24-Hour Design Sprint:
SMART HOME DESIGN FOR AGING IN PLACE
This event took place APRIL 14th - 15th, 2023
THE FINAL PITCHES
APRIL 14th - 15th, 2023
4pm Friday to 4pm Saturday*
@ the FSU Innovation Hub
*with 8-hour break for sleep at home
EVENT INFORMATION
Over $4,000 in prize money!
Three meals included!
Free event t-shirts for all participants!
Great opportunity to make new connections, gain marketable skills, and make a difference in the world!!
DESIGN SPRINT
A Design Sprint is an intensive problem solving session in which students work in teams to develop solutions to a real-world problem. Participants learn the Design Thinking process for understanding problems and developing innovative solutions. The session closes with teams pitching their ideas to win prizes and fame!
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Given that many people spend the final years of their lives in senior care facilities or hospitals,
how might we design a home environment that evolves with the needs of aging individuals to provide the care and comfort they need to spend their latter years happy and healthy at home.
Only 50 participant spaces available so register now!
Individuals and teams are encouraged to register!
Registration Full!!
PRIZES!
First Place: $400 per team member
Second Place: $250 per team member
Third Place: $200 per team member
Provided in the form of Tango Gift Cards
Teams are assumed to have five members
Team members must have participated in the entire design sprint to win a prize
The Challenge
Smart Home Design for
Aging in Place
“Old age is not for the faint of heart”
This is an old adage that develops real meaning for aging individuals as they face the challenges presented by failing bodies, slowing mental agility, and dulling senses. These challenges are further complicated by the emotional strain of losing partners, loved ones, and friends who have shared our long lives.
We are all aging. We all face challenges associated with aging. They occur at different times of life for different individuals. Common challenges associated with aging include:
physical frailties such as arthritis, tremors
weakness and difficulty with fine motor control
sensory failings in vision or hearing
mobility challenges from difficulty walking to inability to drive a vehicle
cognition impairments and memory loss
social isolation and loneliness
feeling vulnerable - safety and security
the need for frequent medical check-ups and procedures
These challenges impact all areas of life: meal preparation, housekeeping, getting out and about, visiting with friends, navigating an increasingly technical, complex world and everything in between. These challenges ultimately require many to move in with family, or into an assisted living community or retirement home. Smart Home technologies can assist aging individuals in staying in their home longer - aging in place, but is the elder generation willing and capable of using them?
Informational Resources
Smart Home Design for Aging in Place - Presentation by Dr. Hightow-Weidman
Smart Home for Seniors: What, Why? - Article
How Smart Home Tech Can Help Seniors Age in Place - Article
Smart Homes for Aging Adults - Article
Your Mission
Harness Your Creativity!
Work in an interdisciplinary team using Design Thinking (we’ll teach you how) to develop a solution that assists aging individuals in living a happy, healthy life at home. Your solution should address one or more of the challenges listed above.
Solutions may take any of the following forms:
a physical invention or design
-example: a robotic pet companion, a kitchen design, an invention that brings in the mailsoftware
- example: an app that reminds you when it’s time to take your medicinea service
- example: a meal delivery servicea system
- example: pairing up school kids with lonely elders for daily remote chatsa combination of two or more of the above
- example: a smart kitchen system that insures safety with appliances
ANY new and innovative solution to the challenge is valid. Just check to make sure it maps to JUDGING CRITERIA listed below.
Make sure your solution does not already exist on the market. To be innovative it must be something new!
Test your solution with specialists and stakeholders at the event. Feel free to test it on others remotely. Gather valuable feedback to improve your solution!
Develop a Simple Prototype
Visually illustrate your solution by creating a prototype as a visual aid to your presentation. Prototypes vary depending on the type of solution your developed. They include:
A storyboard
A diagram, floorplan, or other drawing
A constructed object made of crafting materials (supplies)
App drawings or screenshots (see www.proto.io) that illustrate a users experience
A product flyer or website (see www.wix.com)
Acting out the solution
A combination of two or more of the above
Pitch Your Solution
Develop a 3-minute presentation and slide deck (no more than 6 slides) to pitch your idea to the judges. Include your prototype to show how your solution is utilized. The 3-minute pitch will be followed by 2 minutes of Q&A.
Check out this video on the elevator pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-iETptU7JY
Consider the judging criteria and how your pitch will earn you points in the eight areas.
Tell a compelling story.
Provide statistics to show you did your research!
Show that there are no other effective solutions on the market.
Demonstrate your solution with a prototype.
Include stakeholder feedback - grandma or grandpa!
Practice, practice, practice!!!
