EDP 2021 [ひーたんす] Team ヴァディ
Authors: Badr, Denn, Micah, Reiko, Rose, Shreesh
日本語版はこちらです。
Contents
- Introduction
- Video
- Problem
- Solution
- Voice of Users
- Prototypes
- EDP Gala & Live Demonstration
- How the team feels about the project
- Slides
- Poster
Introduction
Team ヴァディ, working with partner companies Panasonic & Komatsu, presents「ひーたんす」(Heatance) as a solution product for the theme quoted below.
災害と日常が隣り合う未来で,「災害に備えない」製品体験をデザインせよ
In a future where disasters and everyday life are in close proximity, design a product experience that allows users “NOT” to prepare for disasters.
日常でも、災害後の避難所生活でも快適な下着の乾燥体験を
Comfortable & private drying, even in post-disaster shelter life
ひーたんす is a small dryer for small laundry goods, such as underwear. By using our product, users can dry their underwear efficiently in a closed space. As there are controls for temperature range and timer setting, ひーたんす will not damage fragile fabrics.
In addition to daily life, ひーたんす can be used in post-disaster evacuation centers to dry underwear without being seen by others.
Directly after a disaster, people gather essential goods such as food and valuables, and rush to evacuation centers to secure their physical safety. Our product is not designed to be brought to shelters during this phase, but for prolonged shelter life. When it is safe enough for users to return home to retrieve belongings, they can take ひーたんす back with them to the shelter.
For more details, you can watch the video below and the poster here.
Video!
The Problem
Our group conducted interviews with disaster volunteer organizations. From them, we learned that there were many obstacles for women drying underwear in shelters.
In some evacuation centers, there were no separate drying spaces for women, and there were cases of underwear being stolen off of clotheslines. As a result of such occurrences, evacuees were unwilling to dry their underwear in spaces open to public eyes.
Women took measures such as putting underwear between towels and hanging them up, or drying them inside of their (or their acquaintances’) cars. However, this made them difficult to dry completely, so they often wore half-dried underwear and used their body heat to continue drying.
In addition, even when their stay at the shelter was prolonged, it was difficult for them to bring up their need to dry underwear privately, as it was not a basic need such as food, water, and spaces to sleep. Therefore, they were forced to live with the problem without being able to seek a solution.
「ひーたんす」なら、お家はもちろん、避難所でも、安心して下着を乾かせます！
Why must you sacrifice comfort for privacy? Why couldn’t you have both? Let’s switch to the “ひーたんす” drying experience !
Our Solution
ひーたんす is a dryer for small laundry goods such as underwear, socks, small towels. Based on our experiments, it can dry underwear as quickly as 20 minutes!
In addition to use as a dryer, ひーたんす can also be used as a spot heater.
ひーたんす consists of a drying module to hang underwear and then a heating module that can be used for both drying and as a spot heater or foot heater. It also comes with a telescopic handle and casters, making it convenient to bring around. In addition, since a lock can be attached, there is no need to worry about underwear being stolen even when living in an evacuation center, so you can feel safe and at ease when you use it!
The usage is as shown above. We can rotate the heating module to switch the direction of heater from Dryer mode to Heater mode and vice-versa. We can also choose from two modes of operation: Free mode and Timer mode. In the Timer mode, we can set the drying time and it will stop automatically once the set time has elapsed. The temperature can also be easily adjusted to the users’ preference.
Voice of Users
We received some valuable feedback through our user tests which helped us design a better prototype!
下着を乾かすとき、生地を傷めないためすごくいい
(When drying underwear, it’s great that it does not damage the fabric)ヒーター機能を使うとき、衣類の部屋干しにも使える。
(When using the heater function, it can also be used to dry clothes in the room)ひとり暮らしの人にとって、多機能でコンパクトなサイズが魅力的
(For people who live alone, the multifunctionality and compact size is very attractive)片手で持てるため、避難所では子ども連れのお母さんも使える
(Since [the clothes module] can be carried with one hand, mothers with children can also use it in shelters)
Our Design Process
Here’s what our design process was like in the 5 months of EDP !
Prototypes
a. Initial Idea and Prototyping
Before we reached the final product, ひーたんす, we went through a number of iterations and improvements.
Beginning with the problem of drying privacy in shelters, we did a lot of ideation in order to come up with a strong and useful solution.
One of the key design principles we tried to keep in mind was “preparing by accident”. The mentors and professors repeatedly told us to think of solutions that did not require the person to even think of disasters, and yet still be prepared for them. Basically, the solution had to be something with innate value that someone would want without the disaster function, and they would be pleasantly surprised to discover its use outside of daily life.
Our initial idea for this problem was Heaterwall, basically the first iteration of ひーたんす, which was thankfully received very positively by mentors and professors.
We worked hard to build on the idea of Heaterwall, and develop the idea further; optimize the structure, choose the best functionalities, and basically make it a product that people would willingly buy for use in everyday life as well as be useful for long-term shelter life.
