Terrascape is a two-pronged solution that enables hikers, especially solo hikers, to feel safer by allowing them to plan their hike at the onset and providing them with means of emergency communication on the trail. Based on real-time inputs and updates, our dashboard and tracker aims to tackle gendered spaces—such as the struggles of female solo hikers—that are seldom acknowledged by the hiking community.
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Project hero image showing the tracker (left) and dashboard (right) in use.
Check out the full Behance article below!
Terrascape was the capstone project for Technology Design Foundations, a course offered by the MDes that aims to explore the human-centered design and development of interactive and tangible products, services, systems, and experiences. After receiving acclaim from fellow cohort members and course instructors, Terrascape was proudly presented at the 2021 MDes Final Showcase in front of a panel of esteemed guest critics.
<aside> 💭 Prompt: “Bending Towards Justice: Reimagining ______ in Light of _____”
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As a culmination of not only the technical expertise we had gained over this semester but also our pedagogical understanding of the social dilemmas that overshadow design practice, this final project challenged my team with designing a prototype that proactively crossed the boundary between neutrality and social justice.
Each and every student in my class had chances to experiment with our tech kits and fabrication methods in the Jacobs Makerspace over the entire semester.
Individual project: Raspberry Pi setup with connected I/O components (button, microphone, speaker) and a laser-cut housing
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Animation of a gyroscope I modeled in Fusion 360 and later 3D printed
Raspberry Pi circuitry with a crickit hat, LEDs, and servo motor
My custom laser-cut mounting board for my Raspberry Pi and associated I/O components
For this final project, we were expected to use everything we had learned towards making a robust working prototype. This was the aspect of the project I was most daunted by; coming up with a concept that had to be successfully fabricated and programmed to work on its own.
Early on in the process, I broached the idea of tackling women’s safety in public spaces such as streets and parking garages. It came from a very personal place; as a woman of color who drove to and from campus (often traveling in the off hours of early morning or late night), I was often struck by fear and paranoia of being assaulted or stalked. This problem space caught on with my teammates.
Our first vision statement was thusly worded:
Bending towards justice: reimagining public spaces in light of increasing concerns toward public safety during the pandemic.
For the next few weeks we would collectively research specific public spaces and use cases we could design for. Our vision for the project underwent many changes during this time, and we eventually ended up in a pocket of the public safety discourse that I had never considered: safety on hiking trails.