Critical appraisal of prototype

Through the testing of the prototype with the children it was realised that the pen was easy to use and appealing. Some of the children thought of the pen as a toy and that motivated them to try it out. However there was a mishap with one of the children that led to a damaged prototype due to frustration. This behaviour could be avoided with a little more supervision but it was tolerated for the purposes of the prototype testing.

The children interacted with the pen pretty well. Children easily understood what they had to do and what the next action was. In addition the messages of the pen were received with excitement. The LCD screen proved to be in the right position and it was easily read.

The pen was a bit heavier than what the children were used to but that did not make it uncomfortable to use. Moreover when the children spent a few minutes with the pen the weight was not an issue.

The functionality of the button of the pen was not as easy as expected. Some children had problems turning the pen on as they did not know that they needed to hold the button pressed for a few seconds. To remedy that it was decided that the pen would turn on and await a word with a single button press. Moreover a single button press at the middle of a spoken word resets the pen to word acceptance mode. The pen enters stand by mode if it is left unused for a period of time and after a longer period it shuts down completely.

The children seemed comfortable writing with the pen and they did not mind the thicker part in the centre of the pen. However they felt a bit uncomfortable in the part where the transition is made from the thin tip of the pen to the thick centre part. Therefore it was decided to design a smoother transition of thickness from tip to centre part.

John's first use of the prototype

Today John has tested the prototype. Before giving the prototype to John, his parents explained him that it is a pen used for learning purposes. The first step was to switch on the pen, something that John could not achieve as he didn't know that the button had to be pressed for a few seconds. After a while, with the help of his father, John managed to switch on the pen and said the word "cat", a word that he thoroughly practiced at school. After he succesfully wrote that word, he looked very amazed with the "rewarding" animation and tune.

After that, his father instructed him to shout a new word but this time harder than the previous one. John thought of the word "snake" but repeatedly failed to write it down, not knowing what goes next after the letter "a". Finally, after his several failed attemps, the pen tipped him off the letter "k" and then was able to complete the word. His reaction about the tip was overwhelming, because before the tip he seemed very desperate for not knowing what letter was next in line.

Even though John did not complain for the thickness or texture of the pen, his mother realized that his handwriting was different than his usual. However, John was very pleased with the prototype. Not letting the pen go off his hands, it seemed like he was treating it as a toy.

Gloria tries the prototype

Gloria was given the pen to try out. Her initial response was somewhat indifferent. She didn't seem to react to the pens design and look as the other children did. However, when she realized it was no ordinary pen she was excited to give it a try and find out just what it can do. She was told how to use it but she didn't seem to pay attention to her parents, she was too eager to play with it. Hopefully she would figure it out herself once she got to work with it for a while.
She was trying to turn it on but couldn't figure out that the on/off button needed to be held pressed so her father told her how to do it. Once turned on the pen prompted her to speak a word to spell out. She spoke the word "house" and the pen repeated "house". After a slight delay the pen said "h" and displayed the letter "h" on the screen. Gloria then attempted to "draw" the letter "h". After lifting the pen it sounded the letter "o" which Gloria successfully wrote again. Upon reaching the letter "s" however, Gloria could not draw it correctly so the pen kept informing her that she drew it incorrectly. After 3 consecutive unsuccessful tries, Gloria got frustrated and threw the pen across the table and left eventually breaking the pen.

Gloria's experience with the pen was not a success. It showed us that, although built to be as simple as possible, the pen may seem complicated to certain individuals of the target age. Additionally, this experience showed us that, to someone who doesn't really want to learn and sees the product as a toy, the pen can be annoying and frustrating to use. However since the pen is marketed as a learning tool and not as a toy, this drawback cannot be considered serious.

Emma's experience with the prototype

Emma has just had her first experience with a prototype of the pen.

She really liked the design of the pen and the pink colour with white clouds, that was this pens design, really appealed to her. At first she thought that it was just a fancy pen and asked why would we want to test a pen. When we explained to her what the pen was about she wanted to try it immediately so that she could write a letter to her father.

By her motions one could clearly see that she found the pen a bit heavy at first but with time she got used to the little extra weight.

She instinctively pressed the button on the top of the pen to start writing. She was surprised that the pen spoke to her and told her to say the word she would like to write. She said the word 'daddy'. Following the instructions spoken by the pen she wrote a few letters. When she reached the letter 'y' she paused because she did not know how to write the letter 'y'. The pen, after some time of not detecting letters, prompted Emma to look at the LCD screen for the shape of the letter. Emma looked at the pen and saw the shape of the letter on the screen.

Emma was glad that the pen was able to help her to complete the word. She felt like she accomplished something and the celebration tunes and animation encouraged her to celebrate.

Emma was left with the pen for hours to complete a letter for her father. She was very proud that she accomplished to write a whole letter by herself and even more happy when she saw her fathers expression when he read the letter.