We sketched out many new structures and brainstormed possible functions we could add in order to make the product more appealing.
We were able to cut it down to five main ideas, which we made cardboard prototypes of, but we were still stuck and couldn’t choose which one would be the best. It was interesting because even if we could not agree, we all understood why the others thought a particular idea would be better. Our different backgrounds also meant that each member had a particular quality or function that they valued more. For example, for the engineers, ease of fabrication and a more solid structure were preferred, but for the designers, aesthetic appeal and appearance held more weight.
Even if we couldn’t exactly agree at the time, it was very interesting and a great learning experience to see all the different perspectives and thoughts on the choice of design.
We did a number of things in order to decide, including comparison tables and surveys, and ultimately we were able to decide on the structure and functions we wanted it to have.
b. ひーちゃん❤ , the First Prototype
Using the winning design structure, we built our first working, miniature prototype, ひーちゃん❤.
We did some user tests with the small prototype, and this helped guide how we constructed the final prototype. We learned a lot about what to improve, as well as practical things, such as what problems we might face in fabrication, and what changes were needed to make everything easier to assemble.
c. Final Prototype
A lot of effort went into making sure the CAD model could be fabricated cleanly and easily, even if it meant spending many extra hours modelling.
This resulted in quite a long and arduous fabrication job — about 85 pieces needed to be laser cut, and all in all, the final prototype consisted of over 100 pieces, which were painstakingly assembled and glued by hand. It was difficult to deal with machining tolerances and making mistakes meant extra hours of work.
We were able to complete it nicely despite the challenges, and it resulted in the final prototype you see here.
Everything managed to work in the end, and we were able to get all the electronics working, with a structure that didn’t break or fall apart after repeated demonstrations.
We also managed to get some users from our target demographic (young women) to try out our product and give us their opinions. We had two parts to our user tests. For the first part, we got their opinion without knowing the design prompt, and the device was just presented as a device for daily life. For the second part, we informed them of the prompt, and asked what they thought of it as an object for use in evacuation centers.
They generally were surprised to find out that it was actually designed around disaster use, and many expressed that they would actually be willing to buy and use it in their daily life. They also gave very good suggestions for improvement both as an everyday and as a shelter life product.
The long and painful fabrication process took many hours and days of hard work. Some would say we were maybe going a bit crazy, but we made it in the end, and we created a product that we could all be proud of.
It was quite the journey, but we made it! ❤
EDP Final Presentation & Live Demonstration
Finally, on the day of Final Presentation, a.k.a EDP Gala, we were able to put up a great presentation and performed live demonstration for the audience who joined us via Zoom. We are happy that our prototype was well-received by both Zoom audience and the people in the exhibition hall (Taki Plaza B2F)!
Finally, we would like to thank our mentors and professors (and the TAs too ❤) for their guidance and help throughout the project!
How the team feels about the project
Micah Alampay (Tokyo Institute Of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engg.)
The EDP course was the main reason why I chose ESD as my Graduate Major. The idea of having this kind of long, intensive course where we could freely explore solutions to a problem, and collaborate with people from very different backgrounds appealed to me a lot, and I really did get the chance to see different points of view and ideas that I would not have been able to think of. Of course, it wasn’t always easy, and it was extremely tiring and even frustrating a lot of the time, but it was an experience I’m very glad to have had, and I’m very happy I was able to do it together with my group. I hope that I’ll be able to bring what I learned from EDP with me in my future endeavors. Choosing to take this major and this course is definitely one of best decisions of my graduate school life.
Thanks to everyone from the team for being so great to work with. Even though we’d joke around a lot, everyone really took the project seriously, and was genuinely involved and interested in doing their best for every presentation, right from the very beginning. I really learned a lot from you guys, and I’m glad we were able to work together and become friends. Let’s keep in touch in the future!
Reiko Go (Musashino Art University, Visual Communication Design)
This has been a long journey, but what a long way we’ve come! I always thought it was pretty great that, though there were (many) times of hardship, I never regretted my decision to participate in the program. It feels strange to look back and remember myself debating whether I should apply, because from where I currently stand, there was so much I learned and gained, both in terms of design and teamwork, and not choosing it isn’t really a choice! The uniqueness of the experience can’t really be compared to any other, and I feel so fortunate and thankful that I’ve have had this opportunity.
…. and this team to work with! Thank you so much for traversing this path together, for being a team that both took the project very seriously but knew to lighten up and joke around as well. I think it was amazing that we came up with so many ideas… but also took the time to go through them! Thank you for taking the time to listen to each other’s ideas and, as a result, having great discussions. I enjoyed working in this team so much, and happy to have made friends with you through EDP! :)
Badr Hasnaoui (Tokyo Institute Of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Eng.)
EDP represented the most important course of my Graduate Major. The course has been conceived as a design challenge were teams can choose between different design prompts and apply the framework laid out by Stanford d.school to come up with a solution.
The strength point of EDP is the human capital taking part in the project. The faculty and the company members have various expertise and they all provided valuable comments and support throughout this journey.
