2nd Meeting (30th Jan '07)

Those Present: Sam, BJ, Jenny, Andy, Max

Aim: Discussion of new ideas

Ideas:
- An automatic complaint writer (targeted at older people). Would have a series of templates so that when that general irritation comes along, a letter to the Big Brother bosses at Channel 4 is produced, ready for signature. This would have to have a facility to preview and edit to potentially tailor any specifics. It was also suggested that voice recognition be incorporated so that the machine/programme could be activated from the comfort of your own sofa.

- A language teaching toy. The idea would be to expose babies, toddlers and/or young children to some (as yet undefined) fun, interactive toy which would expose that child to the basic phones and phonemes of a language, and build a somewhat limited vocabulary. Since young children pick up languages much more easily, this is a substitute for a bi-lingual partner speaking to your child. In terms of the phonetic side, it has been demonstrated that as children grow, they become accustomed to the phones they hear, and when they are older and are confronted by phones which exist in other languages but not their own, they have difficulty using these phones. As such a baby can be seen as an empty whiteboard in terms of linguistic development: this invention would help fill in some useful language building blocks around the child's native tongue.

- A tool to help babies learn how to walk. The aim would be to aid the balance of babies enabling a swifter and smoother transition from crawling to walking. This idea was generally dismissed since babies learn to walk perfectly well on their own, and such an invention would be pointless.

- Anti-crash paint. Originally mooted for cars (used in conjunction with the sensors which many cars already use, causing the car to automatically break when confronted with a looming object), it was suggested that the idea could be adapted to a home environment where babies and toddlers could be gently repelled from dangerous items/areas, avoiding the need for excessive 'baby-proofing'.

- An automated drinks service in a pub. This would be targeted at older people who are less mobile and perhaps unwilling to queue for drinks at the bar. There would be a terminal at each table where the customer could order drinks and page the bar staff.

- A wheelchair for those older people who are considerably less mobile, with many added extras. These include: in-build RFID chips to open doors in the house as the wheelchair approaches; GPS tracking in case the person manages to wander off and get lost (applicable to those with deteriorating mental health); the facility to monitor vital stats and send this information wirelessly to the staff at the retirement home or a local nursing station; access to some common household appliances - portability of devices across platforms so that a 'universal remote control' could be used; internet access across a wifi network, with a simple interface and large font size. Aside from the last two, the proposed enhancements are mostly invisible to the user, and would require very limited explanation or training. The universal remote and the internet would require more explanation to end users, but considering the target customers, should still be relatively straightforward. In a further extension to the functions of this wheelchair it was suggested that technology could be installed allowing a user to page the wheelchair from their phone, at which point the wheelchair would manoeuver itself to the user. This would be based on a (more advanced than currently available) pinpoint GPS system, and would also incorporate technology already seen in automated vacuum cleaners, whereby sensors can detect objects and change direction to go around them.

Targets for the next week: Choose an idea to start developing, an age range target to go with that project and create at least one persona for this project.