Element J

 Domestic abuse victims often face significant barriers when seeking help. Even if they have some mobility,  71% of victims' report that abusers monitor their communication, restrict their movements, and/or manipulate them in a manner that prevents them from reaching out in an indiscreet manner. Current safety tools are either too visible, inflexible, or too dependent on established infrastructure or law enforcement, leaving victims without discreet, reliable, and comfortable ways to signal for help. 

Element J documents our project's external validation, primarily by analyzing the data we generated during our senior capstone project showcase. Additionally, this element will serve as a summary of all the information we have gathered throughout this project—through juried presentations, interviews, consumer feedback, and expert feedback. We presented the technical specifications and the functional prototype to a panel of engineering experts who evaluated the device's IoT architecture and haptic response reliability in December 2025. Following this, we participated in a showcase where the Aegis wearable was displayed for a broader audience of potential consumers and stakeholders, including individuals part of the Riverside Unified School District administration board. These interactions provided a diverse range of perspectives, from technical critiques by fellow developers to ergonomic feedback from everyday users. By utilizing this information, we were able to secure a comprehensive idea regarding the project's real-world viability. 

The figures below come from a survey linked via a QR code that we asked individuals to scan after the presentation of our project during the senior capstone project showcase. 39 individuals responded:

A critical missing feature mentioned multiple times is the ability to contact 911 or emergency services directly, as well as a need for more contact options in general. As we have discovered, 911 access is a tremendous hurdle to get past in terms of legal liability, and we addressed this problem in our conclusion as an expansion later in the lifecycle of our project. 

Several participants noted that the current size is too large and requires shrinking/better compactabiliity to achieve a truly discreet way to wear it. This aligns with our future plans to compact the size using a flexible printed circuit board. 

Suggested improvements include making the product more durable and integrating a waterproof feature. This is not a concept we had previously considered, and thus we are actively researching casing materials that would simultaneously dissipate heat from the hardware, enable cellular propagation, and, to an extent, be waterproof. 

 An additional piece of data on who uses the product and who it is used against. This is a brilliant idea we also did not consider, which could expand the project's scope from a simple independent panic device to a network that prevents high-risk incidents before they occur. 

However, overall, many respondents stated that nothing was missing, deeming the product "really good innovation," noting that "all points were hit." A manager of Riverside's utilities remarked that our cuts to the affordability of phone service were incredibly innovative.

The external evaluation of Project Aegis confirmed that 94.8% of respondents felt the device would significantly increase their peace of mind, validating the project's core mission. While many participants deemed the innovation "near perfect," the feedback highlighted a critical demand for direct 911 integration and expanded contact options, which we have categorized as a long-term development goal due to significant legal liability hurdles. Furthermore, the feedback regarding the prototype’s size directly aligns with our roadmap to utilize flexible printed circuit boards to achieve a truly discreet form factor. A particularly insightful takeaway was the suggestion for waterproofing and heat dissipation, prompting us to research advanced casing materials that balance cellular propagation with environmental durability. We also identified a transformative opportunity to expand our software scope into a predictive data network—tracking usage patterns to prevent high-risk incidents before they occur—rather than remaining a static panic device. Ultimately, receiving praise from local leadership regarding our innovation confirms that Aegis successfully addresses a vital community need while providing a clear engineering trajectory for the final stage in Element K.