDP) to design a new wristwatch face for a visually impaired student at their school. Student groups share their designs with the class through design presentations. A successful design meets all of the student-generated design requirements, including the development of a new method of representing time that does not require the sense of sight. Through this activity, students design, construct, and iterate classroom prototypes of their watch designs.
Engineers create new technologies to help those with disabilities, such as people who are visually impaired.Copyright 2010 Washington State Department of Services for the Blind (braille tablet/hands) http://www.dsb.wa.gov/ and 2006 F16, Wikimedia Commons (braille watch) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Watch_for_the_blind2.jpg
The engineering design process (EDP) is a widely accepted way of arriving at an optimized solution to an identified problem. This activity guides students through the EDP as they apply basic engineering concepts to create an assistive device—or, a device that is created or adapted to assist a person to complete a life activity. This project has the real-world design challenge of designing a wristwatch for a person with severe visual impairment. Mechanical engineers, who focus on the application of mechanics and the production of tools, machinery and their products, and bio-engineers, who apply engineering knowledge to the fields of medicine and biology, are often involved early on in the creation of new technologies to assist people with disabilities. Their understanding of the engineering design process is a crucial component to successfully solving the challenges that help people in our communities.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Utilize the engineering design process to develop a solution to a given problem.
- Explain the reasons for their selected designs and material choices.
- Make future recommendations based on the results of their prototype testing.
- Summarize the problem, solution and future recommendations in an oral presentation.