HearingMate presents…

Portable Fire Alarm for the Deaf

Xiang Chen, CTO

Alisha Ling, CEO

Christopher Liu, CMO

Tiffany Lu, CFO

Jessica Lui, CRO

Introduction

Our Product

Portable Affordable User Friendly

Alerts through flashing lights and vibrations

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

Background Motivation

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

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Percent ofTotal US Population by Age

COMPUTTY Alarm Monitor KA300 System

Connects to existing fire alarm system

Strobe light, loud speaker & bed shaker (for heavy sleepers)

$249.95

Requires installation Doesn’t vibrate Not convenient to carry around Only works where transmitter is

installed

Existing Products

Characteristics Limitations

Gentex 7139

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)

Existing Products

Characteristics Limitations

Recognizes various sounds such as baby’s 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

Related Products

Simplicity Sound Signaler/Transmitter & Remote Receiver

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.)

Interview input

Deaf HOH

Born HOH Became HOH later in life

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

Constraints and Specifications

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)

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

Portable Smoke/Heat Detector

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

Idea 1

Portable Alarm Detector

Idea 2

Portable Alarm Detector

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

Idea 2

How it works

Advantages Multipurpose alerting Large range (distance)

Disadvantages Multiple buttons are difficult for

the elderly to manipulate Difficulty of signal processing

Portable Alarm Detector

Idea 2

iPhone Application Same conceptually as Portable Alarm Detector (Idea 2)

iPhone already contains physical hardware

(hardware components fixed)

Idea 3

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

Summary

Data Input(fire alarm, smoke or

heat)

Data Processing(Fourier transform, smoke

ionization)

Signal Output(vibrating & flashing light)

Problem: Most fire alarms alert people with an auditory signal

Who: 4% of US pop. is deaf or hard of hearingNote: Over half are older than 65 years old

Competitors: All other products require some sort of prior installation

Constraints: reliability, accessibility, portability, etc.

What: 1. Smoke/Heat Detector 2. Fire Alarm Detector

3. iPhone Application

How:

Thank You

Dr. Elizabeth OlsonAssistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery

Dr. Jaclyn SpitzerProfessor of Clinical Audiology and Speech Pathology

Dr. Elizabeth HillmanAssistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Hayden HuangAssistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Dr. David VallancourtSenior Lecturer of Electrical Engineering

Mr. Geoff ZoehfeldHard of hearing undergraduate Columbia student

Mr. Robert J. JacksonFire Safety Officer, Department of Public Safety

Mr. Joe McCormackFire Safety Officer, Department of Public Safety