Rise & Shine
Role
Designer
Team
2 Designers
3 Engineers
Timeline
Nov - Dec 2023
Skills
Human-centered Design
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Context
This project focuses on enhancing a crucial aspect of our daily routine: the wake-up process. We aim to improve how we prepare the body to wake up, signal to it that it’s time to wake up, and maintain alertness in the minutes following awakening.
The current methods of sleeping and waking up are inefficient and stressful. Statistics show that 57% of Americans still feel tired after a night’s sleep, and merely 33% describe their waking experience as satisfactory. This is significant because inadequate sleep can derail bodily systems, leading to immediate issues and long-term health problems. A major factor is our reliance on sound-based alarms. Approximately 80% of Americans use them, contributing to sleep inertia – the feeling of grogginess and a desire to return to sleep. Additionally, being awakened by another person’s alarm, a common occurrence in shared living spaces such as college dorms can further degrade sleep quality. This is particularly concerning for college students who often face sleep deprivation and high stress.
Problem Statement
How might we create an alarm system that will reliably wake someone up without causing disturbances to others in the room?
Following our initial research, we conducted five user interviews to gather insights into users, their needs, behaviors, and preferences on alarms.
Our main user groups are college students and couples who share their bedroom with others. These individuals typically adhere to a regular daily schedule, necessitating timely wake-ups for school or work commitments. A common concern among them is the guilt associated with disturbing their roommates or partners with their alarm.
Ideation
Building upon our customer profile derived from the interviews, we employed the Rose, Thorn, Bud method to categorize all the pains, gains, and jobs in pink, blue, and yellow sticky notes. We organized the notes into eight distinct groups to analyze the successes, failures, and potential of the current alarm systems.
Moving into the ideation phase, we engaged in various collaborative brainstorming activities and determined the primary features and design of our product: an eye mask equipped with integrated lighting and vibration functions, controllable via a mobile app.
In pursuit of more creative solutions, our team created a creative matrix. Leveraging the abstract ladder we had previously developed, we selected five How Might We (HMW) statements. These served as springboards to explore various solutions across five categories: devices, technology, lifestyle, mobility, and others.
01 App Control
A program powered by artificial intelligence that monitors the effectiveness of the wake-up process for users. It gathers data from the eye mask and, based on user behavior, suggests and fine-tunes the wake-up method, its intensity, and timing.
02 Soft light+ Vibration
The soft light feature simulates natural sunrise, gradually intensifying to gently awaken users in a more natural and less stressful manner. Meanwhile, the vibration function is silent, with an intensity that slowly escalates to effectively rouse the user.
03 Interactive Projections
We implemented an interactive light projection that facilitates users to open their eyes and stretch their bodies upon taking the mask off. All the features are fully customizable, as users can choose the waking-up methods, intensity, and specific interactions.
In our final prototype, the eye mask is crafted from soft, durable fabric designed to effectively block out light. Its double-layered design ensures that the internal components fit snugly without causing discomfort. We employed NeoPixel lights, which, controlled through Python programming, offer users complete customization—from slowly increasing light intensity to strobe lights in any color.
The compatible app features a comprehensive user interface, allowing users to set alarms, configure snooze options, adjust intensity levels, and choose a morning routine, all within the app.
