Matching Items (6)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Technology
Description
The quality of user interface designs largely depends on the aptitude of the designer. The ability to generate mental abstract models and characterize a target user audience helps greatly when conceiving a design. The dry cleaning point-of-sale industry lacks quality user interface designs. These impaired interfaces were compared with textbook design techniques to discover how applicable published interface design concepts are in practice. Four variations of a software package were deployed to end users. Each variation contained different design techniques. Surveyed users responded positively to interface design practices that were consistent and easy to learn. This followed textbook expectations. Users however responded poorly to customization options, an important feature according to textbook material. The study made conservative changes to the four interface variations provided to end-users. A more liberal approach may have yielded additional results.
ContributorsSmith, Andrew David (Author) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Thesis director) / Gottesman, Aaron (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The Lightning Audio capstone group, consisting of Brian Boerhinger, Rahul Nandan, Jaime Ramirez, and Niccolo Magnotto (myself), united in the effort to prove the feasibility of a consumer grade plasma arc speaker. This was achieved in group's prototype design, which demonstrates the potential for a refined product in its conventional interfacing, casing, size, safety, and aesthetics. If the potential for an excellent ionization-based loudspeaker product were realized, it would be highly profitable in its reasonable cost of production, novelty, and place in a large and fitting market.
ContributorsMagnotto, Niccolo John (Author) / Roedel, Ronald (Thesis director) / Huffman, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
I analyzed a non-profit's educational content website called SolarSPELL and proposed to redesign its interface. SolarSPELL is a solar-powered, offline site that can be accessed without wifi. It looks and behaves exactly like a real website. SolarSPELL is used by children and community members in developing countries across the world, including Africa and the Pacific Islands. The original site was not intuitive or easy to use, which deterred users with low technical literacy, lowering its effectiveness and defeating its purpose of providing educational materials to schools in the community, because users were less likely to use it to access educational content. The website was not responsive, meaning that it did not resize well to fit tablet and mobile devices. I redesigned the site's UX based on user feedback and expert advice to create wireframes that improved the site's layout and user flow to make it more intuitive. I pulled user comments from past surveys on the site and designed solutions to each of the user's complaints. I implemented a filter system and a universal search bar to improve the process of finding specific pieces of content. I designed prototypes using Adobe Illustrator to create the visual side of the interface. I designed my wireframes and prototypes with responsiveness in mind, creating versions for desktop, mobile and tablet. I also illustrated banners for the East Africa and Native American versions of the site, featuring landscape and wildlife from the respective regions. This interface redesign will be coded into a working site and distributed to communities around the world.
ContributorsThielen, Bethany Meishal (Author) / Hosman, Laura (Thesis director) / Ralston, Laurel (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This honors thesis explores the potential use of LoRa technology for detecting moisture in a diaper. Tests of both onboard and external humidity sensors coupled with LoRa transmission are incredibly promising. The potential scale of the final device also shows much promise, measuring smaller than a U.S. dime. However, the estimated cost for producing these proof-of-concept units in bulk is $19.41 per unit. While this is believed to be a pessimistic estimate of the price, the cost of production remains too high regardless for large-scale implementation. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the need for further research and development to optimize the design and reduce the cost of production. Despite the limitations imposed by price, the idea of using LoRa in detecting moisture in a diaper remains intriguing and promising, however, RFID technology has many advantages, such as size, cost, and passive power features.
ContributorsBetlaf, Garrett (Author) / Aberle, James (Thesis director) / McDonald, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
In the world we live in today, nothing is impossible. Due to the advancements of technology, humans around the globe are able to hold computers that fit within the size of their pocket. These computers can do marvelous things, however run off batteries. These batteries need to be charged and up until a little while ago there was only one option available: wired chargers; however, because of the advancement of technology society has created a way to transfer power via magnetic fields. Now this concept has been around for a long time since the days of Nikola Tesla but just recently society has been able to apply his discoveries to charging these computers in our pockets. Unfortunately, the current models of these chargers come with a drawback as they are less efficient than wired chargers. However, this is the question our group has set out to answer. Is there any way possible to improve the efficiency of these wireless chargers so they are equal or even more efficient than wired chargers. This paper explores how to improve the efficiency in wireless chargers. Through research, simulations and testing the group has discovered areas that efficiency can be improved as well as makes recommendations to change the current wireless chargers on the market today. This paper also explores future applications of wireless chargers that can not only make life much easier but could also save lives in some cases. These applications can have many effects on hospitality, the medical field, as well as the supply chain and logistics of America.
ContributorsMcCulley, Matthew Alan (Co-author) / Cole, Kennedy (Co-author) / Chickamenahalli, Shamala (Thesis director) / Chakrabarti, Chaitali (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The Founders Lab Thesis tasked each team with taking an idea and trying to form a business out of it. In the process, the thesis director would be there to guide each team and provide expertise where needed. The venture that was assigned originally to our team was a posture correcting device, however after numerous attempts to correspond reliably with the developers of this technology, it was decided that the team should move on to a new idea. Therefore, our team took on a venture named Altion Security: an initiative with the main goal being the safekeeping of customers interests. The product that we were tasked with is a bike alarm that simply rings out when it detects someone tampering with it. This product is a solution to the problem of bike thefts. 2 million bikes are stolen each year in North America, which translates roughly to a theft every 30 seconds (Project 529).
There are quite a few readily available products that one can buy if one looks past some of their flaws. A lot of these alarms either require a user to carry an extra communication device, or they are too big or expensive. The proposed solution merges all desirable features of a bike alarm into one module. In light of this, surveys were conducted to ascertain what these qualities would need to be. The top considerations for purchasing this alarm were how costly it would be, the false detection rate, and also the battery life. Additionally, the features that were most requested was the inclusion of a GPS and a camera. In order to incorporate these features, a three year plan was formulated which would culminate into a bike network in which each bike could communicate with other bikes. This would allow for an IOT network to be established, thus far exceeding expectations. The price point for this alarm is USD $10.00-15.00 and can come in a variety of colors. Additionally, this concept can be applied to many different scenarios, from protecting boats/jet skis and other aquatic vehicles, to houses as well. Furthermore, one could miniaturize this technology to be used in jewelry or accessories.
There are quite a few readily available products that one can buy if one looks past some of their flaws. A lot of these alarms either require a user to carry an extra communication device, or they are too big or expensive. The proposed solution merges all desirable features of a bike alarm into one module. In light of this, surveys were conducted to ascertain what these qualities would need to be. The top considerations for purchasing this alarm were how costly it would be, the false detection rate, and also the battery life. Additionally, the features that were most requested was the inclusion of a GPS and a camera. In order to incorporate these features, a three year plan was formulated which would culminate into a bike network in which each bike could communicate with other bikes. This would allow for an IOT network to be established, thus far exceeding expectations. The price point for this alarm is USD $10.00-15.00 and can come in a variety of colors. Additionally, this concept can be applied to many different scenarios, from protecting boats/jet skis and other aquatic vehicles, to houses as well. Furthermore, one could miniaturize this technology to be used in jewelry or accessories.
ContributorsOgunmefun, Adeoluwa (Co-author) / Gong, Alan (Co-author) / Parra, Rocio Ivette (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05