Prasoon Gokhe
Integrated Industrial Design
A Computer Science Engineer turned into an Industrial Designer who believes design is an amalgam of rationality, feasibility, aesthetics and empathy.
Major project
Posturight : A generatively designed personalized physical wellbeing device to help maintain correct posture.
Posturight : A posture monitoring device
Posturight is computationally designed device to help maintain correct posture and provide pain relief to people who spent great amount of time in front of mobile and computer screens.
Design Brief and Proposition
Due to the increasing culture of work from home and continuous use of mobile and laptop screens in an incorrect posture for an extended period, the strain increases in the cervical and thoracic region which can lead to long-term issues like Kyphosis, Osteoarthritis and severe back ache.
Developing countries like India may become the osteoarthritis capital of the world with over 60 million cases by 2025, with youth being 40 per cent of it. Text neck and slouching are major causes that lead to the problem. Target users spend around 8 hrs sitting in the same place and have developed backaches or body ailments due to prolonged improper postures.
The proposed solution is a wearable device that can be worn by the user on their back. The device is capable of detecting the angle of inclination at cervical and thoracic regions with the help of IMU sensors present in it, and whenever the user slouches for more than 10 secs, a vibrational response will be provided to the correct posture. Along with this, the device also has easy to detach optional heating unit for pain relief which can be removed as per the user's requirements.
Research and Product Ideation
4 research methods were used in this project to get to know the problem cause and user's needs. Initially, existing research papers were referred to get to know the anatomy of the human spine and the reasons for back pain. An online survey was conducted among the target user group to collect quantitative data about screen usage, intensity and region of pain.
Semi-structured interviews were taken with the participants to gain more insights into the user’s behaviour and routine in terms of posture and remedies. The users were also asked to record a 30 min timelapse video of them sitting in their workplace. This data was then analysed to find out the pattern of slouching posture correction.
The ideation of the project was inspired by various computationally designed products. This helped create the product with organic aesthetics and also helped in making the product lightweight by using less material and thereby decreasing the product cost.
As the product is designed with personalized dimensions, the computational design helped in creating a pipeline to make the whole process more streamlined.
Product Development
The selected concept sketch was then prototyped using foam modelling and 3D printing. Multiple foam models and 3d printed parts were then tested for ergonomics and functionality of joints and other parts.
The electronic prototype was also tested and verified with multiple heat pads, IMU sensors, vibrational motors and relay boards.
User Testing and Evaluation
As part of product development, two user testing sessions were organized to get feedback from users. The motive of the first testing session was to get the temperature values which users find comfortable and position them on their shoulders to place weight.
In the second session, the users were invited for functional testing and were asked to interact with the product.
Participants were asked about the aesthetics, feasibility, weight, and usability of the product.
The product was also tested against the electronic components to verify the heating temperature and angle of inclination.
Renders and Context
The device has the optional heating module which can be easily detached from the main device. Control buttons can be used to turn on the heating. The renders provide exploded view of different components of the device.
Movii: An Inclusive Design Project
As part of the Design for Inclusivity module, Movii was a smart home device concept developed for elderly citizens. Movii is a smart home device with a remote module which can help the elderly being connected with the stationary part of the device.
The remote module of the device is helpful for users who have hearing, visual and mobility impairments. The tactile selection wheel and button on the remote device help the user in easy control and selection of the options in the device.
X-Plorer : A Surface Modelling Project
As part of the Advanced 3D, Industrial Design and Technology Skills and Digital Fabrication module, Xplore was designed and developed. It is designed by creating a hypothetical persona of an underwater archaeologist and photographer in the era when the cities are submerged. X-plorer is equipped with LIDAR sensors, which will help in mapping the submerged building and artefacts.
During the project, Class A surface modelling, Design for Manufacture, 3D printing and CNC Machining was explored.
Prasoon Gokhe
Major project
Posturight : A generatively designed personalized physical wellbeing device to help maintain correct posture.
Work Experience
Ribbon Communication Bangalore, India
Senior Software Engineer
Key responsibilities include developing python, perl and bash scripts to monitor and optimize product’s real-time statistics. Was a key contributor for installation and upgrade cycles for multiple products. Led the UI/UX design strategy for an internal marketplace expense monitoring platform that built cost efficiencies across teams in the company.
ProOrator Academy
Bangalore, India
UI/UX Designer
Being the only designer in the company owned and developed company’s website including UI, frontend and backend logistics. Brought company’s brand ideas to life wherein not only defined brand guidelines, but also built all design collaterals for the company inclusive of marketing and PR assets.
The Veracity
Bhopal, India
Co-Founder and Head of Design
As a cofounder, managed various business operations, was responsible for website development and led the design function of the company. Built brand identity, defined brand guidelines, managed and owned design functions for the daily blog based startup.