SUMMARY
Aire is a wearable air quality monitor designed for pregnant women to protect their health and the health of their unborn child.

The Aire device pairs with existing air purification systems in the home and city wide air quality reports to make it as easy as possible to breathe clean air. The Aire device measures air particulate matter (PM 2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), both linked to poor health outcomes.

TEAM
Prototyping: Katie Jacquez (IxD)
Design research: Vanessa Slavich (IxD), Katie Jacquez (IxD)

FACULTY
Chris Risdon (prototyping), Lauren Ruiz (design research), Catherine Lovazzano (design research)

TIME FRAME
8 weeks

Pregnant women and their unborn child are among the most vulnerable. Pregnant women exposed to high levels of poor air quality are at risk for having children with lower birth weights, complications later in life such as lower IQ and an increased cancer risk. 

The final product will prompt users to turn on their air quality purifier at home. On the go, the Aire product will sync with city wide air quality data, already monitored by products like Air Now and Breezometer, to guide the user to a different route.

EMPOWER USERS TO BREATHE CLEAN AIR

Air quality readings are taken on a real time basis. Alerts for potentially dangerous exposures are sent to the wearable device via haptic vibrations and push notifications on your phone. Actions to improve air quality, such as turning on the air home purifier, can be taken directly from the app.

INFORMED TRANSIT ROUTES

Aire pulls in air quality data from third party sources like Air Now or Breezometer. This data can be used to inform travel routes throughout the city.

DETAILED REPORTING

Exposure readings are taken at 15 minute increments. Detailed reports are broken down by individual air pollutants and reading increments to help users better understand their current exposure data.

BABY'S DEVELOPMENT

Users can learn more about the pregnancy, how the baby’s sensitivity air pollution change over time and receive recommendations to reduce exposure to harmful pollutants.

RESEARCH

POTENTIAL USER TYPES

Secondary desk research and conversations with health professionals identified pregnant women as the core user for this project.

ATTRIBUTES

Recently pregnant

Aware of air quality as a health issue but isn’t sure what to do about it

Currently modifying lifestyle for a healthy pregnancy

Wants what’s best for the baby and actively seeks out information

RESEARCH

USABILITY TESTING

Once I had designed a first round of screens, my research partner and I conducted remote (via Usertesting.com) and in person user testing primarily on the mobile app. In total, we spoke to 11 different people, including 6 women that were pregnant or had been pregnant in the past 5 years.

Our objective was the understand the satisfaction, legibility and comprehension of the Aire System. 

After gathering feedback, we synthesized our findings using a matrix to identify the changes that would have the biggest impact and be feasible.

KEY FINDINGS

CONFUSION AROUND CHARTS AND MEASUREMENT

Users found the circular bar confusing and expected the bar to change as they encountered different levels of air quality. They also wanted more information as to what was being measured and why.

LEGIBILITY WAS A CHALLENGE

Users reported difficulty reading the the copy.

PEACE OF MIND

Users, particularly those in areas with poor air quality such as Bakersfield CA, responded positively to Aire as a concept and found value in the information.

MAKE IT ACTIONABLE

In early versions, Aire served more as an advisory app. Users requested the ability to take action to improve their air quality with the click of a button.

HARDWARE

I work best by doing. So, to find the right form factor of the device, I created lots of models. The very first model was made with Fimo clay. Once baked, I would wear the device out as a test.

Once I settled on the metal cylindrical form, I created multiple variations to find the right shape, pattern of perforations and button type.

To test a poor air quality alert, I created and attached an haptic vibration motor and tested different variations of pulses.