IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2016 - 8

Macik and Kutikova holding the GraFooSha prototype.

of Industrial Design are a natural fit
because "some methods used in HCI,
like structured user research and usability testing, have shown to also be very
useful in the development of physical
products, especially interactive ones."
And, he continues, "we in HCI get the
opportunity to help develop interactive
physical products useful to a particular
target group."
Wit h t he general concept a nd
resources in place, there were only a
few months left to complete the project before deadline. "On the basis of
interviews with active seniors, the
concept began to shape into a foodsharing community supported by a
physical product," describes Kutikova.
For her, this was one of the most enjoyable pieces of the project. "The respondents were happy to share their favorite
recipes and cooking methods, as well
as describe their relationship to modern technologies," she recalls. "These
conversations gave me a solid starting
point for the project."

Forming the Foundation
Interviews formed the foundation of a
fictional character representing the target user audience: Maria, a retired but
still active woman who typically cooks
daily, likes to prepare meals that will be

IEEE womEn In EngInEErIng magazInE

enjoyed by others, does not experiment
much with new recipes, and prefers
decades-old cooking techniques over
modern kitchen gadgets. The interviews
were supplemented by research into the
sharing economy-made popular by
systems such as Airbnb and Uber-as
well as the study of food-sharing efforts
in other areas. Similar to what Kutikova
had experienced in Berlin, food-sharing
services were developing in other cities
to connect people based on close proximity, shared food preferences or allergies,
or to reduce food waste. An EuropeanUnion-funded project also exists that
focuses on the social inclusion of seniors
just like fictional Maria.
With clarity on the user and landscape, Kutikova began to make various
paper and polystyrene mockups and test
the ergonomics of the design. She consulted with Macik to evaluate the technical aspects of the mockups, and he
was then responsible for the electronic
hardware of the device. "Honestly, we
would not have been able to realize the
product without the help of 3-D printing," says Macik. "While finalizing it,
we worked almost nonstop, including
evenings and weekends."
Kutikova echoes the sentiment, sharing that, "It was a great challenge to
implement a functional prototype in

december 2016

such a short time." Both felt that the
heavy use of 3-D printing made the project innovative and exciting. "GraFooSha
comprises about 30 3-D-printed components," shares Macik. "These had to be
created in a way that allows for rotation
among all three device shafts, as well
as the scanning function and sensor
activation, while still housing all of the
electronic components and their interconnecting parts."
The design and configuration of the
device was created through testing the
entire food-sharing "journey" for Maria.
Once she decides to cook a meal, Maria
would use GraFooSha to advertise what
she is making and when the meal will
be ready. Then, others in the network
can reserve some of the excess portions
to be picked up at the specified time.
Finally, GraFooSha informs Maria how
many portions of her meal have been
reserved so she cooks only the appropriate amount.

The Mark of "Egg"cellence
The device physically resembles an egg
timer made from glazed porcelain, and
it has three shafts that rotate against
one another, communicating both the
number of offered portions and the time
at which the meal will be ready. A particularly complicated aspect of the design
was how to determine which meal would
be prepared, since there are so many
options. To overcome this challenge,
the team created a cookbook in which
each recipe is accompanied by a colored
stamp. Maria can then place the GraFooSha device on the stamp and a red,
green, and blue (RGB) sensor will collect
the relevant recipe information. RGB
light-emitting diodes at the top of the
device confirm the selection to Maria by
displaying in the same color as that of
the stamp in the cookbook. Finally, the
communication to the social network
is carried out using a Bluetooth chip
integrated into the device and via a "base
station" connected to the Internet.
The team tested the ergonomics and
usability of the device with groups of
seniors and identified areas they need
to revise to make GraFooSha more
seamless for the target audience. This is

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2016