Team:UChile Biotec/Applied Design
APPLIED
DESIGN
Although our method for detecting the red tide was interesting and delivered positive results, it did not cover the problem in a real way. The biggest problem was the people who interacted directly with the products contaminated with toxins. In this case, the entities in charge of the inspection of the shellfish and the fishermen of the south of our country.
Because of this, we decided that it was necessary to devise a system that allowed us to take our project to our final users, leaving the laboratory environment and bringing science to people in a simple way by means of a practical design.
METHODOLOGY
We rely on the methodology of project development "Design Thinking", which in a first stage allowed us to empathize with people who were directly affected by the problem. Thanks to these instances and previous research we gathered valuable information. We also devised a basic prototype and tested its functionality with fishermen. Finally, we obtained the necessary requirements to ideate our final design. Next we will expose all the steps that we followed in order to obtain the final product.
DEFINITION OF USER
Who is the user?
Our system did not seek to replace the current methods of detection, which is why our solution would not be oriented to the inspectors. Having this in mind, we defined that our user is a fisherman from the south of Chile, either industrial or artisanal.
What does the user do?
The user cultivates and collects seafood as it’s work activity. The fisherman works all year long.
Which problems does the user face?
The user can not immediately identify if the extracted seafood is contaminated with a high concentration of toxins, therefore the user always has the risk of losing a large amount of collected resources.
Due to the restrictions of the institutions in charge of the control, if the extracted shellfish have toxins at a high level, they can not continue their work and they must discard everything they have collected and this has repercussions such as not being able to support their homes.
OBSERVATION DURING THE FIELD TRIP
An important decision we made in order to understand our user, was to make a trip to the south of Chile. We went to the Isla Grande de Chiloé which in 2016 suffered a strong crisis because of the red tide. In Chiloé we watched the fishermen work and even got on a boat with them.
At first, defining the project consisted in making a survey about the real problem of the red tide. To do this, we visited institutions related to its control and detection, such as the SEREMI of health, SERNAPESCA, Armada de Chile and LABTOX. These entities explained to us what their protocols were to manage cases of red tide and how fisheries in the sector were tested on a daily basis.
From the information obtained and considering the laboratory requirements, the proposal we finally made was a red tide detection KIT. We concluded that in order to make sampling efficient, it was necessary to have more than one accessory, which implied: a grinder, a bottle with buffer, a box with papers and instructions. In summary, the idea was for the fisherman to take a sample of shellfish, grind it with the device, use a buffer in the liquid obtained and test the sample with a paper. If the seafood was contaminated with red tide the paper would change its color to a dark turquoise tone. The fisherman would compare with a color palette that shows the amount of toxicity according to the color of the paper.
PROTOTYPE 1
The first prototype of the shellfish grinder was built with 3mm MDF ribs, later it was sanded and painted to achieve a more polished construction. The objective of this prototype was to evaluate its usability in conjunction with the other accessories of the kit. The main criteria to evaluate were if the kit was comfortable, intuitive, easy to use and if it responded well to the task.
Software used: Fusion360 and SlicerforFusion.
Render of the grinder. This object of the kit consists of 3 parts. A sector that grinds, a sector that filters and another that contains the liquid that is extracted from the shellfish.
Software used: Fusion360
PROTOTYPE 1
Thanks to the support of the Trasantartic seafood company, we were able to test our kit with fishermen. In that moment the development of the detection papers was still in process so we used pH papers during the tests. The way in which it is evaluated with pH paper is very similar to our method.
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The test consisted of:
- Explaining what our project was about
- Have the fishermen take a sample and grind it
- Have the fishermen evaluate the liquid with pH paper
- Have the fishermen compare the paper with a sample of colors
While they followed these steps one by one, we observed their gestures and filled a "product usability file". In it we showed criteria that we could improve in the future with the use of questions such as: did you read the instructions?. This test led us to conclude that the color palette was not well understood and that the grinder was not comfortable at all because its pieces separated during its use.
Later, we evaluated with a "product emotional assessment test" what emotions were generated by having used the kit and the project in general. The results pointed to positive emotions, highlighting pride and satisfaction. This led us to conclude that our approach was good and that for the community the project was relevant, the fishermen said they would be willing to buy it if it were commercialized.
After all these tests we used the "interview" method where we applied some questions that we had previously elaborated to understand certain specific criteria. Through the interview we received recommendations of things we could improve and what things the fishermen liked from the product.
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The test consisted of:
- Explaining what our project was about
- Have the fishermen take a sample and grind it
- Have the fishermen evaluate the liquid with pH paper
- Have the fishermen compare the paper with a sample of colors
- Explaining what our project was about
- Have the fishermen take a sample and grind it
- Have the fishermen evaluate the liquid with pH paper
- Have the fishermen compare the paper with a sample of colors
- Have the fishermen compare the paper with a sample of colors
PROTOTYPE 2
As you can see in the "Design Thinking" methodology map, it is possible to move forward and backwards regarding the process of designing a product. In our case, we returned to define the attributes of the kit based on the results obtained in southern Chile. These conclusions were fundamental for the redesigning of a new improved kit. Although the final product is very similar to prototype 1 we were able to correct certain subtleties that we hope will improve the user experience. The grinder and the paper box were printed in 3D with PLA material.