Final protoype

After a meeting we had, the final prototype was discussed and its features were decided. The following diagram is the outer design of the pen and the hardware configuration of its components.

As you can see from the diagram, the final prototype blends the features found in the previous prototypes. Its main features are:

1. A total height of 15cm. This size was decided to be the perfect size for children's hands to hold. It's not too small and not too large.
   
2. Near the end of the tip, the thickness of the pen is 1cm and covered with non-slippery surface. This makes it ideal to children's hands. It's also not too thick for children to hold and makes transition to ordinary pens and pencils easier.
3. A ballpoint sensor was decided to be used as the tracking mechanism. It was preferred over gyroscopes, because of its accuracy.
   
4. The thickness of the pen increases after the "grip" area ends. This is essential since room must be made for the hardware.
5. The top part of the pen will resemble the one found in the last prototype. It will accommodate an LCD screen and it will slightly bend inwards. This will help the user see what's actually going on on the screen without much effort. The back of the LCD will also be reinforced so that it can withstand brutal misuse.
   
6. The speaker and microphone will be just below the screen itself.
7. The button is placed just above the LCD. This makes unwanted presses limited.
8. Just above the non-slippery surface, some metal strips will provide connectivity with the included sync station. They will allow the pen to recharge from the sync station and also also communicate with the PC via USB connectivity.
9. The syncstation will be simple in design(cone) and will feature a hole so that the pen can be placed into the syncstation.No external power will be needed. All the power needed will be taken from the USB port.
10. Two LEDs on the syncstation will indicate charging and sync signals.
11. The weight of the pen must be no more than 85 g.
12. The tip of the pen can be unscrewed just above the base of the cone to refill the pen's ink container.
    

As you can see from the hardware design, the battery is placed just above the ink cartridge. This is necessary since the battery itself is the heaviest part of the pen and must be placed as low as possible so that the centre of gravity is low. This will help in stability when holding the pen.

The WiFi/Bluetooth functionality was decided not to be included. It wouldn't justify the extra cost as the synchronization with the PC is not the main feature of the pen. This can easily be compensated with USB connectivity and the extra battery life that would be saved if they are not included. The WiFi and Bluetooth modules would also add to the hardware complexity and add extra weight to the final product.

The screen will work in the same way as described in the last prototype. The way it interacts with the user is clear, precise and well illustrated for a child to follow. So we didn't have to redesign the interface for that. The screen however was slightly reduced so that it didn't seem out of place.

The sync station was chosen so as to free some space on the pen from having to include a USBplug. The pen will interact with the sync station via some metal contact points placed on the pen. When the pen is placed on the sync station, the metal points of the pen will come in conduct with the corresponding points found on the sync station. The sync station will be connected with the PC via a USB cable. When connected, the pen's software can be updated by running special software written for this purpose on the PC. The software can update the pen's dictionary as well as add new features to the pen's software. The pen can also switch to advanced mode from the PC software.

Christos C : More thoughts on prototypes

After thinking about Christos I. prototype I find that it lacks some detail. I believe that we have to make a complete protype taking into consideration everything than has been said so far. Both prototypes are good but are not perfect as they both lack some vital details.

We should firstly agree on the hardware components of the pen so we know what to have to incorporate in the design. Moreover we should also take into consideration that the pen is also a pen. Therefore the design should contemplate this by including a refillable ink cartige and a way to take it out of the pen and refill it.

In addition we should also take into consideration the ergonomics of the pen. We should specify the size of the pen and the design should make sure that the pen is easy to hold and write.

I agree with Alexis about the button usage. The pen should be as easy to use as possible so it is best to include a sleep mode on the pen when not used for a period of time. However we should think of a way to make the pen enter connectivity mode. By having the pen not trying to connect ot a network or a pc all the time and having the wifi/bluetooth adaptor switched off we save power and prolong the battery life.

Alexis P : Thoughts and Beliefs on the Prototypes

In my opinion, I believe that the last revised prototype design is more or less the ideal one. Making the design as simple as possible would attract a larger number of children. A simpler design would be to create a mechanism to automatically switch off the pen if is not used over a small period of time. For example, if the pen has not detected any ballpoint movement for 10 minutes, then switch off. With this mechanism we can change the button principle. The button will not have to be pressed for a few seconds for switching on/off. Instead if the button is pressed the pen will switch on (if it was off) or else will trigger the handwriting task. Such alteration would not only reduce the complexity of the pen, but could also save battery energy because sometimes children will forget to switch off the pen manually. So I think its best that the switching off is always done automatically.

As Christos suggested on Achilleas' idea, changing the difficulty level should be done on a computer used only by adults, as chilren would probably overestimate their skills after completing a few easy handwriting challenges. In addition, the bluetooth and/or wi-fi chip should be used for downloading/updating not only dictionaries, but as well animations and tunes used for rewarding the child after achieving the correct hardwriting. The reason is that after several uses of the product, the kid may not feel rewarded by seeing the same animation or hearing the same tune over and over again. So to conclude, such alteration could expand our product's life.

