HearingMate presents

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HearingMate presents

• Portable Fire Alarm for the Deaf

Xiang Chen, CTO Alisha Ling, CEO Christopher Liu,
CMO Tiffany Lu, CFO Jessica Lui, CRO
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Introduction
Design Problem
Many fire alarms in buildings only alert via
sounds, creating problems for the deaf and hard
of hearing
The fire alarm with lights are not portable,
expensive, and hard to install
Our Product
Alerts through flashing lights and vibrations
Portable
Affordable
User Friendly
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Background Motivation
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Percent of Total US
Population by Age

• Currently, there are approximately 11 million
  deaf and hard of hearing people in the US
• Who is considered Deaf, Hard of Hearing?
• Hard of Hearing have some hearing
• Deaf Cannot hear with hearing aid
• Main Causes of Deafness
• Hereditary
• Disease
• Injuries

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Existing Products

• COMPUTTY Alarm Monitor KA300 System

Characteristics
Limitations

• Connects to existing fire alarm system
• Strobe light, loud speaker bed shaker (for
  heavy sleepers)
• 249.95

• Requires installation
• Doesnt vibrate
• Not convenient to carry around
• Only works where transmitter is installed

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Existing Products

• Gentex 7139

Characteristics
Limitations

• Bright strobe light
• High decibel horn (90dB)
• Tandem connect to 6 other alarms
• Wall or ceiling mounted
• Portable version available

• Hard-wired requires installation, not portable
• Not effective for deaf during sleep
• Portable version (limited detection range)

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Related Products
Simplicity Sound Signaler/Transmitter Remote
Receiver

• Recognizes various sounds such as babys cry
• Sends signal to any Simplicity receiver.
• Sensitivity to sound can be adjusted
• Receiver strobes to indicate the sound and the
  signaler
• 84.95
• Does not distinguish between loud sounds

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Interview input

• Target End-Users
• Visual/tactile alerts (lights and vibration)
• Different subsets of the population experience
  different levels of adaptation and visual
  awareness
• Technical Experts
• Minimum requirements by ADA, NPFA, CPSC, UL
• No standardization of the fire alarm sound (bell,
  siren, etc.)

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Constraints and Specifications

• Reliable
• Must properly detect fire alarm
• Must minimize false positives
• Portable
• Should be small enough to carry around.
• Lightweight
• Accessible
• Screen should be large enough to be easily
  visible
• Minimal buttons

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Constraints and Specifications

• User-friendly
• Require no training (minimal instructions)
• Power Requirements
• Battery life must last at least 1 day without
  recharging
• Affordable
• Should cost less than 200 to build
• Should cost less than 300 to buy (current market
  price)

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Portable Smoke/Heat Detector
Idea 1
How it works

1. Smoke enters the ionization chamber
2. Smoke disrupts the electric current within the
   ionization chamber
3. Disrupted current will activate a switch in the
   circuit board activating the alerting devices

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Portable Smoke/Heat Detector
Idea 1

• Advantages
• Flexibility can be used in foreign countries,
  or while camping
• Long battery life
• Disadvantages
• Large likelihood of false positives
• Large competition device already exists
• Limited distance range

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Portable Alarm Detector
Idea 2
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Portable Alarm Detector
Idea 2
How it works

1. Microphone detects a sound
2. Signal is processed and compared to a library of
   sounds stored in the microchip
3. A match will signal the activation of the motor
   and the LCD screen
4. Motor is attached to a gear and offset weight
   which will cause the device to vibrate

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Portable Alarm Detector
Idea 2

• Advantages
• Multipurpose alerting
• Large range (distance)
• Disadvantages
• Multiple buttons are difficult for the elderly to
  manipulate
• Difficulty of signal processing

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iPhone Application
Idea 3

• Same conceptually as Portable Alarm Detector
  (Idea 2)
• iPhone already contains physical hardware
• (hardware components fixed)

• Advantages
• No extra device to carry around
• No hardware warranty necessary
• No manufacturing costs
• Disadvantages
• Much smaller market
• Constant use of microphone shortens iPhone
  battery life

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Summary
Problem Most fire alarms alert people with an
auditory signal Who 4 of US pop. is deaf or
hard of hearing Note Over half are older than 65
years old Competitors All other products
require some sort of prior installation Constrain
ts reliability, accessibility, portability,
etc. What 1. Smoke/Heat Detector 2. Fire
Alarm Detector 3. iPhone Application How
Data Processing (Fourier transform, smoke
ionization)
Signal Output (vibrating flashing light)
Data Input (fire alarm, smoke or heat)
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Thank You

• Dr. Elizabeth Olson
• Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and
  Neck Surgery
• Dr. Jaclyn Spitzer
• Professor of Clinical Audiology and Speech
  Pathology
• Dr. Elizabeth Hillman
• Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
• Dr. Hayden Huang
• Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
• Dr. David Vallancourt
• Senior Lecturer of Electrical Engineering

• Mr. Geoff Zoehfeld
• Hard of hearing undergraduate Columbia student
• Mr. Robert J. Jackson
• Fire Safety Officer, Department of Public Safety
• Mr. Joe McCormack
• Fire Safety Officer, Department of Public Safety