The topic of today's meeting deciding whether to take the advice of Dr. Wendt's team and add in more technology, Dave's advice and look into cheaper, more durable materials such as plastics or stick with my original wooden idea.

​In fact I ended up taking on all the suggestions given and creating a product building platform for Charlie the CHATapillar. Much how car websites offer a basic model that fits all the needed criteria, I will design the CHATapillar website to allow customers to chose what there toy does. Schools and council run programs may only require the simple model however if they wish to add systems such as QR or RDIF codes for sound or change the material from plastic to wood, a dropdown system will allow them to do this. They call also purchase additions such as extra SenseBalls or PECSPieces

Deals could be offered depending on what the user buys.

For my final prototype I am going to make the top range version of my model with wood finish and RDIF system within to make the CHATapillar speak and light up.

After emailing a simplified version of my Design Freeze presentation with my final 'CHATapillar' concept to both Dr. Oliver Wendt, specialising in AAC, and the NAS, National Autistic Society, in Calderdale. Both correspondence got back to me with positive words on the concept and showing their enthusiasm for the product.

The NAS included some notes and an image in their monthly newsletter and asked whether they could include the presentation and notes on their website, however because of the change of plagiarism I suggested instead I write a small article/description of the product rather than sharing important visuals or even the name of the CHATapillar.​ Currently awaiting a reply.

Dr. Oliver Wendt liked the presentation and felt it was a 'neat' idea. He provided me with more feedback from some of his colleagues. Here are some bullet points of the key notes:

• Not to limit myself to just autism
  - note other developmental disorders, speech/language delay
• ​ Not to limit myself to just PECS
  - look into Widgits, METACOM etc.
• Replacing the QR codes with RFID tags
  - look into how RFID works
  - costs
  - how to use within prototype
• Give CHATapillar name
  - find appropriate name (unisex or rhyme)
  - redesign logo on Illustrator​​
• Using the RFID tags to speak
  - note how this can be done on The Street (recordings)​
• Holes could have LED light indication
  - note how this can be done​
• Options to turn off/on sensory application - caregiver control
  - look how this can  be controlled
• Different colours
  - CAD up different colours​
• Wooden/plastic materials to be environmentally friendly, no health hazards or risks (child put in mouth)
  - research ​these materials (safe)
  ~ look into environmentally friendly materials​
•  Parental app is follow up (already considered)
  - make a rough outline of app​

​Dr. Wendt is copying it to his colleague Nancy Rasche who is in industrial design/graphic design so hopefully more feedback will be along soon.​

Source
What is Choking?Choking occurs when a foreign object blocks the airway, causing the inability to breathe. An obstructed airway can quickly lead to severe complications, including brain damage and death. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children under 3 are especially at risk of choking due to the fact that they have a small airway and a more difficult time chewing and swallowing food. Small children also tend to put things in their mouth.
Size Considered Choking HazardIn the United States, the Child Safety Protection Act requires warning labels on packaging for toys containing small parts. A tool called the small parts test fixture is used to measure toy parts. It is a cylinder tube that is 1.25 inches in diameter and between 1 and 2.25 inches deep. It is designed to mimic a child's mouth and pharynx. Any object that fits in the tube is considered a small part and must have a label on its packaging indicating it is a choking hazard for small children.
Common Things Kids Choke OnThe food responsible for the most deaths caused by choking is hot dogs, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is due to the fact that hot dogs are shaped like the pharynx and, if one gets into the airway, it completely blocks it. Other foods that commonly cause choking are popcorn, peanuts, grapes, hard candy, marshmallows and raw carrot sticks. Toys that often cause choking include marbles, balloons and balls with a diameter of less than 1.75 inches.

Ball = 1.75 inches ​/ 44.45mm

Steve -

• Make sure the pieces aren't too small to swallow

Dave -

• Look into choking sizes​
• Look into plastics rather than wood
  
• Go into toy stores and look into what materials wood toys are made from
  

After using two scoring systems, one with the main points addressed in my PDS and one with those same points plus the additions of lower cost, lower manufacture cost, feasibility of prototype and the option for purchasing additions for the game, I narrowed down the highest scorers in both categories. I narrowed the final three down to those who scored high in both and were close on both scores.  

After another week of sketching ideation drawings while cliquing the ones I already had, I decided that I needed to come to a decision on which ideas I wanted to narrow down to. However, since I had such a large quantity of sketches, I didn't know where to start.

