Concept
By combining elements from the morphological chart, insights from the co-design session and the style collage a design was created that would be used for the final prototype.
​
The design consists of an organically shaped wooden holder that extends from the back of the body to a frame that holds the iPad. The height can be adjusted by sliding the frame on the rails. To activate the sliding mode, a button needs to be pressed, which compresses a spring, allowing movement from the wheel in the railing. The holder is supported by a harness held by the shoulders which has padding for comfort. The frame of the iPad consists of two parts that can be extended by a spring and shuts by the spring compressing to its neutral position.
Materials
The following table shows the materials used for the prototype.
Production
During the prototyping process the design was adjusted for ease of manufacturing. Originally, the support beams were going to be made by flattening PVC pipes, but after discussing this idea with staff members from the workshop, this idea was changed to match the concept better. This had initially not been done because it was not deemed feasible to create an organic wooden shape with a short timeframe. The support beams were modeled in SolidWorks and laser cut, glued and sanded down into an organic-looking shape. Pre-bent curtain rods were used to create the railings on the side of the support beams, and a system was developed to adjust the height of the iPad on the beam step-by-step according to the three contexts of use that were decided. The mechanism adjusting this was changed several times due to the spring not fitting in the right way. The overall idea stayed the same as in the concept.
Sliding Mechanism
The mechanism to slide the Tablet up and down was made using a curtain slide as a base. On this, the Tablet could move up and down just as a curtain. Three holes were put into the slide, resembling the three positions where the tablet can be put. A mechanism was 3D printed so that the tablet could move along the curtain slide and be fixed into the holes. Via a spring in the 3D printed part, the user can unplug the position and slide it to the next position into the hole.
​
This part of the prototype turned out to have many flaws. Because of the tension created through the spring, the sliding of the tablet to the next hole is not smooth. The Pin that goes through the hole is not stable, making the fixed position difficult to reach. Overall, the system works and can be useful in testing and for Problem-finding in the actual product.
By replacing the curtain slide and implementing a smother system to move the tablet some problems can be eliminated. Adjusting the mechanism with harmony of the new sliding base, the mechanism can work smoothly and with ease.
​
The spring will make sure that the nob will always be pushed inwards. If the nob slides through a hole it will snap into the hole. By pulling the nob and tension of the spring the mechanism can slide along the curtain slide, till it hits the next hole.
Feedback
During the evaluation session the conductor tried on the prototype, but since it was not fully finished, the cardboard iPad was used for testing. Due to the wooden support beams extending to his back, the comfort while sitting needed to be improved. The prototype did not contain the step adjustment yet, because the exact measurements for height use were not taken, so these were done during this session.
The prototype was too big for the user. This was because the measurements were estimated from an image, instead of actually measured. These measurements were also taken during the session. The group also noticed that the distance between the support beams needed to be reduced.
​
During this session there was also some co-design done to solve the comfort of the product while sitting. The conductor mentioned that a wooden frame on his back would not be comfortable, so together the group and him came up with the idea to include straps to extend the wooden frame to the midriff, with a belt for extra support.
​
Following the evaluation the prototype was adjusted according to the insights gained. The wooden support beams were sawed down to the top of the conductor's shoulder height. These were sanded down and connected to two elastic brown belts.
Final Prototype
The Prototype is a mid-fidelity prototype, usable for testing and evaluating the concept. The focus of the prototype was to see the main functions, such as sliding the iPad and holding the iPad, and the ergonomic fact of comfort.
The Prototype cannot be used in a real-life scenario, because it cannot hold the weight of a real iPad. The Prototype consists of 3 different parts that are combined into one. The main body consists of the straps and wooden frame around the shoulder and body of the user, The mechanism with the railing, and lastly the iPad holder. The Prototype will be used to test and evaluate and because of that it is important that the conductor can get an image of what the product may look like and give feedback. The mid-fidelity prototype is easy to adjust, which came into handy after the evaluation session with the specific user, after which the prototype was adjusted.