#unicefnationalprofiles
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, produces 2-4 page “national profiles” for the Countdown to 2030 Initiative that describe the progress of low- and middle-income countries in improving women’s, children’s and adolescent’s health. Each contains various charts and tables describing nutrition, interventions, mortality and more. They are meant to help countries decide how to allocate technical and financial resources, and help civil society organizations hold countries accountable.
In this project, students will focus on key charts and visualizations in these profiles, with the goal of communicating the information in them more clearly. They will first learn about and evaluate the existing charts; then generate, choose, and prototype possible improved versions; and finally evaluate those improvements. The project results will inform the redesign of the profiles by UNICEF.
#unicefequityprofiles
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, produces 2-4 page “equity profiles” for the Countdown to 2030 Initiative that describe the progress of low- and middle-income countries in improving societal equity. Each contains various charts and tables describing income, education, and more. They are meant to help countries decide how to allocate technical and financial resources, and help civil society organizations hold countries accountable. The Federal University of Pelotas prepares these profiles.
In this project, students will focus on key charts and visualizations in these profiles, with the goal of communicating the information in them more clearly. They will first learn about and evaluate the existing charts; then generate, choose, and prototype possible improved versions; and finally evaluate those improvements. The project results will inform the redesign of the profiles by UNICEF and the Federal University of Pelotas.
#catdieselbuddy
Caterpillar vehicles working on a site must refuel regularly and quickly in order to efficiently meet their goals. However, the fueling environment is complex: there are multiple vehicles that must refuel, multiple fueling sources, and vehicles are constantly in motion. Fortunately, real time mapping and tracking of vehicles and fuel sources can help solve this complex problem. How can this information be marshalled and presented to operators and supervisors to solve this refueling problem efficiently?
In this project, students will learn about the refueling problem and related solutions, generate a range of possible solutions, choose among those solutions, then prototype and evaluate those solutions. NOTE: students working on this project must be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement with CAT.
#cattouchvsphysical
Caterpillar has been adding touchscreens to its vehicles for several years now. On the one hand, this allows CAT to give additional vehicle control to the operator. On the other hand, this accessing touchscreen controls requires extra attention from the operator. Which functions should be accessed through traditional physical controls, and which through touchscreens?
In this project, students will learn about CAT's need for additional control, the limits of human attention, best practices in assigning controls to touchscreens, and existing related solutions. They will then generate a range of possible distributions of controls across touchscreen and physical, choose a few of those solutions, then prototype and evaluate those solutions. NOTE: students working on this project must be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement with CAT.
#designtiltastory
Children's applications for mobiles have a rich history, and are underappreciated as a class. Yet strangely, they have not kept up with mobile device capabilities such as position sensors, orientation sensors and more. One way this might happen is by updating classic marble tilting labyrinth games to work on mobiles, adding a range of interactive and narrative components not possible in analog settings.
In this project, students will learn about mobile capabilities and existing children's games. They will then generate a range of solutions that digitize classing marble labyrinth games, choose among them, implement a prototype, and evaluate it. NOTE: project students must meet regularly with design students in Profs. Fitzgerald and Lee's studio.
#designretrospective
Photography is well over a century old now, enabling us to see the passage of time. However, new mobile and geolocation technologies should make it possible to experience the passage of time even more viscerally: by being guided on foot to a location, then holding up a device and seeing what's in front of you fade into the past.
In this project, students will learn about "then and now" photography, mobile guiding apps, and look for historic pictures of NC State in its archives. They will then generate a range of solutions for a “then and now” tour, choose among them, implement a prototype, and evaluate it. NOTE: project students must meet regularly with design students in Profs. Fitzgerald and Lee's studio.
#optumpatientintake
Medical clinics use tablet apps during patient encounters to manage and record patient visits. Often, this is done by physicians themselves, who now must not only attend to the patient, but also take notes. This can lead to patient dissatisfaction and physician burnout. How can an app mitigate this problem? Apps should support natural language input, and produce notes that are shareable between medical platforms.
In this project, students will learn about the complexities of patient encounters and the records that must be produced. They will then generate potential solutions, choose among them, prototype those solutions, and evaluate them.
#optumclaimreports
When checking insurance claims, agents see lists of reports sorted by name, with links to detail screens. Agents cannot decide which cliams to examine before they click to the details. How could the reports be improved to make claim processing more efficient, and less tiring?
In this project, students will learn about the complexities of patient claim processing, and existing solutions. They will then generate potential new solutions, choose among them, prototype those solutions, and evaluate them.
#lexisvirtualcourtroom
The core mission of LexisNexis (LN) is to strengthen the rule of law. LN achieves this by providing legal professionals with tech-powered solutions that help them do their jobs more efficiently. The recent pandemic forced many court systems to rethink the way that trials are conducted. Countless experiments leveraging Zoom and other virtual conferencing tools have seen mixed success. With the growth of VR and the metaverse, perhaps a more realistic and immersive experience is possible. What could a virtual courtroom could be and how might it impact judges, attorneys, witnesses, the jury, and others involved?
In this project, students will study how cases are conducted in the courtroom, along with existing examples of "Zoom" cases. They will then generate many potential solutions, choose among them, and next prototype and evaluate them.