I had a few concepts such as the balls, sentence makers and musical devices that I felt had a lot of scope but even some of those I found hard to chose just one. Steve suggested possibly combining or merging ideas if there are elements I like from each one to see if it can be a toy with additions.

As for the other ideas I have decided to refer back to my PDS and make a table with a scoring system to see what elements of the PDS are seen through these different ideas. I will also create different weighting on points such as 'fun' and 'sensory' as well as adding in addition columns such cost, manufacture, feasibility of making prototype etc.

By the end of this process I will have scores for each concept that will help me determine which idea or ideas to run with to development and presenting in the design freeze.

By next week I will have:

• Merged some of the concepts I am undecided on​​​​
• Evaluate how each product meets the points on the PDS in a table
• Review scoring on each
  

A lot of my higher technology concept ideas have implemented the use of voice recognition to detect the child's voice and understand what they are saying. I felt the best way to evaluate the feasibility of this software was to research further and see if it is truly capable of what I wish it to do.

According to Wikipedia, speech recognition is described as:

Use for speech recognition is used in a variety of applications over a spectrum of fields including:

In-car systems

• Simple voice commands may be used to initiate phone calls
• select radio stations
• play music from a compatible smartphone, MP3 player or music-loaded flash drive.

Health Care

• Medical documentation
  speech recognition can be implemented in front-end or back-end of the medical documentation process
• Therapeutic use
  Prolonged use of speech recognition software in conjunction with word processors has shown benefits to short-term-memory restrengthening in brain AVM patients who have been treated with resection. Further research needs to be conducted to determine cognitive benefits for individuals whose AVMs have been treated using radiologic techniques.)

Military

• High-performance fighter aircraft
  Speech recognizers have been operated successfully in fighter aircraft, with applications including: setting radio frequencies, commanding an autopilot system, setting steer-point coordinates and weapons release parameters, and controlling flight display
• Helicopters
  Results have been encouraging, and voice applications have included: control of communication radios, setting of navigation systems, and control of an automated target handover system.
• Training air traffic controllers
  Many ATC training systems currently require a person to act as a "pseudo-pilot", engaging in a voice dialog with the trainee controller, which simulates the dialog that the controller would have to conduct with pilots in a real ATC situation.

Telephony and other domains

• ASR in the field of telephony is now commonplace and in the field of computer gaming and simulation is becoming more widespread.
  
• The improvement of mobile processor speeds made feasible the speech-enabled Symbian and Windows Mobile smartphones. Speech is used mostly as a part of a user interface, for creating predefined or custom speech commands.
  

Usage in education and daily life

• For language learning, speech recognition can be useful for learning a second language.
  
• Students who are blind (see Blindness and education) or have very low vision can benefit from using the technology to convey words and then hear the computer recite them, as well as use a computer by commanding with their voice, instead of having to look at the screen and keyboard
  
• Students who are physically disabled or suffer from Repetitive strain injury/other injuries to the upper extremities can be relieved from having to worry about handwriting, typing, or working with scribe on school assignments by using speech-to-text programs.
  

People with disabilities

• People with disabilities can benefit from speech recognition programs. For individuals that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, speech recognition software is used to automatically generate a closed-captioning of conversations such as discussions in conference rooms, classroom lectures, and/or religious services
  
• Speech recognition is also very useful for people who have difficulty using their hands, ranging from mild repetitive stress injuries to involved disabilities that preclude using conventional computer input devices.
  
• Speech recognition is used in deaf telephony, such as voicemail to text, relay services, and captioned telephone.
  

Further applications[edit]

• Aerospace (e.g. space exploration, spacecraft, etc.) NASA’s Mars Polar Lander used speech recognition from technology Sensory, Inc. in the Mars Microphone on the Lander[71]
  
• Automatic subtitling with speech recognition[72]
  

• Automatic translation
  

• Court reporting (Realtime Speech Writing)
  

• Hands-free computing: Speech recognition computer user interface
  

• Home automation
  

• Interactive voice response
  

• Mobile telephony, including mobile email
  

• Multimodal interaction
  

• Pronunciation evaluation in computer-aided language learning applications
  

• Robotics
  

• Speech-to-text reporter (transcription of speech into text, video captioning, Court reporting )
  

• Telematics (e.g., vehicle Navigation Systems)
  

• Transcription (digital speech-to-text)
  

• Video games, with Tom Clancy's EndWar and Lifeline as working examples
  

Continued from previous post.