An unusual design concept

This is my take on how the pen should look...

The pen as you can see features a very short body, together with an unusual placement of the screen. The thinking behind this design is as follows:·

• The short design will help children grasp the pen in the right way. Some children often find it difficult to hold a pen or pencil in the right way. They tend to grab it too far away from the tip or too close to the tip. This design constrains in a way the children from holding the pen too far away from the tip. Also a non-slippery surface “marks” the ideal place to grab the pen and also provides a rough surface to prevent the pen from slipping from sweaty hands.

• The main (and only) button is placed in the middle of the non-slippery surface. The button is slightly recessed so that it cannot be pressed by mistake. The button provides the following functionality: when pressed for a few seconds it turns the pen on or off. When the pen is turned on and the button is pressed once, it enters into the “listening” mode. When pressed again when in “listening” or “guide” mode, it exists from that mode and goes to standby.
• The top part of the pen extends outwards from the main body of the pen and widens. This gives a bigger area for accommodating both the enlarged screen and the speaker/microphone. It also positions the screen towards the face of the user when being held correctly. This is crucial as the user seeking advice from the screen will not have to turn the pen sideways to look at a screen embedded in the pen’s body. In this way the user can write and look at the screen at the same time. It also positions the speaker towards the user’s face so that the commands and/or advices can be heard and/or recorded clearly.

As you can see the pen is quite simple both to use and look at. This is essential if we want children to be able to use it. If we overload the product with features that children cannot understand and operate, then we distant the product from the age group we were targeting and into another group that may find little or no interest to the product.

The pen’s colour may vary from pastel colours to decorated cartoonish designs around the body. The aim is to make the pen feel like a toy and not like a piece of technology. Also the pen must “reward” the children with tunes and funny animations when they have correctly written a word.

The diagram below describes how the screen is going to function when it goes into “guide” mode.

1. When the user speaks a word, the screen will display the word recognised. Then the whole word will move to the upper part of the screen and the font size will decrease.

2. Then the first letter will be displayed in large and bold font in the centre of the screen. When the user write down that letter correctly, the letter will flash for a while and then the corresponding font of the letter in the whole world will go bold, indicating that that letter has been written correctly.

3. If for some reason the letter is not written correctly, the whole process will start from the beginning. A sad face maybe displayed to encourage children to start again.

4. Steps 2-3 will be repeated until every letter in the word is written correctly.

5. At the end the whole world will flash on the screen followed by happy catchy tunes and a small animation rewarding the user for writing down the word correctly.

Rewarding the child is essential if we want him/her to continue using the product. It also makes learning more fun and satisfying.

Christos I's thoughts of Achileas and Christos's prototypes/ideas

I think that Christos’s design has all the necessary functions that one would expect from such a product. I like how simple it is and how everything works with just one button. I think this is how it should be, because the simpler the functionality, the more children will understand and use the productPublish. On the other hand, the pen looks too serious and may not attract many children. I may be mistaken however as it may look more attractive when it’s coloured and decorated with images. One other thing I would like to point out is the position of the gyroscope. It is positioned a bit higher of where I was expecting it to be. In that position it may not pick up the actual movements of the tip of the pen, but the movements of the upper part which may vary from the real movement of the tip.

Achilleas pointed out another way of handwriting detection. The ballpoint tracking sounds more accurate for our purpose. It picks the exact movements from the tip and can easily map them. The tracking mechanism however may be fragile and more prone to mechanical problems than gyroscopes. But if I had to choose between the two, I would go for the ballpoint tracking as it is less prone to errors.

I also agree with Achilleas about the power source. A rechargeable battery is the best way to go, as it provides more power than normal batteries and you can find one in any shape you want. So the shape of the battery would not limit the design of the pen in any way.

The button operation is very important as it’s one of the two ways the user can interact with the pen. I find Christos’s idea of single button operation very interesting. It keeps things simple and easy to understand. The only thing that may pose some difficulties is the position of the button. It may be ideal for turning the pen on and off, but when the user wants to turn on the speech recognition process, the position is a bit far off from the ideal. I was thinking that the button’s position should be close to the tip so that you don’t have to move your hand or use the other hand to turn on the button. A button placed near the tip will help the user operate the pen with minimal effort. I also liked Achilleas’s idea of having two modes. This however may be a bit difficult for children to understand how to operate. It will also add to the complexity. This mode can be turned on by the parents when synchronising the pen with the PC.

Achilleas's Take on Christos's Prototype

Since the prototype was posted yesterday I have revised some of the details and more clearly defined some other points. Additionally I would like to talk about the design of the pen in more detail and added to the prototype some elements that were left out.

