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Exercise 2 - Needs Assessment
Exercise 2 - Needs Assessment
Identify needs that justify an electrical and computer engineering problem-solving effort
Start preparing a design proposal that justifies the need to develop a technical solution to a problem
Objective (why?)
With the work and study from home environments created by the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals are spending significantly more time sitting in front of screens. In order to prevent poor posture habits from being developed and ensuing neck and back pain later in life, our goal is to create a brace capable of detecting the user’s posture.
Background (who? where?)
This product will be aimed at the average person, aiming to improve their posture and ensure they have a healthy back for the future. It may be particularly useful to physical therapists, chiropractors, and people who now work from home and have experienced heightened back and posture issues.
Methodology (how? when?)
Using a brace fitted with orientation sensors and a connected app which can track posture over time, and potentially communicating that information to health professionals or using the advice of health professionals to recommend better posture.
Expected Results (what?)
Actionable posture readings. Improved posture and decreased short and long-term back pain, and communicating those readings via IoT with health professionals.
Costs (how much will it cost?)
The product itself is expected to comprise an array of sensors, a sheath or brace to house the sensors and keep the array at a fixed location on the back, a microcontroller, and a cell-phone companion application to store the data. The cost of these components, in addition to the time investment of application development, research on anatomy and physiology of the back, and construction of the product itself constitutes the majority of the cost of this product. As the details of the project are developed, and sensor types and microcontroller requirements become clear, we will be able to make a more accurate cost assessment based on the cost of individual components.
Exercise 3 - Problem Formulation
Exercise 3 - Problem Formulation
Generate problem statements that focus on the function to be achieved by any viable design solution.
Due to the implementation of remote work environments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals now sit at their desks for 8+ hours a day. This has led to an increase in neck and back pain from lack of movement and computer screen position. There is a need to enforce proper seating position and spine alignment to alleviate pain caused by prolonged sitting and contorted neck and back position.
Apply a number of techniques and strategies including the statement-restatement technique, the source/cause approach, the revision method, present state-desired state (PS-DS) strategy, and Duncker diagrams.
Statement-Restatement Technique:
The stated problem is there exists an increase in neck and back pain due to poor posture, induced by hours of improper sitting technique at computer screens and extended periods of inactivity, for those affected by the remote work environments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast to the stated problem, the real problem is individuals are suffering due to neck and back pain, making a globally difficult situation even more painful, and a solution is necessary to alleviate this preventable pain.
The given or inferred constraints include the team will not be able to completely prevent all types of generalized back pain, or provide health feedback for all bodily metrics such as muscular strength and joint positioning, but we do believe we can form a solution that directly applies to improving sitting posture and that will alleviate continued back pain. In contrast to the inferred constraints, the actual constraints and boundaries include successfully implementing the sensor technology that will directly allow the team to measure and track posture, and successfully implementing this data to provide physical notification or digital communication to our users regarding how to improve their postures in the moment. If the team does not work within these constraints, we will not achieve our goals for SpineSaver.
The given or inferred goals include SpineSaver must function properly by providing physical feedback and be able to transmit posture data to our IoT application, so users can track their posture over time. In contrast to the inferred goals, the meaningful goals include actually alleviating our users’ neck and back pain to ultimately provide a comfortable remote work experience.
There are relationships between the inputs, outputs, and unknowns of the SpineSaver project. The input data will be gathered by sensors that observe the user’s posture and back position. The output data will take the form of physical notification of improper posture and digital notification/progress tracking on the IoT application, and will be directly calculated from and affected by the sensor’s input data. Any unknowns, such as if the user is wearing SpineSaver properly, will also affect the quality and accuracy of the input data and therefore the output data as well.
Source/Cause Approach (Why-Why Diagram):
(see bottom of Exercise 3)
PS-DS Strategy via Duncker Diagram:
(see bottom of Exercise 3)
Perform Kepner-Tregoe (KT) situation analysis to evaluate various aspects of a situation in terms of three criteria (timing, trend, and impact), thereby determining what is known, which tasks should be performed, and in what order these tasks should be completed.
KT Situation Analysis:
What is known?
