DESIGN NAME: Vitalk
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Assistive Device
INSPIRATION: In the world there are over 300 million deaf people. Many of these people do not have any literacy skills, rest of them face other educational and self expression problem according their disablity level. The products, designed for hearing impaired people, usually only designed to make daily life easier and to minimize the problems that they will experience. However "Vitalk" aims to remove the problems of "expression and education" of the hearing impaired individuals which is the main problem.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The products, designed for hearing impaired people, usually designed to make daily life easier and to minimize the problems that they will experience. However "Vitalk" aims to remove the problems of "expression and education" of the hearing impaired individuals which is the main problem. With this product, the product will give feedback in multi way and makes hearing impaireds people feel their voices with feedbacks. Vitalk will lead a lifelong development, and self education.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: The product consists of two parts, the sensor and the screen. Firstly, the formation of the voice is visualized with the animation and then the disabled person tries to make the sound by bringing the vocal cord vibration sensor to the throat. The product may give chance people to have self language training. Turning vocal cord vibrations into visual feedback encourages them to articulate with the correct sound that saved before. First the product teaches how to articulate the correct sound with the correct sounds articulation animations, then, it supports user in articulating the correct sounds by giving feedback. Visualizing articulation for users, and articulating the correct sound by recognizing lip and mouth position, this product will provide solutions for deaf people in their education.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project was started in February 2016, and then the product was exhibited in many places. The first is in Middle East Technical University,Ankara; the second is in Zonguldak University, Turkey, the Third is in Istanbul, Turkey; the last one Design Week Turkey in Istanbul.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Scientific Instruments, Medical Devices and Research Equipment Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: Vitak is an assistive device for basic speaking and language education of hearing impaired people. The product consists of two parts, the vocal cord vibration sensor and the screen. The part that giving visiual feedback also contains lip reading technology.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: The dimension of bag that includes all parts is 280 mm x 150mm x 40 mm
TAGS: Hearing impaired, deaf, education, language, speech threaphy, medical device
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: The charasteristic features of hearing impaired people, the educational, communicational and interactional probleblems of hard of hearing people, methods of speech theraphists, educational approach of parrents of deaf people are important research of this projects. Not able to hear causes not able to speak, so to over come this problem,there will be many feedback for in many ways to make deaf people to feel their voices, and make correct sound, especially providing self eductation.
CHALLENGE: The products, designed for hearing impaired people, usually only designed to make daily life easier and to minimize the problems that they will experience. Customary educational methods that applyed by speech theraphist and parrents are not effective methods for deaf people. Having a good education depend on having good theraphists or informed parrents. However, every deaf people may not have such this good education so Vitalk is try to solve education problems of deaf people.
ADDED DATE: 2017-12-03 11:55:54
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Abdulkadir Uruc, 2017.
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