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Gus' Brief
Eye of Avik is a device in the shape of a necklace that finds people who leave homeless shelters without warning and hypnotizes other people’s minds so they feel sympathy for the homeless. Using wood, LED lights, circuits, and 3-D printed components, Eye of Avik gives a local doctor a tool to better serve and protect the homeless population of Cambridge.
This project helps a local hero Avik Chatterjee, a doctor that works for Boston’s Health for the Homeless and treats 11,000 patients a year. After treating the same patients overtime he grows attached to them and wants them to be safe wherever they go. Eye of Avik helps him with that goal with its two modes. In the first mode, finding mode, the rings in the necklace spin faster as he gets closer to the person he is trying to find. In the second mode, hypnosis mode, the rings spin and lock in place and the LEDs flash, changing the views of people who are unsympathetic of the homeless. Eye O’ Avik works by using two servos and gears to spin rings and flash LEDs. It uses materials like wood, servos, acrylics, LEDs, gears, and circuits.
Charlie's Brief
Lauren:
A ring designed as a superhero prop to help Giles Li, executive director of BCNC (Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center), share his ideas with others sooner rather than later.
The Display Ring is a multi-finger ring with an LED box on top with a slit that allows slides to be inserted so that the LED lights can project the words or images onto a flat surface. The idea of this project was inspired by the ring of Green Lantern, Giles's favorite superhero, the ring enables Giles to save and later project slides of his thoughts or ideas, making it easier to share them with others.
The purpose of this project was not only to assist Giles in sharing his ideas but also to assist with his work, which involves helping immigrant families smoothly transition into society and become self-sustaining, in addition to combatting gentrification and preserving Chinatown. He has established himself as a soft-spoken, family-oriented man with deep connections to Chinatown and is passionate about helping its citizens. Since he has trouble sharing his ideas, he can use the ring during meetings to help with this challenge. Giles has already done so much and with this ring, he could help the Chinatown community further.
Henry:
A multi-finger projector ring that serves as a superhero prop, allowing the wearer to collect and share their thoughts and ideas in a compact and easy way.
The Display Ring is a multi-finger ring with a box on top that has a slit to admit slides and contains LEDs to project an image. Designed as a "superhero prop," to address the challenges faced by a real-world superhero in a local neighborhood, the ring allows the wearer to insert pre-made slides into the ring to display his ideas quickly and easily. While current technology constraints limit the full potential of the ring, a user of the more advanced, futuristic version would record their thoughts onto the ring with futuristic electroencephalogram (EEG) technology and then display them. This ideal Display Ring would be able to read, record, share, and project thoughts and ideas.
The ring was designed specifically for Giles Li, the executive director of Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC). BCNC fights gentrification in Chinatown and helps Chinese immigrants adapt and integrate into society with the goal of becoming self-sustaining.
The Butterfly Woman project is a wearable set of wings for Lydia Villa-Komaroff, a molecular biologist that works with under-represented groups of people supporting their efforts in the STEM fields. The wings are designed to incorporate her dedication to eradicating bias and stereotyping with her interest in Geiger Counters and butterflies. The wings serve as a detector of Implicit Bias and Stereotyping and flutter when this type of negativity is detected.
When the wings flutter they alert both the wearer and the exhibitor of the bias to of the situation and what specific type of stereotyping is occurring. Lydia often wishes that she was able to seek out any and all stereotyping and bias around her, even in the most subtle situation. This project allows Lydia to go about her business without diverting energy towards seeking out bias. It will alert her to any nearby bias so she can act immediately helping others grow and protect themselves from stereotyping and its harmful effects. The wings, two and a half feet tall, are mounted onto an exoskeleton that fits like a corset around the user's body. A user-activated motor attached to the back of the exoskeleton drives the fluttering motion of the wings.
The goal of designing this real-world superhero prop is to bring awareness to the subtle expression of modern-day racism through implicit bias. For example, when the most challenging jobs are given to male workers when the female workers are more qualified but are excluded due to their sex. On a daily basis, the project succeeds just by bringing smiles and positivity into Lydia's life and the lives of those around her. The structure and lighting elements were designed to be fun and interesting to observe. The wings are specifically designed to represent Lydia's personality. The material the wings are made out of is thick, symbolizing Lydia's resilience in the face of adversity. Underneath the thick material, colorful lights represent her fun and playful personality once people get to know her.