There exists an increase in neck and back pain due to poor posture, induced by hours of improper sitting technique at computer screens, for those affected by remote work environments.
Timing: High level urgency -- This problem has been persisting for over a year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic without any viables solutions.
Trend: High level urgency -- This problem will continue to persist as it has in the past without a viable solution.
Impact: High level urgency -- This problem affects the millions of people working and studying in remote/home environments, and therefore has a huge impact.
Individuals must have trouble regulating and maintaining posture themselves, or else this wouldn’t be such a widespread issue.
Timing: Moderate level urgency -- This problem isn’t too time sensitive, as the negative effects of poor posture take a while to make a serious impact on an individual’s comfort level, but timing is still a concern.
Trend: High level urgency -- This problem is not unique to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been a persistent issue even before the time of remote work environments, and therefore there exists a pattern over time.
Impact: High level urgency -- In the case that poor posture has been an issue for an individual for some time, serious back, neck, and spinal issues can occur that deteriorates an individual’s health over time and can result in permanent damage.
What tasks should be performed?
Develop a solution that regulates and monitors an individual’s posture for them.
Timing: High level urgency -- A quick solution is necessary in this case, as issues with posture have persisted for a long time.
Trend: Moderate level urgency -- There are already solutions out there for posture regulation, but improvements upon posture-regulating technology of the past are necessary.
Impact: High level urgency -- It is currently difficult for an individual to maintain good posture by themselves, and therefore a posture aid is necessary and would produce a high impact on quality of life.
Develop a solution that provides feedback and posture analysis over time.
Timing: Moderate level urgency -- This is a secondary goal to improving an individual’s posture, but a quick solution is still needed.
Trend: High level urgency -- There, currently and in the past, do not exist many solutions that can track and record an individual’s posture over time, and therefore this task is novel and necessary.
Impact: High level urgency -- This is a generally novel feature for posture-regulating solutions, and therefore its implementation would have a high impact and many benefits for users.
Develop a solution that ultimately alleviates neck and back pain.
Timing: High level urgency -- Timing is very important in this case as individuals working and studying in remote environments have been suffering with neck and back pain without long-term correction for too long now.
Trend: Moderate level urgency -- Although posture-improving equipment does already exist, these devices are ineffective in the long term and do not offer a good enough solution to alleviating and preventing pain.
Impact: High level urgency -- This is the core solution to the problem the team is attempting to solve, and therefore is of the highest impact to our stakeholders.
Develop a solution that is very accessible and affordable.
Timing: Low level urgency -- Ideally, the solution will be low cost, but this is not a time-sensitive issue.
Trend: Moderate level urgency -- Many of the posture-regulating solutions already out there are expensive, so the team would like to diverge from this trend.
Impact: High level urgency -- Making the solution low-cost would allow it to help many people who have been otherwise unable to afford a solution to their posture and back pain issues, making this impact necessary.
In what order should these tasks be completed?
Develop a solution that ultimately alleviates neck and back pain, due to its high level of timing urgency and as it is the core issue we are attempting to solve.
Develop a solution that regulates and monitors an individual’s posture for them, due to its high level of timing urgency.
Develop a solution that provides feedback and posture analysis over time, due to its moderate level of timing urgency, and since it would be a nice feature to have.
Develop a solution that is very accessible and affordable, due to its low level of timing urgency.
Perform KT problem analysis to determine possible causes of a problem.
KT Problem Analysis:
WHAT
What is known?
There exists an increase in neck and back pain due to poor posture for those affected by remote work environments
What is NOT known?
If these individuals are attempting to alleviate neck and back pain themselves
What was observed?
Individuals have trouble regulating and maintaining posture by themselves
What was NOT observed?
Users succeeding in regulating and maintaining proper posture without an aid
What are the constraints?
Succeeding in alleviating neck and back pain and improving posture only
What are NOT constraints?
Succeeding in alleviating full body pain
What is important?
Providing physical, long-term comfort for individuals suffering from neck and back pain due to poor posture
What is NOT important?
Fixing other physical pain issues unrelated to neck, back, and posture
What are the goals/objectives?
