.
.
Archive from the Spring 2001 semester.
Skip navigation (Alt
+ s)
Contact information
It is estimated by the United States (US) Census Bureau that 19.4% of the 252.1 million non-institutionalized US citizens are disabled in some way. Thus, there is a large market for specialized consumer products for these individuals. Smaller products manufacturers that build their own devices or modify existing products are attending to this market. Although these products exist, they are considerably more expensive than off-the-shelf consumer products and are usually only geared toward a specific disability, i.e. blindness, deafness, etc. It will be the team's goal to design a product that will be comparable in price to off-the-shelf consumer goods, cater to all levels of ability in a single model without post-production modifications. Thus it would not appear to be made for all persons and not for persons with "disabilities." To accomplish this, one must first know what the abilities of the projected consumers are, in order to make a design. The disabilities being considered will be broken up into four major categories. These categories include visual impairment, auditory impairment, cognitive impairments, and physical impairments.
Percentage of the total population with specified disability:
Visual Impairment - 5.16% (www.census.gov)
Auditory/Oratory Disability - 8.58 % (www.cdc.gov/nchs)
Cognitive Disorders - 28.1 % (www.dinf.org)
Physical Disability - 15 % (www.dinf.org)
The goal of this project is to make modifications to the design of an existing microwave to make it so easy to use that individuals of all abilities can use the machine. Major brand name designs have few or no accessibility features for less-able individuals, making it difficult or impossible for these people to use a microwave without buying an expensive, custom microwave. The purpose is not to design a microwave specifically for disabled individuals, but rather a microwave that is so easy to use and competitively priced, everyone will want to own one.
Team members:
Alissa Garman
Mike Keller
Aaron Kroner
Alan McMillan
Client: Dr. Gregg C. Vanderheiden (The Trace Center)
Currently, a computer simulation of the human-microwave interface has been constructed. This will allow easy testing of a variety of layouts for the interface design to decide which is the easiest to use and understand. Cost analysis of the proposed design was also done, to understand what features can be added or removed to maintain a profit during mass production. We will be presenting are finished project soon.
Weekly Progress Report Archive
Week of:
January 29, 2001 - (PDF, 7 KB)
February 5, 2001 - (PDF, 7 KB)
February 12, 2001 - (PDF, 11 KB)
February 19, 2001 - (PDF, 12 KB)
February 26, 2001 - (PDF, 12 KB)
March 5, 2001 - (PDF, 10 KB)
March 12, 2001 - Spring Break
March 19, 2001 - (PDF, 10 KB)
March 26, 2001 - (PDF, 9 KB)
April 2, 2001 - (PDF, 10 KB)
April 9, 2001 - (10 KB)
April 16, 2001 - (11 KB)
April 23, 2001 - (10 KB)
April 30, 2001
May 7, 2001
Week of:
February 12, 2001 - Finish gathering information and begin conceptualizing design
February 19, 2001 - Brainstorm design
February 26, 2001 - Finalize design alternatives
March 5, 2001 - Prepare for mid-semester presentation and resent preliminary designs
March 12, 2001 - Spring Break
March 19, 2001 - Perform cost analysis and develop computer simulation
March 26, 2001 - Perform cost analysis and develop computer simulation
April 2, 2001 - Begin usability testing with computer simulation
April 9, 2001 - Continue usability testing with computer simulation and revise design from findings
April 16, 2001 - Test revised designs with computer simulation and contact major manufacturers
April 23, 2001 - Contact major manufacturers
April 30, 2001 - Prepare for final presentation and hopefully obtain a prototype
May 7, 2001 - Final presentation
Mid-semester Presentation (107 KB zipped PowerPoint Presentation)
Mid-semester Report (51 KB Adobe PDF)
Product Design Specification (14 KB Adobe PDF)
Final Report (124 KB Adobe PDF)
Code Appendix for Final Report (171 KB Adobe PDF)
Final Presentation (105 KB zipped PowerPoint Presentation)
Simulation of the EZ Cookin' Microwave - (325 KB, Shockwave Viewer Required)
If using the simulation, please feel free to contact the team and let them know what you think of it, (i.e. How easy it is to use, would you purchase a microwave with an interface similar to this, etc...)
For questions or comments about the web page please contact the Webmaster at: Webmaster
For questions or comments about the project, please contact a team member:
For information about our client, please visit: www.trace.wisc.edu
This page complies with CSS and HTML 4.01 Transitional standards as set forth by the W3C. Further, this page conforms to W3C's "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", available at http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505, level Double-A.
.
.
.