First of all, Christos neglected to specify the power source for the pen. This particular part is quite tricky since it can't be too large as it will affect the size, style and weight of the pen since batteries and battery packs tend to be quite heavy and bulky. On the other hand it must be large enough to power the pen for a substantial amount of time.
I considered using a single standard AAA battery first. This idea was dismissed however since we figured a single battery of that size does not have the capacity or the power output we need.
My second consideration was using several LR-type "watch batteries".
I also considered using a built in battery pack with a plug-in charger or a removable proprietary rechargeable battery, that would be charged using an external charger provided with the product.
It was decided that the final idea was the best. Building a proprietary battery makes it easier for us to give the power output we need for the specific application but having it build in and using a plug-in charger would mean we would have to include a plug on the pen, which results in adding more components.

The position of the battery on the pen is another issue we needed to deal with. For obvious reasons the battery should be as low as possible. The heaviest components should be low while the lightest should be high, at the top of the pen, to make it easier to write with. So the battery will be placed directly above the ink container, simply because the ink container should be directly above the writing tip.

There is also an alternative option for the motion sensor. Instead of using a separate motion sensor at the top of the pen we could use a ball point style tip for the pen to write and use the ball movements to track the pen motion. This may result in even less components which would mean a simpler internal design to work around and less weight.

The single button functionality, as defined earlier, seemed a bit complicated. The goal was to have one button alone in order to keep the use of the pen as simple as possible but in order to do this with one button ti must be able to accommodate all the functionality of the pen in a very smart way. It may be simpler to add a second button. The first would be a big button that has two functions. It would turn the pen on or off when held for several seconds. The second function should be to reset the pen to entry mode when it is pressed and released instantly for the user to speak a word instead of turning the pen on and off when the in the middle of another word. The second button should be a button or a switch which selects one of the two modes available: Beginner and Advanced. Beginner mode is the learning mode which spells out the word letter by letter when the user writes while advanced mode simply waits for the user to finish writing the spoken word and at the end informs the user whether it was correct or not.

The pen functionality was also more clearly defined in steps:

Step 1: When turned on the pen should be in this step. This is a standby phase where the system awaits user input in the form of a spoken word. When the user speaks a word proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Word identification. The system looks up the spoken word in the dictionary. If the word hasn't been recognized display a relevant message on the LCD screen, speak an easy to understand error message and return to Step 1. If the word is found, speak the whole word to signify that it has been identified and then proceed to Step 3 if in beginner mode or Step 4 if in advanced mode.

Step 3: Word spelling. Speak the first/next letter (maybe outputting it on the screen as well) and proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: User writing. User attempts to write the letter spoken for beginner mode or the whole word for advanced mode.
Beginner mode: If the letter is written correctly go to Step 3 with the next letter or Step 5 if it is the last letter. If it is written incorrectly, speak a relevant message such as "Wrong. Try again." and go to Step 3 with the same letter.
Advanced mode: Wait for user to finish writing*. If input is correct got o Step 5. If it is incorrect speak the "Try again" message and wait for input.

Step 5: Congratulate the user for spelling the word correctly and start over from Step 1.

If the reset button is pressed during any part of the process the system should return to Step 1.

Notes:
*The end of a letter can be recognized by a long pause in writing or a specific pen gesture such as writing a full stop or a straight horizontal line. Ideally it should be something that cannot be confused with anything else. A full stop may be confused with dotting i's for instance and a line may be confused with crossing a t. The long pause seems to be the best solution here.

Christos C: Hardware Protype and Ideas

I came up with a sketch of how the actual product could look. I have uploaded the sketches and I will probably create a digital version so we can manipulate it easily.

The first image is the external design of the pen. It features a rounded egde at the bottom to keep children from accidentally injure themeselves (or someone else). There is a soft grip so that the pen is comfortable to hold to and it should come in various colourful desings so that it attracts the attention of children. At the top there is an LCD screen as a secondary communication method and a multi-purpose button. When the button is pressed for 5-6 seconds the pen turns on and off and when clicked it should enter input mode for the child to say the word that he/she is trying to write. If the button is pressed before the child completes the word the pen will spell the current letter. When the number of letters in the spoken word are reached the pen will automatically evaluate the word written by the child and report any errors.



The second image is the internal components of the pen. The bottom of the pen unscrews and can be replaced when there is no more ink to write. The top part of the pen will contain an electronic gyroscope to record the motions of the childs hand and predict the letter written by the child. There should be a cpu with some rewritable memory to perform the computations needed for the letter recognitions, the speech recognition and to hold the dictionary. Moreover there should be a microphone so that the children can tell the pen which word they want to write and a speaker so that the pen can communicate with the children. A wi/fi and/or bluetooth chip should be present so that the pen can communicate with a computer and download dictionaries.