Brief
Drinking straws and polythene bags may be bearing the brunt of the backlash, but the true scourge of single-use plastics is our sheer over reliance on them. From transport to manufacturing to food services, plastic is everywhere, and combatting this “white pollution” will require a sea change in the material itself.
Fortunately, scientists, engineers and designers are shifting their focus to ecologically friendly alternatives that create circular, low-waste ecosystems – liquid wood, algae insulation, and polymer substitutes made from fermented plant starch such as corn or potatoes, for example.
In this one-week workshop, we need to used different eco-material, algae, to design a product, in the mean time, we also need to consider the whole process of a product, such as manufacture as well as recycle process.
concept
According to some biology article, algae can change colour after contact with bacteria. We got inspiration from that, and we had an idea which is designing a products that can show people's physical condition. In addition, people also can use it to absorb virus instead of a tissue when they are sneezing. After brainstorming, we made a prototype to define the appearance of our product, we suppose the shape of hand can fit the way that people actually use tissues.
However, we tested these prototype and we found that people may feel uncomfortable when they wear this algae patch on their hand for a long time. Therefor, we need to redefine how it might look like.
We read some reference and we found that sweat is a rich chemical full of molecules ranging from simple electrically charged ions to more complex proteins that can shed light on what is happening inside the human body. Doctors can use sweat to diagnose certain diseases, uncover drug use and reveal insight into athletic performance. We put forward an idea: Can we put a sensor into the algae patch to detect people's health data? To support our assumption, we collected different professional paper of this technology.
material making
We assume that chemical reactions within the sensor's compartments result in visible changes in colour that reveal what levels of a given biomarker are present in the sweat.
In order to stimulate the chemical reaction of some biomarkers, such as pH, lactate, chloride and glucose levels within the sensor, we made different colour algae patch by laser cutting.
design outcome
The device is designed to collect and analyze sweat for key biomarkers, or markers of health. For instance, the sensor can show how people are responding to exercise, including whether someone needs to make adjustments, such as drinking more water or replenishing electrolytes. And it is also helpful in helping to identify health problems. Beside, we designed an app to collect the data from the sensor and we will provide a health report to user every week.
All the material of our product can be recycled after people use it, they only need to take down the sensor and collect the patch as well as package together then send to "our company".
In the final design, we used the golden sticker to stimulate the sensor and we also design a package which is made of algae.
storyboard
Children's Health: Nutra-patch can help you identify some potential health problems when you're worried that your child might be exposed to health problems on her / his way to school.
You can track your health condition through the color showed on the patch, accurate data will be uploaded to the app though the sensor and then form your personal health report.
Recycle: Nutra-patch is made of algae which is a natural material and it can be decomposed and reused.