The team building was also smooth and enjoyable since all members joined the activities dedicating their selves completely until the final idea, Heatance, came to the world.
Rusi Li (Tokyo Institute Of Technology, School of Environment and Society, Dept. of Architecture and Building Engineering)
Starting from DTF to EDA until EDP is an entirely different and fun journey. I am fortunate to have teammates who trust and support each other, friends who encourage and help each other, professors and TAs who have the patience to give guidance. I will cherish all these memories. I wish everyone loads of happiness and success!
To lovely members, I wanted to take this moment to let you know how interesting it was working with someone like you and how sad to say goodbye. Thank you for all the cooperation, kindness, and unwavering support. These periods have been one of the highlights of life here. Let’s keep doing great things!
DTF- EDA-EDPには、これまでとは全く違う楽しさがありました。信頼し合い支え合うチームメート、励まし合い助け合う友達、根気づよく指導してくださる教授やTAに恵まれています。 EDPでの思い出は、いつまでも大切にしたいと思います。
从DTF、EDA至EDP的学习经历是完全不同的、有趣的体验。我很幸运有互相信赖的队友、有互相鼓励互相帮助的同学朋友们、有耐心指导的教授们和TA们。在ESDコース被大家无限的爱围绕，一次一次，轰轰烈烈拨起心底的弦。这虽然辛苦但和大家一起笑着努力的时光，我想我会永远珍藏在心底。祝福我们都可以实现梦想！
Thassu Srinivasan Shreesh Babu (Tokyo Institute Of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engg.)
EDP has been an interesting journey on all the aspects starting from the user interviews, understanding about the user problems and needs, till producing prototypes and user tests! What makes this an unique experience from other group activities or technical contests I have taken part is that, we need to assess and come up with a unique idea and solution that is not just technically sound but also identifies some key problems & insights that is not so obvious or even not realized by the users themselves!
Our design prompt was also a challenging one – basically to build a product that helps you “to prepare by accident” even during disasters! Looking back now, I can recall how we had some interesting and tough times when deciding on the POVs for instance. Being a male-dominant group with 4 male students and only 2 female students, It was hard for the males to relate to the privacy issues when it comes to drying underwears in public. So there were times when we didn’t agree completely with each other on whether we really have to focus on solving such problems. Finally, on further research about the impact of this issue and thanks to mentors’ and professors’ support, we were all back on the same page! Because I realized that at the end of the day, you always have opportunities to learn more about how each other’s thought processes work, and that for me was quite interesting! I’m glad and grateful to all the team members in being a part of this fun and challenging class, creating loads of memorable moments throughout the journey! Thanks guys and lets keep in touch! ❤ ❤
Yuqi Tian (aka Denn) (Tokyo Institute Of Technology, Dept. of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering. )
I am grateful to teachers and mentors for offering us this opportunity to think about disasters and post-disasters life.
To know more about disasters, we went to Miyagi Prefecture and visited the areas that were hit by the earthquake and tsunami, and had conversations with volunteers. We went to the Disaster Prevention Museum and viewed documents and films from the 311 period, when cars and houses were swallowed by the sudden seawater. Hundreds of people were huddled in a small gym with no partitions in the shelter, living in shock and fear. I felt a great sense of helplessness, knowing that human beings are still weak in the face of such powerful nature. According to scientists, within the next 30 years, the probability of a major earthquake of M8 is very high. Unfortunately, as long as we live in Japan, ironically, we have to "prepare" for disasters that may come at any time.
Since disasters are a part of our daily lives, our design principles are based on the idea that even living in a shelter after disasters, refugees need to maintain and restore the same standard of living and dignity as in their normal lives. We should not choose to compromise and abandon some of the principles that we usually uphold just because a disaster happens. Unfortunately, after the disasters, some people chose to abandon their usual courtesy. Even in public shelters, there was fight for space and resources, domestic violence, theft, and sexual crimes. The inability to dry underwear mentioned before was one of the problems we eventually chose to tackle.
Team2 is a team of international students with a diverse background. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that we do not have enough knowledge of many Japanese cultural habits. We lack social network and the solutions we propose may not be suitable for the actual situation in Japan due to cognitive limitations. The good thing is that we come from different backgrounds and do not have preconceived notions. When we encounter differences of opinion and clashes of values, it is easier to listen to each other’s ideas and seek common ground. There is a lot of healthy friction. The friction can sometimes seem very intense and contentious, with no one being able to convince anyone. However, in the process of debate, we can reflect on the logic and can better eliminate stereotypes.
I naively fantasized about changing society, and delivering messages through product. Through six-month journey in EDP, my biggest gain and biggest regret is feeling the upper limit of what a product can achieve. Thanks to the guidance of my teammates, I was able to bring my overly idealistic and stubborn self back to a rational reality.
Not only are my teammates very capable, they have also been very cooperative. To them, I have nothing but gratitude.
Slides
Poster
Bonus Content for those who have made it this far ;)
