Team Celeste

This interview was conducted as part of CMU 62-423, IDeATe Inclusive Design Studio: From Interview to Product with Physical Computing, which is a course in which students collaborate with people with disabilities to identify real-world accessibility challenges and develop user-centered assistive technology. This documentation details the plan, findings, and reflection of the first interview Paarth and Val had with their client, Celeste.

The goal of this interview was to get an understanding of her preferences in regards to solutions to the problems that she presented us with during the initial needfinding interviews. In the time since those interview, we conceptualized and made quick prototypes that Celeste was able to interact with and give us her feedback. By the end of this interview, the hope was that we could pick a direction to continue to move forward.

Prototype 1: Tactile diagrams designed to allow Celeste to interact with the diagrams in her book in a multimodal way.

We 3d printed diagrams from a book that our client wanted to read. We printed in two styles: a intverted grayscale tactile diagram, where black lines were raised, and a dot matrix diagram, meant to simulate a tactile screen. The idea behind these prototypes were to see if Celeste enjoyed interacting with diagrams using touch, and if that was a solution path she wanted us to explore.

A photo showing several flat, dark gray 3D-printed prototype shapes arranged on a gray surface next to a white rectangular 3D-printed test piece covered with small raised bumps. The gray prints vary in shape and include curved hook-like extensions and small raised details, suggesting different design iterations or test geometries.

A prototyping workspace with several black 3D-printed design iterations spread across a white worktable. Nearby are a white textured test print, a rectangular foam or printed block, small electronic components, markers, a laptop, and other workshop tools, showing an active design and fabrication process.

Multimodal diagrams of cells from Celeste's book. Left: Dot matrix diagram, meant to simulate a tactile screen. Right: Inverted gray scale of the same diagram, where the blackl lines were raised by the 3d printer.

Key Takeaways: Celeste found the concept to be very cool, and noted that it could be useful for some visually impaired, especially if they'd learned braile. For her, however, she noted that since she had a working eyesight at one point, and is a visual learner, this way of interacting with diagrams was not particurly useful. She said that she didn't get anything additional from the tactile input in the diagrams. Further, she noted that she'd rather view images and diagrams with her magnifier than with this concept.

"This [the concept} would be fun to see, but I think I'd rather see it with my magnifier... I'd love to see how that would work. No, I think seeing would be better because if I used my magnifier, I can rip pages out of my book or my binder and just use my magnifier.

This prototype session went very well, altough we didn't get the green light to move ahead with the concept. It told us exactly what she didn't like, and prevented us from going down that avenue.

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Prototype 2: Robotic XY gantry modeled to explore automated interaction with the page.

We modeled a robotic XY gantry using construction sticks to quickly test the size, layout, and motion of the mechanism over a book. The sticks represented two perpendicular axes that would allow an end effector to move to different locations on the page. The idea behind this prototype was to see if a robotic system could physically interact with specific parts of the book, and if that was a solution path we wanted to explore further. We wanted to see if Celeste would find a system that can hold and move her magnifier useful, as she mentioned she had trouble holding it still.

A low-fidelity robotic XY gantry prototype built from colorful construction sticks and connectors on a white table. The model forms two perpendicular sliding axes positioned over a book, representing how a robotic end effector could move to different locations on a page. The image also contains a joystick and a sliding potientiometer

Prototype of the XY gantry system, made with sticks. The yellow stick in the top corner was used to simulate the movement in two directions. This prototype also displayed for her a range of input options, including potientiometers, trackballs, sliders, switches, and buttons, and the two she selected are in the image (joystick, slider).

Key Takeaways: Celeste responded very positively to the gantry concept. She liked that the mechanism could hold a pointer or tool steady over a specific location on the page, rather than requiring her to keep it positioned herself. She felt that this could make interacting with a book easier and more consistent, especially when trying to focus on one area at a time. Compared with the tactile diagram concept, this solution felt much more useful to her and was something she was interested in exploring further. She said that it would be very useful, especially to read the high information density books she'd like to read. She pushed back on the size of the prototype, noting that the size was too small for the books she reads, but also, that she'd like it to be adjustable. We also noted that there was a strong priority on portability, and that priority took precedence over the range of book sizes the device could hold. She confirmed that it would make a notable improvement in her life, and reccomended this is how we go further.

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Zoomed in view on the selected inputs for the device. A joystick and a sliding potientometer.

This design review went really well. She noted that the concept would be great, and actually improve her life. Furthermore, we ironed out the specifics in terms of priorities (portability) and the inputs she'd like to use. We also ironed out the specifics of how we'd interact with her current technology.

Thoughts on next steps:

Our session went very well. One of our concepts was outright rejected, while one was strongly accepted. The one that was strongly accepted, the XY gantry for a magnifier, seems to be our strongest next step. We've indenfied the key requirements: portability, variation in size of book that it can accept, detachable & reattachable magnifier support, and simplicity of use. We've also indentified the input methods and how the design should look at a very high level and we expect to move forward with this plan of the design.

The session really did not present any surprises or unexpected findings. It did however, go a long way in extending the work of our intial interview, and provide us with a far stronger direction.

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