PATHFINDER
INDOOR NAVIGATION VEST
Year
2024
Category
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
First responders run into buildings without knowing the way. If you take the wrong turn your patient might not make it. This vest guides them through complex buildings and safes lifes. I came up with this project because I wanted to learn more about AI as a tool but also using the technology in a product.
"Like GoogleMaps. Just for inside."
You know how difficult it can be to find the restroom in a restaurant. Now imagine a life is on the line, and you are sprinting into an apartment building, trying to find the right doors. What if you had something to tell you the way?
"It navigates, knows doorcodes, and can call a doctor"
Telling the right turn is one thing. However, knowing the door codes and which floor the apartment is on makes this vest so effective. Certainly, it's an outlook into the future, but those technologies exist today.
"I tried to use AI Image generation as much as possible"
Once the intention for the vest was fixed I sketched different ways to package the solution. With those sketches and early Blender models I used AI image generation to turn them into realisic renderings.
Thin straps for easy movement.
Bigger vest and camera module with changeable battery.
Horizontal camera module with screen.
"The vest had to be cheap and repairable"
Paramedics don't have time for unreliable gear. But also, they don't always get the budget they need. The cheapest equipment supplier wins. The vest combines a fabric shell layer that can be replaced. The core is made from PaperShell, a new sustainable material made from wood.
"It uses sound and the display to navigate"
I thought vibration motors on each shoulder were the answer. Like a tap to show you where to go. But if you wear the vest over a thick winter paramedic outfit, you can't feel a thing. Like the navigation system in the car, the vest shows and tells you where to go.
Testing of an Early Prototype
Form Development Sketches
INTERESTED IN COLLABORATING?
Privacy Policy
