My Remote Internship
As part of my Masters degree in Product Design at Cardiff Metropolitan University, I was required to complete an industrial placement. I was extremely lucky to be given the opportunity to undertake a 4-week internship with ITERATE Design + Innovation. Due to social distancing guidelines, it was agreed that the internship should be undertaken remotely. During the placement, I undertook bi-weekly conference calls with Gethin Roberts (Managing Director) and Thomas Gray (Product Design Engineer). This was a great way to update them on my progress but also gain feedback, support, and guidance. As a result, I was tasked with the development of a medical/healthcare product that leveraged SigFox technology. SigFox technology is growing tremendously with its low-power ability to connect sensors and devices, with the aid of small byte commands.
After an extensive amount of primary and secondary research, I was able to identify a problem that could be solved with the implementation of SigFox technology. Below is the identified need for a new design: “In 2015, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) identified nearly 1,000 defibrillators in Ireland that could fail in an emergency because of outstanding maintenance issues.” (Vt, 2016)
Design Brief
To design and develop a product solution that will send regular reminders to providers of automated external defibrillator (AED) devices. With the intention to keep AEDs serviced and maintained, reducing the risk of failure in an emergency scenario.
Solution
An external device, which will send monthly maintenance reminders to AED monitoring centres with the aid of SigFox technology. Allowing professionals to carry out suitable checks, in order to minimise risks of failure. With the aid of research, it was also found that AED devices are often misplaced after use. Therefore, in order to overcome this issue a GPS tracker was also put in place, allowing monitoring centre to receive coordinates and locate the device.
Overall, I have really enjoyed my remote internship with ITERATE, and despite not being able to visit the office and have the full ‘industrial placement’ experience, Gethin and Thomas were very supportive and made sure I still gained a lot from this experience. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I was given. It was challenging yet beneficial; it gave me invaluable insights to the design industry, it encouraged determination and investigation to overcome challenges that have developed skills that can be transferred to future projects. It has been a pleasure working with ITERATE.
