Indoor Navigation Vest

What it does

Paramedics waste time in buildings they’ve never seen—looking for stairs, door codes, the right floor. Pathfinder is a vest that guides them straight to the patient—fast, direct, no wrong turns.

Your inspiration

I looked for a problem worth solving. One evening a delivery driver couldn't find the entrance to our building. This sparked the idea to help people find their way inside buildings. Then through research and meetings I realized: "Paramedics have this problem too and lives are at stake! How can we help them to get to their patients faster?" The solution didn't have a single inspiration. For every challenge I asked: how else can we solve this?

How it works

Like GoogleMaps for indoors. It shows and tells paramedics how to get to their patient faster. Every command is shown on the screen and played over the speaker. Because GPS doesn't work inside, it uses two cameras. The cameras see slightly different pictures. Those differences allows the vest to understand three dimensions and movement. Just like humans do with their eyes. Self driving cars or AR Goggles use this technology too. It's called visual SLAM. The vest compares the image with floor plans of buildings. More and more buildings are required to have digital floor plans. Key information like stairs, doors codes, and apartment numbers can be shared too. Based on the context, the vest shows paramedics how to get to the patient as fast as possible.

Design process

First I invested a few weeks to understand the context and paramedics. Once I cleared my assumptions and had a clear problem. I asked in what ways can we help paramedics to get to their patient faster? Drones, Robots, an App? I used lateral thinking to come up with alternative solutions. In the end a navigation device would help paramedics best. It's simple, hands-free, and based on existing tech. Next I tested if navigation inside was possible. I gave papers with instructions to friends and watched if they found apartments in buildings faster. Once the experience was set I designed the actual product. I sketched, 3D modelled and tested assumptions with simple prototypes. How big should it be? Made a carboard prototype. Where do you need straps to adjust? Cut up an old t-shirt. To tell paramedics where to go I had the idea to use one vibration motor on each shoulder. So I strapped an Arduino with a vibration motor to a crude cardboard prototype. And it worked fantastic. Until I put on a winter coat underneath... you couldn't feel a thing! Through many iterations like this I reached the current result.

How it is different

It is purpose-built for paramedics to get them to their patients faster. It is not trying to be multi-purpose. It is a unique solution for their exact needs. They need free hands, context based commands, and it needs to be repairable. Smartphone apps exist but are not hands free. The vest sees their context. The reflective fabric sleeve can be washed. The electronics on the inside are widely available for repairs. Those solutions are uniquely tailored to needs of paramedics. Only possible because I tried to solve one specific problem.

Future plans

There are many more iterations ahead to reach a producible product. The clear next step is to build a working prototype. The prototypes before were aimed at parts of the experience and tested specific aspects. With a working prototype every assumption I made will be uncovered. I can hand the product to experts and paramedics and let them try it out.
 Take their feedback and come back with a slightly improved version. I deeply love designing better products for people and will continue on that path.

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