How one school is saving the world with design thinking
Guest Contribution
If you were asked to solve any problem in the world, how would you approach it?
In the University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) department, students are tasked with exactly this. By applying design thinking principles like user research, ideation, and rapid prototyping, the program arms them with the problem-solving skills to address practically any issue, from the seemingly-trivial to some of the world’s greatest challenges. Regardless of initial unfamiliarity, by the end students are subject matter experts with real-world solutions.
The UW’s multidisciplinary HCDE department is a mash-up between computer science, engineering, human-computer interaction, user-experience, and material design. They describe themselves as “advancing the research and design of technologies by using innovative techniques to study human activity and develop meaningful information and sociotechnical systems.”
It can be difficult to parse exactly what this means, but in March 2017 I observed the department in action at the 2017 Master’s Capstone presentations. In a warm and bustling room at the on-campus Husky Union Building, diverse student teams proudly gathered to present 10 weeks’ work of incredibly challenging projects. Their presentations revealed that tech isn’t just about esoteric coding problems, and that design isn’t always “blue sky” idealism. Combine tech, design, empathy, and real world problems, and you can tangibly tackle some incredibly compelling issues.
Re-envisioning reality
VR and AR experiences were cornerstones throughout the evening, and teams covered everything from mental health to video games and space exploration.
Meditation is a common stress and anxiety treatment, but what happens if you combine this with virtual reality? Team CalmCats envisioned an immersive anxiety solution. User testing led them to a VR meditation treatment with a responsive, biofeedback-based virtual world. Users can also gently move controllers like the HTC Wands if they’re feeling especially anxious.
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Serenity tackled PTSD by partnering with the National Center for Telehealth Technology (T2), a Department of Defense organization. Armed with the knowledge that over 8% of combat veterans don’t receive adequate PTSD treatment, they applied user research and iterative testing to make “Virtual Hope Box” (VHD), T2’s award-winning PTSD-treatment software, more user-friendly. Then they added new features like Apple Watch biofeedback, which alerts users about imminent anxiety attacks, and fully-immersive VR meditation. User-testing their latest version reveals that treating PTSD and anxiety with virtual reality isn’t just feasible, but it actually works.
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Another project addressed the issue of making virtual reality feel, well, real. Grasping in Virtual Reality collaborated with Valve Studios on the new Knuckles controllers. One challenge with today’s VR controllers is their difference from human hands. To counteract this, the “Knuckles” controllers mimic hands by providing a grippable, fist-like surface. In theory, this increases VR immersion, but the team wanted to test their hypothesis.
So, they pitted the Knuckles against the HTC Vive Wands by developing a virtual reality environment with many interactive objects. Users could grip, swing, and throw anything from swords to magic fireballs. Unsurprisingly, the Knuckles controllers won against traditional wand controllers, but they weren’t perfect. For example, if an object’s size implied significant weight, the Knuckles couldn’t provide sufficient weight feedback?—?this negatively impacted immersion.
There were far more VR and AR projects than can be detailed here, including several in collaboration with NASA and Microsoft Hololens. But, most impressively, none of the teams were initially subject matter experts. Only by applying design thinking and HCDE principles did groups progress from asking questions to functional prototypes.
Seeking safety
Whether ensuring personal well-being or handling disaster situations, there are many ways software-hardware hybrids can make people safer. While many tech companies balk because of liability fears, grad student projects thankfully don’t have these limitations.
Scout explored a drone personal safety system where subscribers gain access to a mobile app-based service. With the tap of a button, a drone is dispatched from a central location. In unsafe situations, this personal protection drone can capture video, play loud sounds, provide illumination, call law enforcement, or provide an escort home. Unsurprisingly, the idea tested especially well with women and people of color. In user research, these groups regularly reported situations where they felt unsafe or threatened and a personal safety drone could help. In the future, the Scout team even envisioned adding facial recognition technology to enhance drone functionality.
Meanwhile, Dropgrid explored disaster preparedness and safety through a mesh network of “Drops”?—?teardrop-shaped devices which connect to each other instead of Wi-Fi or cell phone/radio towers. Because these devices communicate independently, they’re especially useful in emergencies when other communication methods become overloaded. Users could connect to their Drop with Bluetooth to tell friends and family they’re safe during natural disasters or send an emergency request to rescue teams, police, and firefighters. In the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey where emergency systems are overloaded and social media becomes the main method of dispatching help or checking in with loved ones, it becomes especially clear why this technology is so compelling.
Solving problems both big and small
Some problems may seem minor and personal, even if the underlying problems and systems are complex: calling a taxi, home food delivery, or booking flights. But some issues impact millions or even billions of people worldwide. These issues may seem impossible to solve, particularly for a small student group with few resources. But by asking the right kinds of questions and gaining context through design thinking, it’s actually possible to begin tackling even the most difficult challenges.
Pump It Up found themselves in this exact situation when one of their team members pitched an idea. Setumadhava Kathawate told peers how millions of Indian households are negatively impacted by household “sump” tanks. These water systems require pumping from an underground water supply to a rooftop tank. Today, Indian homeowners must flip the water pump switch any time they plan to use water, even if it’s just to take a shower. But it’s a complete guessing game: there’s no way to know how much water is in the tank. If guests are visiting for a wedding, it’s difficult to know how much water has been consumed and far too easy to over- or under-fill a tank.
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While Kathawate was initially the only one with context on this issue, the rest of the team quickly learned more through video interviews and chat sessions with Indian families. After their research, they settled upon a solution combining a water sensor with an Android phone app. Their proposal lets sump tank owners automatically control them from their phones, including shutting off the water pump when the tank is full?—?no more overfilling. It also lets homeowners see the water level, eliminating the guessing game of how much water is actually in the tank. Thanks to design thinking, the team engineered a solution which may receive funding and improve millions of lives.
Design-thinking is the future
A common thread uniting these teams and projects is that few had prior context. Only by combining creative and technical skills did they engineer solutions to extremely complex problems, from anxiety and PTSD treatments, to personal safety and disaster preparedness, to water supply issues.
These groups also revealed how diverse teams and life experiences yield diverse solutions. The all-woman Scout team had group members from many different backgrounds, and user testing revealed their project was incredibly compelling to women and people of color. On Pump It Up, Kathawate’s life experiences introduced the sump tank problem to his team.
Throughout the process, teams were also constantly learning, improving, and iterating until they had a user research-validated prototype. For this reason, design thinking is as much design as it is scientific method.
Tech often gets a bad rap for being too low-level; tech companies, for under-delivering on grandiose promises to change the world; and design, for being too “blue sky” and idealistic. But these projects had the perfect mix of optimism and practicality. They provide hope that the right application of tech, design, and empathy can someday save the world?—?one project, app, and startup at a time.
See all the UW HCDE 2017 Master of Science Capstone Projects here.
Kimberly is a writer, photographer, and former technologist. She’s taken HCDE classes and regularly uses design thinking. These days, you’ll often find her traveling or eating.
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