Monitor and regulate posture and spinal alignment for individuals sitting at their desks for prolonged hours
Provide posture feedback and tracking over time to show improvements
What are NOT goals?
Alleviating full body pain due to causes unrelated to sitting for prolonged periods of time and improper posture
What can be expected?
A decrease in the neck and back pain and the improper posture individuals experience from sitting for prolonged periods of time
What is NOT expected?
Full medical care to the degree a chiropractor could provide
WHEN
When did the problem occur?
This problem became a big issue when stay at home orders and remote work environments took effect, but also existed previously
When did the problem NOT occur?
Before a time when masses of people worked at desks and computers for extended periods of time
When must a solution be implemented?
A solution should be implemented immediately, to the end the suffering of those experience back pain as soon as possible
When is a solution NOT needed?
A solution is not needed for individuals who haven’t experienced neck and back pain or poor posture from sitting at their computers for long periods of time
When did changes occur?
Changes associated with this problem occurred when millions of people were instructed to work remotely, which increased susceptibility to poor posture and back pain
When did changes NOT occur?
Changes associated with this problem did not occur before millions of people were instructed to work remotely
When were instruments calibrated?
Instruments are calibrated during the manufacture and usage of SpineSaver
When were instruments NOT calibrated?
Instruments were not calibrated previous to the manufacture of SpineSaver
WHO
Who can provide more information?
Medical professionals and researchers who have studied the increase in neck and back issues due to remote work environments
Who can NOT provide information?
Individuals untrained or unknowledgeable about back and spinal problems
Who is the customer?
Individuals suffering from poor posture that causes neck and back pain
Who is NOT the customer?
Individuals who do not experience poor posture or neck and back pain
Who performed (each) task?
The team members designed the product and completed each task, and out-sourced manufacturers will build the product
Who did NOT perform (each) task?
Anyone uninvolved with the SpineSaver team
Who is the source of information?
There are many sources of our information, mainly the American Chiropractic Association
Who is NOT the source of information?
Anyone who does not have knowledge regarding posture or posture corrective devices
Who is affected by the problem?
Individuals suffering from poor posture that causes neck and back pain, and those working or studying in remote environments
Who is NOT affected by the problem?
Individuals who do not experience poor posture or neck and back pain, who are unaffected by remote work and study environments
WHERE
Where did the problem occur?
This problem occurs all around the world, where remote work environments are implemented
Where did the problem NOT occur?
This problem does not occur for individuals who do not sit at their computer for extended periods of time
Where are input sources located?
Input data will be gathered by sensors located on users’ backs
Where are input sources NOT located?
The input sensors are not located anywhere else on the device
Where is equipment located?
The equipment will be placed on users’ backs and shoulders
Where is equipment NOT located?
The equipment will not be placed anywhere else but the users’ backs and shoulders
Where are products shipped?
Ideally, the product will be shipped worldwide
Where are products NOT shipped?
If it is too expensive or difficult to ship the product worldwide, it will be shipped within the United States
Where is the customer located?
Ideally, the customer will be located worldwide
Where is the customer NOT located?
If it is too expensive or difficult to ship the product worldwide, the customers will not be located outside of the United States
WHY
Why is the problem important?
The problem is important because millions of people suffer from neck and back pain due to improper posture and prolonged sitting due to remote work environments
Why is the problem NOT important?
The problem is not important because there exist resources for people who experience back pain already
Why does the solution work?
The solution works because allowing individuals to know the extent to which their posture is poor, receiving physical feedback, and allowing them to track their posture improvements over time will lead to corrected posture and alleviated pain
Why does the solution NOT work?
The solution does not work by holding the users shoulders and back at the proper position
Why is there a problem?
There is a problem regarding neck and back pain because of improper posture and prolonged sitting due to remote work environments
Why is there NOT a problem?
There is not a problem regarding neck and back pain because of causes unrelated to spinal alignment or improper posture
HOW
How is the problem related to other problems?
The problem of neck and back pain due to remote work environments is related to issues of neck and back pain from sitting at computers 9AM-5PM pre-COVID
How is the problem NOT related to other problems?
The problem of neck and back pain due to remote work environments is not related to problems of physical discomfort due to unrelated issues
How can a task be performed?
