Avilert
Semestre i @ ITESM, Campus Monterrey
Product Design Certificate, Capstone Project
Team
Andrea Céspedes, Gerardo Mendez
Category
Product Design - Entrepreneurship
Skills / Tools
Mechatronics - Business Development
Role
Lead Engineer
Time Frame
6 months
During a semester-long project, our multidisciplinary team, of myself the engineer and two other industrial designers, we set out to create a physical product that is feasible, viable and desirable to launch into the market.
For our team, that was all about how to create a product that could help people with a disability, for example, how could we create something for those with hearing impairments in any way, shape or form?
To narrow down the scope of the project and create a final design, our main methodologies were the based on the process of product design and entrepreneurship, even designing a brand identity and logo for our product.
In the end, we developed Avilert, a haptic wearable alarm system that ensured any employees could have a personal alarm that was also connected to the national earthquake alert system in case of emergency.
We created two physical artifacts, a works-like prototype with all the functional characteristics of the product as well as a looks-like prototype considering a design with industrial components.
We developed a functional prototype using accessible hobbyist components, alongside a production-ready concept designed for large-scale manufacturing. To support this, we also built a comprehensive business plan that details the necessary initial investment and a targeted marketing strategy for market entry.
Winner of 2 awards at the University's engineering fair, including:
1st place in the Social Innovation category
3rd place in the Products or services for technology-based entrepreneurship category
What made this project special?
It was the first time I truly worked on a multidisciplinary project to bring something new to life. It was thrilling and exhaustive, and confusing, but overall I learned so much about not only design but about being a designer.
To better understand the challenges faced by people with hearing disabilities, we conducted interviews with professionals across various industries
We interviewed people with hearing impairments, doctors, teachers, people who work in HR inclusion initiatives to find real problems that this community faces.
Our goal was to uncover hidden barriers and identify opportunities for innovation. Through this research, we surfaced key insights that shaped our design approach:
- Lack of Visual Alarms in Buildings: Many structures, especially in earthquake-prone regions, do not have adequate visual alert systems, leaving people with hearing disabilities vulnerable in emergencies.
- Preference for Discreet Alerts: Users expressed a desire for alerts that blend into their daily routines rather than drawing attention to their disability.
- Affordability as a Barrier: Wearable assistive devices were often too costly in Mexico, limiting accessibility for those who need them.
These findings sparked a design process focused on creating an inclusive, accessible, and effective alert system. We conceptualized a wearable device that would:
- Utilize haptic actuators to provide emergency alerts, particularly for earthquakes.
- Be designed with discreet aesthetics, ensuring users feel comfortable wearing it.
- Integrate into a sponsorship-based business model, where companies would provide the device as part of workplace inclusion initiatives, removing the financial burden from individuals.
With these guiding principles, we moved into an iterative design process:
- User Testing & Feedback Loops: We developed prototypes and conducted multiple rounds of testing to fine-tune vibration intensity, response time, and comfort levels.
- Design Exploration with Moodboards: We used visual inspiration to ensure the device aligned with modern, wearable technology trends, emphasizing subtlety and ease of use.
In the end we created two versions:
- A functional prototype to test real-world effectiveness.
- An idealized prototype showcasing the final vision with industry-grade materials.
- A business model to showcase how this product could be launched into the market.
By leveraging generative insights throughout our research and development, we were able to create a solution that was not only functional but also deeply considerate of user needs.
Our wearable device addresses a critical safety gap while respecting user preferences and financial limitations.
Additionally, the integration of a business model supporting corporate sponsorship demonstrates how inclusive design can align with broader workplace diversity initiatives. Beyond product development, we comprehensively evaluated the supply chain and production costs, benchmarked our solution against competitors, and identified the optimal market niche for launch.
This strategic analysis informed the development of a business model that outlines how the device could be successfully introduced and scaled in the market. This project highlights the power of human-centered research in driving innovation—transforming early-stage insights into a tangible, real-world impact.
User Research, Synthesis and Analysis
Here the team is seen working in our initial user interviews, synthesis, and analysis session of all of the information we had just learned about.
These sessions also helped shape our project development and discard previous ideas that had been based on misconceptions, which was a great learning about the design process in general.
Initial Prototype User Testing
Based on our key insights we started ideating and prototyping our initial ideas, and we were lucky to collaborate with Gerardo M, a person with a hearing impairment who helped us do user testing and co-creation ideation sessions to imrpove our ideas.
First Functional Prototype
Our first functional prototype had all the functionalities we wanted, but was too big, clunky and uncomfortable, which was not aligned with the design requirements we set out to accomplish.
As the sole engineer in the team, I focused on making sure the design of the components would also be efficient and focused on the requirements of the wearable design, once we had proven it could work how we wanted it to.deded
Final Redesign of Functional Prototype
To make sure it was a comfortable design, the final prototype was modeled after sports bras that could be worn all day, with the device along the upper spine where different vibrations for different types of alarms could be easily understood by the user.
Final Prototypes
Our final functional prototype as seen on the left was controlled by an interface in LabView, which could send three 5 different types of alarms to the device: 3 for emergencies (fire, earthquake, general), person alarm, alarm notification from other colleagues.
On the right we have renders of the looks like prototype if it were to be launched to the market with industry level components.