Word Desk (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• ABA techniques (one-on-one, prompt)
• Encouraging and rewarding point system

​​Cons -

• Limited selection of worlds (however could make interchangeable/purchase more)
• Quite large model - could take up a lot of space

Word Desk (no - low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Recognisable 'building block' toy​
• Multi-sensory
  
• Very tactile
  
• PECS
  
• Sentence building skills
  
• Different levels of difficulty
  
• Lots of variety
  

​​Cons -

• Some blocks may be harder to stack
• Some children may be distracted because of different sensory factors
  
• May not be used for intentional purpose (words/sentences)
  

​Tele-Talk (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• ABA techniques (one-on-one, prompt)
• Encouraging and rewarding point system

​​Cons -

• Limited selection of worlds (however could make interchangeable/purchase more)
• Quite large model - could take up a lot of space

Prompt and Reward: Clock (no tech)
Pros​ -

• Creative way to make schedule or routine for day with child
• Recognisable clock design
• Plan learning activities/everyday activities to get child used to communication training

​​Cons -

• Not a communication learning tool/toy (could be paired with one)
• May be difficult for children who cannot read analogue clocks yet or tell the time

Prompt and Reward: Wall Mount (no tech)
Pros​ -

• Creative way to make schedule or routine for day with child
• Simple
• Plan learning activities/everyday activities to get child used to communication training
• Able to customise/make personal to child

​​Cons -

• Not a communication learning tool/toy (could be paired with one)
• May be difficult for children who cannot read analogue clocks yet or tell the time

Sensory Games (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Multi-sensory
• Fun
• Different levels of ability (PECS cards and vocal communication)

​​Cons -

• Unknown smells or sounds
• Unable to describe textures on tactile

​
Sensory Games: Memory Game (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun
• Learn sentence structures
• Multi-sensory
  
• Tactile
  
• Encourages use of memory
  

​​Cons -

• Too hard?
• Children may forget pattern and feel discouraged
  

Slot Machine Sentence Maker (low/high tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• May be familiar with how slot machine works?
• PECS
• Encourages sentence building
• Different levels of difficulty for different abilities
• Encouraging point system
• Modular
• Multi-sensory

​​Cons -

• Limited number of words/sentences
• Some sentences randomised may not make sense.

Water Word Tumblr (no tech)
Pros​ -

• Tactile
• Simple
• Water used in many sensory rooms (recognisable/relaxing)
• Encourages physical interaction with product (shaking)
• Different shapes, colours and designs (customisable)

​​Cons -

• May not make a sentence
• Hard to control water
• May leak
  

​

Song maker (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun
• Music therapy
  
• Recognisable sounds
  
• Record songs
  
• Learning while making music
  
• Tactile
  

​​Cons -

• Limited sounds
• Only words
  

PECS Musical Keyboard (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun
• Music therapy
  
• Record songs
  
• Tactile
  
• Interchangeable
  
• Potentially limitless sentences
  

​​Cons -

• Large
• Educational looking device (make more fun!)
  

Sign 'n' Speak (high tech)
Pros​ -

• Learn to sign (Makaton etc.)
• Fun
  
• Different levels of difficulty for different abilities
  
• Encouraging
  

​​Cons -

• Potentially very expensive product
• Not much of a physical product
  
• Not all children can/want to sign
  
• May rely entirely on signing for communication
  

Sensory Cylinder Game (low/high tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun
• Multi-sensory
• Water cylinders used in sensory rooms
• ABA techniques (one-on-one)
• Encouraging

​​Cons -

• Fiddly pieces
• Water may leak

Communication Drums (low/high tech) (similar to bongos)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Multi-sensory
• Make songs and sentences
• Tactile
• Encourages physical interaction (hitting drum)

​​Cons -

• Loud/irritating
• Could be expensive
• Just words

​Sentence maker (no tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Teaches sentence making skills
• Multi-sensory
• Encouraging

​​Cons -

• Similar concepts on market
• Only make 3 PECS piece sentences

​Shake 'n' Say (high)
Pros​ -

• Encourages physical interaction
• Tactile
• Multi-sensory
• Learn verbal communication
• Encouraging

​​Cons -

• Potentially expensive product
• Water and electric could be dangerous combination
• Make leak
• Limited selection of words

​Hot Potato (low/high tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun​
• Recognisable game
• Learn verbal communication skills
• Tactile
• Multi-functional
• Interchangeable

​​Cons -

• Potentially expensive

Race Game (high tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun
• Learn verbal communication
  
• Race car games are popular
  
• Customisable (favourite characters)
  
• PECS
  
• Modular
  

​​Cons -

• Lots of pieces
• Potentially expensive
  
• May not detect voice correctly
  

'Make That Sentence' (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Tactile
  
• Learn sentence making skills
  
• Multi-sensory
  
• PECS
  

​​Cons -

• Limited selection of words/sentences
• Too fast to select PECS word?
  