A task can be performed thoroughly with the help and counsel of all team members
How can a task NOT be performed?
A task cannot be performed without the consultation of all team members
How did the problem develop?
The problem developed and became a bigger issue from the implementation of remote work and study environments
How did the problem NOT develop?
The problem did not develop through causes unrelated to sitting for extended periods of time
Exercise 4 - Solution Development
Exercise 4 - Solution Development
Design Tasks:
Design the sensor system and calibrate it to measure and provide feedback about posture and back position.
Design the wearable portion to be lightweight and simple, while not impeding accuracy.
Design the accompanying app or software to be easy to use as well as providing consistent, quality feedback from the sensors.
General design goals
Make a user-friendly alternative to chiropractor or other medical care (not meant to REPLACE medical care altogether).
Be able to take accurate measurements of posture with a user-friendly system people can use in their own homes.
Provide useful feedback to users so that they can use the provided data to improve their posture without any further outside guidance.
Specific design goals:
Create an application that gives specific, continuous feedback to maintain correct posture and help minimize back pain and spinal issues.
Make sure the measurements are accurate and painless.
Usable by people like the elderly, or others with mobility issues, since the point is to relieve back pain and help posture.
Identify the constraints or specifications associated with each design goal:
A lightweight design that can be worn without fatiguing the user -- aim for 5-10 lbs, no more than a heavy jacket.
Sensitive enough measurements to be useful, but not so sensitive that the device needs to be used by an expert.
Path Elimination:
We eliminated creating an ‘over the chair’ version of the product, since accuracy and ease of use could be impacted by what furniture someone has available, and we didn’t want to include a chair itself in the design.
Exercise 5 - Intellectual Properties
Exercise 5 - Intellectual Properties
Current products exists with different methods of application (electronic sensors and physical braces) at a wide range of price:
Patents:
Patent number: 10777315
Exercise 6 - Abstraction and Modeling
Exercise 6 - Abstraction and Modeling
System Model
System Model
Our primary system model will be stochastic, as our product will be collecting extensive empirical data to predict and recommend user behavior. From several initial posture readings of the user, an ideal recommendation can be generated and put into practice. As these empirical measurements allow us to calculate an approximation, there will be an inherent degree of uncertainty.
Process Model
Process Model
Though our product incorporates elements of both descriptive and prescriptive models, we believe the end goal will ultimately be more of a prescriptive model.
The software that will compliment our hardware device will be able to utilize the empirical data provided from continuous sensor readings. From these measurements, our application will be able to prescribe general guidelines and practices for how improper posture can be corrected. These recommendations will likely be both proactive and reactive, as we want to reach as broad of a market as possible by providing users with as much information as they would see fit. The guidelines would be crafted with the intention of helping users achieve our product’s purpose of maintaining more proper posture.
Exercise 7 - Synthesis
Exercise 7 - Synthesis
Morphological Chart
Exercise 8 - Ethics and Liability
Exercise 8 - Ethics and Liability
“Identify any potential hazards in the proposed design”
Foreseeable misuses
User error
Incorrect user application of device could lead to bad posture data gathering
Incorrect interpretation of posture data could lead to incorrect medical recommendations
Device error
Un/miscalibrated posture sensors could produce “bad” posture data
Changes that may occur during the useful lifetime
The corresponding website may update/evolve (ideally for the better) over the product's lifetime
Disposal after the useful life has ended
Electronic/plastic (depends on the material used) waste would preferably be recycled or otherwise disposed of in a landfill
Exercise 9 - Failure and Hazard Analysis
Exercise 9 - Failure and Hazard Analysis
“Provide solutions to eliminate hazards of the proposed design identified in Exercise 8”
In order to minimize user error, a detailed manual should be made detailing proper use of the advice, and tutorial videos should be made as well
In order to prevent bad posture data from being produced as a result of the device itself rigorous quality assurance should be done to ensure that the device works and is calibrated properly
To prevent the incorrect interpretation of (good) posture data only medically licensed professionals should be used to make posture recommendations
Exercise 10 - Design Analysis
Exercise 10 - Design Analysis
Kepner Tregoe Decision and Evaluation Matrices
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