Share every moment: Wearable camera prototyping continues
Beginning my industrial design journey using molds, foam, plaster, & clay
A full disclaimer: I am not a trained industrial designer but, I am a self-trained LEGO maniac, an industrial engineer by major, and I love coming up with concepts and bringing them to life (from designing shoes and heating systems to mobile applications).
After being inspired by my travels and embarking on a journey to create a wearable camera I was itching to do something quickly. I still aspire to create a camera integrated into my clothes, but after wearing my GoPro for 30+ days, I actually missed it. I loved the ease of snapping a picture at a moments notice without having to reach into my pocket, just lift my hand and shoot. Eating dinner with my parents and my girlfriend at a restaurant in DC, a man stopped by our dinner table to ask about the camera and what is was. He closed the conversation by saying…
I just thought you were from the future
…and I laughed. While I aspire and strive to create the future, I am not there just yet. After that conversation I felt there is something here. So I redefined my current design challenge based on what I can do currently.
How might I enable people to fashionably wear a camera to more easily capture moments and share with friends?
For the sake of time, focusing on what I had, I set out to make my GoPro a more fashionable wear. I sketched a few concepts, wondered around an art store, and purchased some silicon rubber molding materials, plaster of Paris, and foam. Excited as I poured the liquid silicon around by plastic-wrapped GoPro, my sister asked me,
Have you done this before? (Love you Nina)
I answered, ‘No, but here it goes…and I watched the video on Youtube!’ and I set out to create a GoPro replica to test with.
Things I learned. Silicon rubber molding materials are easy to use and capture a high level of detail in objects. The challenge is selecting the right rubber or liquid plastic of the appropriate hardness level to either pry or cut your object out of the mold. You may also desire a harder plastic or softer depending on the use of your mold. There are also reusable options avaliable if it is a ‘one-time’ mold. I used a combination of files and sandpaper to smooth out the camera replica.
After I made my GoPro replica for testing, I went on the hunt for foam to carve my fashionable wrist strap out of. I could not find the blue high density architecture foam that I have seen in my college engineering lab, so I used what I could find. The foam did not have enough detail (I definately recommend the higher density foam if you can find it) so I added clay to the inside to fill the crevices and leave it with a smooth finish. One surprise (I definitely should have read the package) is the clay takes 24 hours to fully dry, so plan appropriately.
After making the silicon mold I realized that the strap was actually too thick to bend so I had to move to the next prototype that actually is not flat, but is curved and closer to the shape it needs to be on your wrist. I made the next prototype out of clay.
Now I am figuring out how to turn the next model into a wearable version, but I am happy I created the protptypes. The form factor of making a real model saved me the mistake of making a file in a 3D modeling program (like Blende 3D or Solidworks), getting a price quote from a vendor, ordering it, and then figuring out that would not work as designed and would not curve around your wrist well. I was a little disappointed I could not just put it on my wrist and go, but every step has helped me understand the challenge of creating physical products and pushed me deeper in understanding the current user experience and how to connect that with the future.
Links to other posts on Leyeph Wearables:
