James Duffy
Product Design
Final year project
Transforming the experience of indoor bike training and racing for competitive… [Read more]
True Move - Final Year Design Project
Together a body tracker and a rear mechanical assembly enable a more realistic motion when riding indoors.
Frontal Tracker Operation
The frontal tracker maps the rider’s body position and generates a mesh. The frontal area of the rider is calculated, and this data is fed into the rider’s app of choice. The body position also controls the rear assembly's dampers. When the rider is out of the saddle the magnetorheological fluid dampers slacken off to allow the bike to rock back and forth as it would on the road.
Frontal Tracker
To allow the tracker to fit into as many different environments as possible it can be stood on its end, laid flat or even mounted on a tripod.
Simulating Rear Movement - Vertical Tilt
The magnetorheological fluid dampers allow the rider to be supported when in the saddle with a small degree of rocking. When the rider is out of the saddle, the dampers slacken off allowing the rider to sprint more naturally.
Simulating Rear Movement - Lateral Movement
When out on the road bikes not only exhibit vertical tilt, the rear of the bike also steps out with each pedal stroke when sprinting. The system is placed on a series of linear rails. This allows the rear of the bike to slide back and forth. Further allowing the bike to move in a way that mimics the natural feel of the road.
Seatbelt Adjuster - Live Project
Gender inequality in-car safety design has been an overlooked topic for a long time. Many companies have only used the standard male test dummy, meaning many seatbelt designs and layouts cut across the necks of women and children, resulting in serious injuries that could have been avoided.
Scenario Board
By having a device that can fit any car headrest, any seatbelt position can be altered to address the needs of its passengers.
Narwhal Children's Design
A range of different variations have been designed from understated colour schemes that blend in with the car to more child-friendly designs to look like different animals
James Duffy
I am a problem-solving product designer with a passion for tacking complex problems and creating products that resolve user issues
I derive a great sense of accomplishment from creating functional and manufacturable products. I take pride in carefully creating physical prototypes to prove concepts and ideas as well as meticulously designing features to enable the product to become a reality. At the heart of everything I do is a curiosity to learn and develop, taking that knowledge and applying it to a product that will make other lives easier.
Final year project
Transforming the experience of indoor bike training and racing for competitive athletes
Work Experience
I am proud to have worked for Sand & Birch Design, a design consultancy based in Italy, where I had the opportunity to collaborate with people from across the world on exciting projects. While at Sand & Birch I contributed to a wide range of projects and developed them from their inception through to advanced prototypes, meeting with clients and manufacturers to bring the design to life. My time at Sand & Birch was an invaluable experience and allowed me to develop my communication skills both linguistically and visually.