WaterMaster

Location: Cambridge, MA

Date: Spring 2018

Watch the presentation here! https://vimeo.com/271886578

As part of 2.00b Toy Product Design class, I collaborated with 4 other teammates to design a momentum-powered water gun called Water Master. We engaged fully in human-centered product design - starting in ideation and jumping to validation and prototyping, culminating in a final theatrical presentation. My work was to help mediate conflict, write and direct the final presentation, and push for accessibility in our design.

ideation | project management | script writing | inclusive design

Timeline: 3.5 months

What I Learned:

• "Play-tested" our prototypes at the Boston Children's Museum, validating ideas and receiving feedback from children themselves.

• Basic CAD skills

• Shop: laser printing, adhesives (epoxy), sewing, wood

• Constant inspiration from staff & mentors about embodying a path in creative making.

As part of the 2.00b Toy Product Design Class, as a group of 4 first-year students and I were given the task to design a toy that fit within the concept of “Dream” with a budget of $700, access to maker space, and a semester’s worth of time.

The inspiration for this mechanism was due to everyone on my team's love for Avatar: The Last Airbender. We wanted to create a toy that simulated the experience of "water-bending", or controlling water just by the force of the arm's movement.

The momentum feature of our toy was implemented by using a two-part system—a pump in the backpack that must be pre-pumped by the user before putting on, and a valve attached to the wrist mechanism that opened once the accelerometer detected speed over a certain threshold.

A couple of more features of our toy we were proud of:

• The backpack, filled at maximum capacity, weighed no more than 5 lbs.

• A button-safe on both the left and right sides of the handle that when pressed would not allow water to shoot out of the water master. This was to account for both left and right handed children.

(A quick story about this - Prof. David Wallace stood before us during a design review and stated he felt very strongly that this accessibility requirement were to be included in our final design. I had never visualized equity as a feature in a product before, and pushed for our team to keep this feature through the end even when the design became mechanically more challenging. During the final presentation when I was hiding on stage, wearing my rainbow suspenders and pigtails, next to Prof. Wallace and this feature of our product was presented by my teammate followed by exclamatory cheering from our crowd, he turned to me and said, "I told you they would like it" with a huge grin on his face.)

In Summary:

As my first team-experience with product design at MIT, my team and I successfully created a momentum-powered water gun inspired by "water-bending", and after iterating through various form factors, water-protection methods, and valves, produced a working prototype and a hilarious final presentation.

I actively contributed to the open communication within our team, pushed for accessibility, and also wrote, directed, and acted in the final presentation. Water Master taught me the fundamentals of human-centered design and allowed me the opportunity to mix creative play with physical design & critical thought.

Thanks to Prof. Wallace, Dabin (mentor), Justin & Jason (TAs), and my teammates for a wonderful experience.