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Tuesday, March 4th
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Aesthetics Matter in
Assistive Technologies
Jules
Sherman
Jules Sherman Design |
Abstract: Most of us have choices when
it comes to choosing our clothes and accessories. Assistive technologies should
offer aesthetic choice as well because this directly affects what I call the
“delight factor” and therefore, usability and compliance. There are
creative ways to make using a product more enjoyable for someone through
design, personalization, and/or unobtrusive technology. I will show some
assistive technology products I have worked on that incorporate aesthetics as a
core value in the design. I will also cite additional examples of products that
successfully alter user perceptions and usability through design.
Biosketch: Jules Sherman is a designer
and entrepreneur who is passionate about designing human-centered products that
improve quality of life. She draws inspiration from both personal experience
and observing the world around her. Jules is a graduate of the Stanford
Graduate Design Program. As a product designer, she is particularly interested
in improving the aesthetics and usability of assistive technology. Jules is
currently working on a lactation support device for moms with premature
infants, and contracting her design services with variety of bay area
companies.
- Contact information:
- Jules Sherman Design
- jules -at- julessherman.com
- Links:
 |
Starting an Assistive
Technology Company
Robert
Liebert
6dot - Director of Product
Development |
Abstract: What would the world be like
without visual labels? What if every product came in a plain white box, bottle
or bag? What if there were no signs pointing you in the right direction, no
numbers on any doors, no digits on your microwave's touchpad, no name tags at
any social event, and no dosage or safety information on your medications? It's
difficult to imagine the impact these would have on our everyday lives, and
these are only a few examples. Yet for many of the 285 million people worldwide
with vision impairment (39 million of whom are totally blind), this is an all
day, every day, reality. This is simply unacceptable in the 21st century! We
developed the 6dot Braille labeler to help blind and low-vision people to
become more independent, and to make their everyday lives easier and safer.
This is the first product designed from the ground up to allow you to print
custom adhesive Braille labels anywhere you go, so that you can immediately
apply tactile information to anything around you, with no other equipment
required. The 6dot Braille labeler supports virtually every language in the
world out of the box, requires very little hand strength to operate, and even
cuts and scores the labels for you for easy removal and application. In 2011
and 2012, we ramped up from a working prototype to a beta launch of about 100
units, which sold out very quickly. We did a lot of things right, but we also
learned many lessons along the way. We have recently been developing a new and
improved version of our Braille labeler, which we plan to launch at a much
larger scale in the first half of 2014. I will tell you all about how we went
from a prototype to where we are today, explain how our startup evolved and was
ultimately acquired, and hopefully show you the latest version of our Braille
labeler product alongside some earlier iterations and related
technologies.
Biosketch: Robert Liebert is an
engineer, project manager, and entrepreneur currently focused on innovative
assistive technologies. He co-founded an assistive hardware startup, 6dot
Innovations, within Stanford's StartX accelerator program. For the past two
years Robert has been managing product design, development and operations for
the 6dot Braille labeler project, which aims to radically improve the daily
lives of millions of blind and low-vision people around the world. In 2012,
6dot Innovations was acquired by ProxTalker, another assistive technology
company with a particular focus on communication and autism. The newly combined
team has been continuing to develop the project since, with an anticipated full
production launch in 2014. Robert's academic background is primarily from Duke
University, where he earned a Master of Engineering Management degree (2006)
and a BSE in Mechanical Engineering (2005).
- Contact information:
- 6dotTM
- Mountain View, CA
- robert -at- 6dot.com
- Lecture Material:
- Pre-lecture
slides - 413 Kb pdf file
- Jules Sherman's slides by request
only
- Robert Liebert's
slides - 1.32 Mb pdf file
- Audio - 1:06:23 - 7.59 Mb mp3
- Photos - 602
Kb pdf file
- Arne's
photos - 1.02 Mb pdf file
- Links:
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