Final Project with Child Study Center - Week 1

My partner, Thessaly, and I chose to work with the Wellesley Child Study Center for our final project. Before picking two possible projects, we considered a lot of the problems (or "things that could be better" as she phrased it) that the director of the center suggested we tackle. Some possible projects were a way to alert teachers when students want to climb up and down ladders, a fun and risky-feeling game that actually doesn't risk the children's safety, a way to make children aware of time, a system that reminds children to switch between games without adults having to repeatedly tell them, or a way to make children wash their hands thoroughly.


We chose to work with either a "clock" for children or a system that would make washing hands fun for children and make them follow the right steps when cleaning their hands.

1) A "heart timer"

As we tried to show in the first slide of our presentation to our class, we proposed making a heart-shaped assortment of LEDs that light up in pattern that makes it look like the heart is growing as time passes by. We chose the heart shape to symbolize affection and the proximity of someone dear to the children coming soon (their parents coming to take them home at the end of the day). Since the time for activities or for the entire day varies, we planned to make the range adjustable using a potentiometer (for continuous times) or a set of buttons each representing an amount of time to set the "timer" to.

We later discussed this with Amy, our professor, and realized that the heart shape may be too abstract for the 2-4 year-old children, and that the growth of the size may not be very noticeable.


2) An interactive sink

Our second idea was a feedback-control system that would engage and inform children as they wash their hands to make sure they do so for the appropriate amount of time and following the right steps. This tackles the problem that a lot of the children at the center either completely forget to wash their hands, do without soap, or don't spend enough time to do so.

Here, we planned to place a force sensor under the sink where the child would stand and an ultrasonic or motion sensor next to the sink where it can sense the child's hands under the faucet. We planned to have the force sensor trigger a voice that welcomes the child, invites them to start washing their hands, and promises to start singing if they start washing their hands. The ultrasonic sensor, when detecting hands under the faucet would trigger a song about washing hands. This lasts 20 seconds, the recommended amount of time for a child to be washing their hands. The voice, controlled by Arduino  would then cheer and encourage the child to close the tap, dry their hands and go.

As a mechanical component, we also included a pair of 3D hands to move (using servo motors) in a way that resembles hand washing movement to catch the child's attention and give a visual suggestion to wash their hands.

After our presentation and discussion with Amy, we considered incorporating the first idea into the second: we may be able to have an LED timer (looking more like the "loading..." bar that gives children a sense of time as they wash their hands.

At this point, we have no clue how to make music with Arduino or if any of this will work out as planned, but we are really excited to work on our very own project and for a real client. Expect more about our final project in the coming weeks.


Thanks for your time.

Meba