Final year project
U Cook - Providing Newly Visually Impaired Users the Confidence to… [Read more]
U Cook
U Cook is a friendly cooking buddy for those who have just developed a Visual Impairment. It allows users to feel confident that they will achieve a well-cooked meal without injury or stress, by monitoring the cooking process and using AI to understand things such as if users are conducting a process correctly, how cooked meat is or if recipe instructions require extra guidance due to potentially dangerous activities, amongst other things. This allows users to focus on the task at hand reducing complexity, and through the use of cameras to monitor what is occurring, users can gain reassurance, ask questions and redevelop core skills to build confidence in the kitchen so they can cook by themselves again.
U Cook - Cooking Confidence
U Cook connects to an app where users can find skill rated meals that inform them of key activities so users can tailor their cooking to their abilities and build up core skills over time reducing negative feelings around cooking. U Cook offers 2 types of communication, one where the user can request to use a friendly AI voice or two, can connect with a family member/friend who assists them through the process. Both types of communication provide the same level of information however, the connection to the family member/friend can help calm users which is useful at the beginning of the process.
U Cook - Integrated Monitoring
U Cook gathers the main information for the AI decision making and guidance from the over the shoulder wearable device, which houses a 120-degree wide-angle camera, a thermal imaging camera and a lidar scanner, which all work in harmony to provide consistent live footage straight to the onboard processing unit that can provide users with instant assistance. The device gathers information relating to its three core features that cover the key issue areas that were found to arise during research, these are 'Task Performance & Injury Reduction', 'Food Cooking Status' and 'Recipe Instructions'.
CleanAir
CleanAir aims to improve the health of its users by reducing the air pollution they breathe while travelling, providing personal air quality monitoring, encompassed within a smart band, that utilises a weaved electroactive polymer that tightens and loosens in reaction to electric currents to stimulate the discomfort of the lungs when travelling in polluted areas.
CleanAir - Cleaner Travel
The smart band of CleanAir combines with an app that provides the user with: cleaner alternative routes; health warnings; statistics on journeys so they can track progress; the ability to preplan journeys avoiding large areas of pollution, as well as ways they can reduce air pollution for others. CleanAir uses the incentive of better health and a proactive motivation about air pollution, providing users with actionable information that they can feel confident and trust in.
WeightedComfort
WeightedComfort allows the user to combine exercise with comfort in one environment. As a multi-functional piece of home furniture, it converts from a sleek industrial coffee table into a fully adjustable weight bench with 3 simple steps. This allows the user to improve the variety of weight-related exercises available to them within their home, alongside enabling them the ability to keep on top of their physical and mental wellbeing. It also provides clever storage solutions to hide all the key pieces of equipment the user will need for their weighted workout.
WeightedComfort - Connected Training
The main coffee table/weight bench combines with a set of smart weights that track your workouts using accelerometers providing exercise records within an app that can be used to challenge friends and bring friendly gym competition and motivation into the home.
Matthew Lloyd
I am passionate about using design to improve the world that we live in and I find learning and developing my design skills really rewarding.
I’m an inquisitive and enthusiastic designer and I apply myself to any challenge proposed to me wholeheartedly, aiming to empathise and understand the perspective of the user so I can tailor my design approach and make sure the final outcome is the best it possibly can be. I have a passion for Branding, Marketing and User Experience design. I find these really exciting fields and developing my skills in these areas is a key focus of mine.
Final year project
U Cook - Providing Newly Visually Impaired Users the Confidence to Cook Independently at Home
Awards
'21 RSA Student Design Awards, Design School Nominee
'21 Diploma in Professional Studies
'17 Student Starpack, Bronze Award
Work Experience
July '19 - July '20 Pavegen, London ǀ Design Intern.
While on Placement at Pavegen I worked across a plethora of projects, including developing a more thorough set of Brand Guidelines as well as working to develop proposal designs for a wide variety of brands and companies. I was able to go to Romania with our CEO to photograph the launch of a Pavegen installation, which I was involved in the design of alongside one of my colleagues.