Judging Criteria
Creativity and Innovation - Is this a new solution or are other solution providers already offering something similar? A high score is earned by a brand new solution not currently available.
Creativity and innovation - How creative and innovative is this idea? Is it something everyone would have thought of? A high score is earned by a highly imaginative and creative solution.
Impact - How useful will the solution be in increasing the time an aging adult can live at home independently? A high score is earned by a solution that fully addresses a problem related to aging in place.
Impact - How important is the issues that this solution addresses for stakeholders? A high score is earned by a very important issue being addressed - a critical necessity rather than a convenience.
Feasibility - Will it be easy to implement? Or will it reauire a lot of effort and investment? A high score is earned by a solution that is highly feasible.
Feasibility- How resilient and flexible is the solution? Will it withstand changes in technology or end user needs? A high score is earned by a solution that is very resilient and flexible.
Pitch - How effective was the prototype and presentation in selling the solution? A high score is earned by a very persuasive pitch.
Pitch - Did the presentation demonstrate the use of Design Thinking - utilizing the power of an interdisciplinary team, empathizing with the end user's needs through research, properly reframing the problem, applying ideation techniques, prototyping and testing? A high score is earned by full use of Design Thinking principles.
Note: this is an IDEAthon not a business pitch competition. There is no expectation of teams developing a business plan. Teams need only present their innovative idea for a solution.
The Process
Design Thinking
In Design Thinking we work in interdisciplinary teams to benefit from multiple perspectives and creative processes.
We begin with our “HMW”
How Might We design a home environment that evolves with the needs of aging individuals to provide the care and comfort they need to spend their latter years happy and healthy at home.Do some initial Planning and build teams (we’ve handled most of this for you!)
Empathize with the problem seeking to understand it to the best of your ability. This is accomplished by
exploring the challenge through the links provided above in The Challenge section
listening to the presentation at the beginning of the Design Sprint
asking questions of our panel of experts
research and explore on your own
Reframe the problem reducing the scope and finding an actionable area to work on creating a new HMW. For example your team may decide to focus on the social isolation challenge of aging in place.
Utilize Ideation tools to develop new and impactful solutions to your reframed HMW.
Use sticky notes to come up with as many solutions as you can think of, then group solutions by common themes, and select your favorites.
Consider applying solutions from other industries. Think out of the box. How would Elon Musk solve this? How might Airbnb think about this problem? Or Disney? Utilize random words to generate fresh ideas. Take a walk to gain inspiration from a new environment.
Select the most innovative, effective, and feasible solution to prototype and test. Choose a solution that best meets the judging criteria.
Build a Prototype of your solution (see above list of types) and test it on others. Your prototype should demonstrate how your solution is utilized.
Develop your pitch
no longer than 3 minutes in length
no more than 6 slides on Google Slides (provide the link)
More on Design Thinking at https://www.innovation.fsu.edu/design
Event Agenda
-
Planning, Teaming, Empathy, Framing
3:30 PM Check-in
4:00 PM Welcome and Introductions
4:05 PM Intro to Design Thinking
4:15 PM Presentation: Smart Home Design for Aging in Place
4:45 PM Panel Discussion
5:30 PM Break
5:40 PM Teaming
6:00 PM Dinner, Getting to Know You
6:30 PM Empathy and Reframing Presentation
6:45 PM Empath Work - Research and Stakeholder Interviews
8:00 PM Ideation and Prototyping Presentation
8:15 PM Team Work
12:00 AM Hub Closes
Friday, 8:00pm - Saturday, 8:00am
Teams may work on their own at the Hub until midnight, or work elsewhere. Take some time to sleep so that you feel sharp and rested on Saturday.
-
Ideation, Prototyping, and Pitching
8:00 AM Check-in / Breakfast / Networking
8:30 AM The Day Ahead Presentation - Ideation and Prototyping
8:45 AM Back to work!
12:00 PM Lunch & Learn "The Pitch"
12:30 PM Back to Work - Presentation
2:00 PM Gather for Pitches
Pitches will be 3 minutes, 6 slides with two minutes of Q&A3:30 PM Awards
4:00 PM Concludes
Participants, please provide us with your feedback!
https://fsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ezB9GBQigleB0Wy
SPONSORED BY:
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:
Planning Committee:
Lisa Hightow-Weidman, MD, MPH, Institute on Digital Health and Innovation
Matthew Rosso, MPH, Institute on Digital Health and Innovation
Emily Pritchard Ph.D., FSU Provost Office
Ken Baldauf, FSU Innovation Hub
Wes Dorce, FSU Innovation Hub
