Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm new to this forum so Hello! I'm Katie and I'm a MSc Product Design student based in Dundee, Scotland.
I'm currently working on a project researching autism, the area I'm looking at specifically is "processing time."
This is based on research that people with autism often need longer to process information, especially in demanding social situations.
I've designed a prototype "buffering badge."
The idea behind this is to make this process visible, therefore making 'processing time' something that can be tangible to an audience.
At the moment this is only a prototype, ideally I would love to make this smaller and more wearer friendly.
This version requires the user to press it, and the buffering displays for 10-12 seconds.
I would love for some feedback on this idea, would this be something that you could see being useful in social situations?
If even just to start a conversation around processing time and breaking the ice.
I realise this is not something that would work the same way for everyone, especially children who may want to use it more like a toy.
But any feedback would be appreciated. For example would a noise sensor be a better trigger, removing the user from pressing a button and making the badge work on its own in busy crowds/multiple voices in a conversation? Or would something more subtle like a badge that has the logo but doesn't have lights/electronics be something that might be more likely to be worn? In which case, how would users feel about using the buffering logo as a symbol that's linked to autism awareness?
Please let me know!
I should also mention, this is not research work! Nothing commented here is for anything other than an open discussion. I have a volunteer group to trial these once they are refined, I'm not looking for "data," and the stage that I am at comes from my research thus far. I just don't want this to exist only in an academic bubble. I think this is worthwhile sharing and having a conversation about.
All best wishes,
Katie.
Hi Katie.
I love the idea of this.
I could do with one at work, where I am always asking people to wait while I empty my mind and focus. For me I would love to have it activated by voice, and buffer until I say a specific phrase. Or preferrably I would have a wireless clicker I could click to stop the buffering (Which would also be therapeutic as I like clicking things)
This would be great in a crowd as it would almost always be buffering, signaling I am not ready to engage until I am ready.
I also like the idea of the logo representing awareness, as it supports the NAS 'too much information' program.
If you need a test subject I would be happy to help!
Daniel
Hi again Katie.
Having had a couple of days to think about this I still think for me, in my work and office environment this would be a good thing.
Often people start talking to me before I manage to focus in on them, and I end up missing half of the conversation. I take Caretwo's point about the speed of the lights, and they could be a little slower.
For me I don't need to see the lights, but they would be for my colleagues when they start to talk, they would have a visual clue to know when I am giving them my full attention. There would need to be a way of distinguiushing if a person was interacting with me, rather than talking in my vacinity, otherwise it would be on quite a lot and potentially catch peoples eye constantly.
I would rather have a pocket clicker to deactivate, or have it so it could be operated from say a smart watch or similar. This would also enable it to be easily set to off when not in an appropriate environment, and then activated when I start on working, so that I can then buffer / dissentangle myself.
I would also not mind having a slight vibrate through say a smart watch to alert me to the fact someone is needing to interact. This may not be appropriate for everyone, but as I say, in my office work environment, where I need to interact, thos would be a benefit to me in my daily life.
Its also nice to see design students looking at developing aids for real world issues that could make a difference to many people!