"If you observe your past that's all you'll ever be, if you look to the future that's all you'll ever become"
Response Vehicle of the Future
Project Overview
Emergency response personnel are among the most valued American heroes of this country. Their reputation for braving through dangerous environments for the health and safety of the community is extremely respected. The first operational fire brigade was founded 1736 in Philadelphia, and since then fire departments have been upgrading their equipment and procedures to increase mission success. These upgrades generally took advantage of the technical advancements of the time.
Our team of human-computer interaction students teamed up with a client from the Crisis Technologies Innovation Lab named John Poehlman to come up with solutions to modernize and improve fire department practices, with special attention to the fire engines. After extensive research and interviews with subject matter experts, our team identified a problem space that has the greatest opportunity to improve fire department success with respects to their equipment and systems. Our data showed that firefighters are looking for communication solutions, as well as tools that increase their situational awareness. By the end of our process, we have come up with a system we believe adequately addresses the pain points of the professionals.
My contributions
Interviews
Prepared questions and personally interviewed Jayme Washel (Bloomington Fire Department, Department Deputy Chief) and Jackson Rumble (Muncie Fire department). These interviews help provide a basis for gauging the general problems in the first response industry.
Affinity Mapping
One of the main contributors to the Affinity mapping of all the qualitative data of recurring concerns and talking points. Sections were mainly based on concerns with vehicles, roles, responsibilities, problems(etc).
Extensive research
Gathered information on various topics such as foreign fire departments and daily activities a responder does. Helping the team and I have a better idea of the current state of the U.S. first response industry.
Empathy mapping
One of the main contributors when making an empathy map based on an affinity diagram. The team further categorized their data into categories in quadrants of thinks, feels, says, and does, allowing them to gauge the user’s thought processes and build empathy.
White board brainstorming
Attended and contributed to a whiteboard brainstorming session hosted by John Poehlman(Crisis Technologies Innovation Lab professor at IU Bloomington). To produce a product idea based on our previously gathered data.
Final report
Added personal contribution to the final report and made the conclusion once the project was finished
