Press Release
Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu and Guanghui Huang Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Touchnav Navigation Cane in Product Engineering and Technical Design
Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu and Guanghui Huang honored for product engineering and technical design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 16, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Touchnav Navigation Cane by Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu and Guanghui Huang, designed for Touchnav, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Product Engineering and Technical Design category. The award was conferred within the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
About Touchnav Navigation Cane
Touchnav is an innovative navigation aid that enables blind individuals to navigate independently, offering a heightened sense of security. Its tactile progress bar enhances users' awareness of their journey's progress, improving spatial awareness and safety. Memory point vibrations provide gentle guidance, strengthening users' connection to their environment. More than a mere tool, Touchnav is a supportive companion that boosts the confidence and safety of visually impaired users, empowering them to confidently engage with the world around them.
About Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu and Guanghui Huang
Jifeng Shen is a scholar specializing in human-computer interaction, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Design Management at the Macau University of Science and Technology. He has led multiple projects, accumulating extensive practical experience. Shen has received several design awards, including the American IDEA Design Award and Core77, showcasing his exceptional talent and innovation in the design field. He is dedicated to combining the theory and practice of human-computer interaction, promoting the application of intelligent technologies in design, and providing users with more convenient and efficient solutions.
Award Record
With this recognition, Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu and Guanghui Huang is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Product Engineering and Technical Design Award
The A' Engineering Design Award is an international competition recognizing outstanding engineering projects by top engineers and consulting firms worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to product engineers, technical designers, industrial designers and industrial design studios from all countries. Typical entries include blueprints, prototypes, schematics, CAD models, technical drawings and machine designs. The awarded engineering designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/engineering
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/159017
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/159017
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!159017
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/352147
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Touchnav Navigation Cane
- Function
- Navigation Cane
- Category
- Product Engineering and Technical Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Colors
- Gray, Wheat, Dim Gray, Tan and Light Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Touchnav
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu and Guanghui Huang
- Country
- Macau (China)
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2023 - 2024
- Design ID
- #159017
Credits
- Team
- Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu, zinan Li, Yaowei Zheng and Pengyu Chen
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Traditional visual impairment aids focus on obstacle detection but lack in providing spatial and distance awareness. Touchnav converts invisible navigation paths into physical tactile feedback, enabling users to intuitively sense remaining distances, thus addressing this gap. Additionally, its vibration feature for identifying familiar locations boosts navigational confidence, significantly reducing anxiety in unfamiliar areas.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by the intrinsic human need for security and familiarity, we recognise that this need is particularly evident in the travel of the visually impaired. Traditional aids are often more focused on obstacle detection and fall short in providing spatial and distance perception. Can we use haptic feedback, a technology that converts complex data such as distance and direction into simple tactile signals, to provide a new navigation experience for visually impaired users?
- Research
- There are approximately 43 million visually impaired individuals worldwide, and the lack of independent and safe mobility is identified as the greatest barrier to their travel. Navigating can be particularly challenging for visually impaired persons, especially when confronted with complex traffic information, leading to anxiety due to a lack of safety. To underscore the significance of assistive mobility technologies in this context, we conducted qualitative research on the travel issues faced by visually impaired individuals. Our study involved user interviews for in-depth needs analysis, employing the Kano model to evaluate the use of mobility tools.
- Challenge
- The biggest challenge in this design activity is to transform abstract navigation information into tangible tactile feedback that can be intuitively perceived by visually impaired individuals. During the project development and implementation process, it is crucial to ensure that the technological solutions are innovative yet practical and meet the specific needs of visually impaired users. Internal challenges include understanding the perception methods of visually impaired users, designing intuitive tactile feedback mechanisms, and ensuring the comfort and ease of use of the device.
- Realization and Technology
- The grip of the Touchnav is fabricated from ABS plastic material through the injection moulding process, with its surface treated with metal sandblasting to enhance its texture. It employs a snap-fit connection structure, making it easy to assemble and disassemble. To improve its waterproofness, a gasket is installed inside the grip, thus extending the product's lifespan. The main shaft of the walking stick is made from lightweight aluminium alloy, not only ensuring the product's waterproof and heat-resistant properties but also catering to the need for portability during travel. The smooth design of the shaft assures the extendibility of the walking stick.
- Operation and Interaction
- The primary function of this product is to materialize the entire navigation process into tangible form, which is achieved through four key steps: 1. Users can interact with Touchnav by pressing a voice command button to input their desired destination. 2. Upon receiving the voice input, Touchnav retrieves detailed information about the specified destination, including the location's coordinates, the user's estimated distance, and the anticipated travel time, providing a comprehensive overview for the user. 3.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in Hangzhou, China, in April 2023 and was completed in Macau, China, in January 2024.
- Specifications
- Contracted Length 170mm Width 30mm Height 33mm Extended Length 1200mm
- Keywords
- White cane, navigation, mobility assistive technology, progress bar, tactile feedback