• Hard to control (stopping)
  

Speaking trumpet (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• ​Musical
• Recognisable musical instrument
  
• Two different options to play (PECS card or audio)
  
• Encourages child to speak
  

​​Cons -

• May have trouble understanding child's voice

The first part of individual design critique on all the A4 pages of sketches. I have identified on each one if there are no, low or high tech which will give an indication on the pricing of manufacture/sale (no/low tech = lower price, high tech = higher price).

Word Desk (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• ABA techniques (one-on-one, prompt)
• Encouraging and rewarding point system

​​Cons -

• Limited selection of worlds (however could make interchangeable/purchase more)
• Quite large model - could take up a lot of space

Word Game  (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Customable (cards)
• Learning words
• Personal (record messages/personal cards)
• Multi-sensory (VIS/AUD)

​​Cons -

• Possibly quite big?
• Only learning words at the moment (could advance to sentences/phrases for older age brackets)

Word Desk (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Same as previous
• Portable

​​Cons -

• Lots of pieces to carry around

Feelings Dice (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Parents/caregivers can understand child's emotions

​​Cons -

• Only 6 sides (limited

Feelings Mirror (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Child can recognise own emotions
• Parents can understand child's emotions
  
• Tactile

​​Cons -

• Only shows emotions (limited on what communication it teaches)

PECS Portable (no tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Portable

​​Cons -

• Similar things on market
• Not helping verbally communicate
  

Portable Version (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Portable
  
• Customisable
  
• Multi-sensory (VIS/AUD)
  

​​Cons -

• Limited (can be interchangeable)

Word Desk (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Possibly portable
  
• Multi-sensory
  
• Could have levels of difficulty
  

​​Cons -

• Child is not taught to communicate independently verbally

Musical Bongos (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Fun
  
• Music therapy
  
• Lights/sounds

​​Cons -

• Loud?

Xylophone (no tech)
Pros​ -

• Simple
• Learn to spell
  
• Music therapy

​​Cons -

• Too difficult for those who have trouble spelling

My Voice (low/high tech)
Pros​ -

• Customisable/personal
• Multi-sensory
  
• Non-threatening shape
  
• Modular
  

​​Cons -

• Fiddly
• Too complex?
  

Sense Ball (low/high tech)
Pros​ -

• Fun
• Tactile
  
• Non-threatening shape
  
• Multi-sensory
  

​​Cons -

• Fiddly
• Dangerous (piece may fall out/child may hit self)
  

Word Blocks (low tech)
Pros​ -

• Tactile
• Recognisable building block toys
  
• Sentence making
  
• Multi-sensory?
  
• Simple
  
• Modular
  

​​Cons -

• Could be more fun

Apps (high tech)
Pros​ -

• Includes schedule/routine
• Personalised
  
• Individualised
  
• Encouraging
  

​​Cons -

• Not a physical product (could be add on product)
• Not feasible on own
• Not tactile
  

Talk Ball (low/high tech)
Pros​ -

• ABA techniques (one-on-one)
• Multi-sensory
• Personal (record voice)

​​Cons -

• Complex to use?

Today, I was back to my regular 9.15 meetings Tuesday mornings with Steve.

I came in with a lot of concept sketches, mind maps and mood boards. I had of lots of ideas but not sure what to do with them all as a lot of them were 'light bulb' moments I had quickly sketched down.

Steve recommended going through each concept and doing some critique on each of them identifying their pros, cons and feasibility. This will help me work out which concepts I feel have the most scope and could be developed further. For the ones I feel have less scope I can identify why I feel this is and either leave it at that or use elements I liked in that product and use them in the development stages of the concepts I do chose to develop.

Steve also mentioned trying not to incorporate every single elements from the following mind map into one but instead to have one focus. Then I can add extras as I see fit. ​ 
​

For next session/meeting I will have:

• Critiqued the ideas I have so far
• Continue ideation concept sketching