Concept
HindSight is the culminative effort of a university team including myself, Corban Buxton, and Jamie Bucknor’s work for a speculative university course, and eventual submission for the 2024 James Dyson Award. In the course of the assignment, our team developed a smart detection and early warning system for road runners. We were encouraged to submit our project for the 2024 James Dyson Award and were proud to be selected as national runners-up.
Development
Our teammate, Corban is an avid runner, who expressed his struggles with rear-facing threats while on long runs. Rural New Zealand roads are extremely dangerous for runners, as they are very narrow, winding, and typically do not include sidewalks or shoulders. I myself am a motorcyclist, and had heard of warning systems for riders. These systems, however, are fairly bulky and vehicle mounted. Our team sought to explore how to integrate a safety system into the daily use of runners through a highly flexible and light-weight package.
Our team developed a basic working prototype on a breadboard with a microprocessor, and then explored a variety of mounting systems for the technology, including a pair of sunglasses, and a dedicated ‘fanny pack’. We eventually gravitated toward a shoulder-mounted system, due to its positional stability and flexibility. We experimented with visual, auditory, and haptic forms of information communication. We settled upon haptics, because it allowed for users to listen to music without missing information, while also not having to keep an eye out for flashes of light. We then developed our concept through sketching, before transitioning to 3d modelling and evaluation.
Hindsight utilizes an ultrasonic sensor to detect threats to runners from behind, and then progressively communicates the proximity and speed of the coming threat to the user through a grid of vibrational motors integrated in the lower section of the shoulder mount. This haptic feedback allows the runner to use headphones while still receiving alerts. The system comprises the shoulder-mounted module and a tethered battery pack. The shoulder mounted module is fastened to the strap of a pack or running vest with an elastic retention system, while the battery pack is stowed in the pack or a pouch on the running vest.