(A project I recently completed at Ergonomidesign, along with some amazing team-mates).
The Future of Health Care is a subject that has been under intense speculation and debate in recent times across different forums. Several interesting prototypes and scenarios have been made by professionals and designers to give the World a glimpse of a fuzzy future.
For the first time ever, Ergonomidesign have made it possible to actually experience the future of Health Care. Following their launch at the Medica/ Compamed trade fair (in Düsseldorf, Germany, Nov. 18-20), Ergonomidesign will present and demonstrate a future life science application that brings together 40 years of design experience for Ergonomidesign in the Life Science industry. This video is one of 2, that give an overview of the entire concept.
Combining a fully functioning prototype with a well resolved service-ecosystem, Ergonomidesign will demonstrate vital segments of their vision “The Future of Integrated Health Care”. The application- “Helping Hands” (a Natural User Interface developed on a MS Surface table) will enable an experience that lets you manage your own health in the future. Their concept combines the benefits of ubiquitous computing with a merger of Health Care services with internet service providers. This merger would give rise to an exciting ‘ecosystem’, one that would bring cure to your doorstep or literally to the palm of your hand. Much like the mobile ‘app-world’, pharmacies would be able to sell a variety of healthcare devices containing embedded software that synchronized with relevant devices and your body automatically.
By the year 2015, vast amounts of personal data will constantly be uploaded in real-time to the “Cloud” – for others to use, share and benefit from. Through embedded sensors in our clothes, wrist watches, necklaces, shoes etc. it will be possible to constantly monitor our biometric data. These vast amounts of data pushed to the Cloud, would be made accessible to a network of ‘smart objects’ e.g. our mobile devices and our ‘smart’ homes, furniture and environments. Our biometric data will be accessible everywhere, constantly – to us and those who we have granted admission to (e.g. our doctors and family and relevant networks). The Cloud would also allow us constant access to contacts and services in a vast directory of doctors, fellow-patients and other daily health-care programs such as diet, exercise and prescription medicine. Your good health would now truly be based on the learning, benefits and experiences of others.
The experience envisioned by Ergonomidesign comprises lucid scenarios, personas and a working prototype that was developed by interaction designers, design strategists and graphic designers. Their challenge was to envision a complex future and develop user friendly, intuitive solutions for the World to understand and use. They have created an experience that combines intuitive gestural interactions with well-resolved service scenarios for the Health Care industry.
Sci-fi writer William Gibson famously quoted – “The Future is already here, it is just unevenly distributed.”(Neuromancer, 1984.) Most of the technology necessary to make our vision a reality is already here e.g. Nike+, LinkedIn, Facebook and the Apple ‘app-store’.
Ergonomidesign hopes that ‘Helping Hands’ will inspire thought and discussion about a World where staying in great shape and avoiding illness can actually be within reach.
Links for postings about the project –
