Info

This was undertaken as a group university project in 2021 for our 'Industrial Design Engineering' module. We were given an open brief to design and engineer a battery powered hand-tool for home use, that not only appeals to the mass market, but also meets the needs of a specific, underserved user group.
*Note: Fitbit were not engaged in any consultancy or collaborative capacity with this project and the outcome is in no way endorsed by them. Any publicity is limited to personal and academic use.

Problem

Over 25 million people worldwide suffer from Essential Tremor and over 10 million from Parkinson's disease. These result in rotational and lateral hand tremors, inhibiting users from independently carrying out many household tasks.

Solution

The Fitbit Balance is a healthcare wearable that benefits the user by physically alleviating hand tremor, as well as improving mental well-being by encouraging the user to build positive habits. Tremor severity is greatly reduced via the in-built electromechanical system, which applies a force onto the user's wrist, opposing that of the tremor.

Prototyping & Development

To establish performance requirements, a rigorous prototyping phase was required. This highlighted areas for improvement, informing the final CAD model.

The prototype shown here proved successful in driving the weight counteractive to hand tremor, highlighting that we had arrived at a suitable mechanism and control system.

However, the use of cheap, low power components meant the force exerted by the device was currently negligible, compared to that of the tremor.

Therefore, performance analysis was then conducted via hand calculations, to determine the criteria for the motors, masses, and batteries of the device. These calculations can be found in the full documentation, linked below.

Compliance & User Guides Design

Were we to release this product to market in the UK, we would be responsible for ensuring it is safe for consumers to use, and follows the legal requirements in relation to labelling.

Relevant regulations and directives were obeyed, and standards were applied, in order to conform with UKCA and CE markings. Furthermore, a safety instructions manual was created, to give the user proper safety guidance and warnings.

Another requirement was to create user guides. For this, current Fitbit (our project's 'parent' brand) user guides were analysed, and a similar styling was maintained, allowing our product to fit with the existing product range.

Packaging Design & Rendering

I also undertook the task of designing and modelling the product packaging. The product was aimed at the top end of the market, and thus a premium experience must be maintained not just when interacting with the product, but also when purchasing and unboxing the device.

Analysis of current Fitbit packaging was conducted, ensuring that our product integrated seemlessly into the current range. Solidworks was used to model the packaging, before final rendering in KeyShot.

The use of KeyShot rendering was imperative to the final delivery of our project. This allowed us to create compelling visual assets that supported the final presentation of the product, clearly conveying what we had produced.

Soft Skills

User-focused Research & Design | Presenting | Communication & Teamwork | Project Planning

Hard Skills

Rapid Prototyping (3D Printing, Microcontrol) | Component Load Calculations | CAD (Solidworks & KeyShot)