Dezeen School Shows: a wearable healthcare device for those with diabetes and a tool to aid reading are included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Middlesex University.

Also included is a water-boiling appliance designed to reduce energy and water consumption, and an augmented reality headset created for football training.

Middlesex University

Institution: Middlesex University
School: Faculty of Science and Technology
Course: BA Product Design/BEng Product Design Engineering
Tutors: Kate Herd, Andy Bardill, Wyn Griffiths, Ahmed Patel, Neil Melton, Dean Brown, Patrick Jordan, Tom Stables and Colin Moss

School statement:

"Product Design and Product Design Engineering at Middlesex University are practice-based programmes focused on employability.

"Both the BA and BEng programme are driven by our passion for understanding people and technology; exploring innovative solutions driven by real opportunities and addressing challenges faced by both industry and society."

Insightful: See it, Hear it Immerse by Jesufunke Martins

"In an era of advancing technology, reading for pleasure has declined, adversely impacting general wellbeing and diminishing attention spans and creativity.

"Insightful seeks to change this by revolutionising the experience of reading. Combining generative music, optical character recognition and eye-tracking technology, Insightful generates unique, dynamic soundtracks that synchronise with the user's reading journey, adapting to the content and pace of the reading.

"As readers immerse themselves, Insightful creates ambient melodies and sound effects, intensifying the emotional connection to the text.

"Integrated eye tracking adds an interactive element, responding to the reader's focus and engagement. Insightful redefines the way we engage with books, igniting imagination, fostering understanding and prioritising the user's wellbeing and enjoyment – an insightful way of keeping the joy of reading alive."

Student: Jesufunke Martins
Course: BEng Product Design Engineering

Glu: The next generation of diabetes healthcare by Dhruv Mohabir

"4.9 million people in the UK have diabetes with a further 13.1 million at risk.

"Glu is a wearable, supported by an app, that uses a state-of-the-art non-invasive blood glucose monitoring system to support healthy lifestyle choices.

"Conceptualised around theories of behaviour change, the system visualises, offers feedback and nudges people about their food and lifestyle choices and the impacts on their body.

"The wearable device uses the metaphor of jewellery, removing the stigma of a healthcare device."

Student: Dhruv Mohabir
Course: BA Product Design

Aura: Illuminate, capture and share your experience by Faaiza Ali

"Customisable, visual experiences that capture unique moments using photography have become an important component of celebratory occasions.

"People build the perception of their events and personalities through sharing on social media.

"Aura is a product/service designed to enhance the guest experience by providing an interactive, visually captivating activity and memento. Participants create self-portraits enhanced with digital overlays using a light painting tool and the Aura system.

"The wand features programmable LEDs that produce mesmerising patterns through controlled sequences of illumination.

"By utilising long exposure photography, the dynamic light paintings and users become part of the photograph, resulting in memorable images."

Student: Faaiza Ali
Course: BA Product Design

Mundum: Connecting Cultures by Javier Ortega De Vicente

"Mundum is a temporary structure that houses an immersive experience. Mundum showcases the rich spiritual traditions and folklore of the ethnic and religious minorities that are linked to sacred groves around the world.

"It is designed to be a temporary and non-invasive structure made of bamboo poles joined with sustainable polymer connectors.

"The aim is to give a voice to these minorities and to promote the protection of the biodiversity and cultural legacy of the sacred groves.

"Visitors will be able to experience augmented reality projections of the spirits, deities, or ancestors that are central to the folklore of these sacred woods."

Student: Javier Ortega De Vicente
Course: BA Product Design

Hapticz: Immersive feedback for e-sports audience interaction by Michelle Agyepong

"Over 250 million people watch e-sports annually, however viewers miss the collective, visceral experience of a shared live sports crowd.

"The e-sports players/streamers are fully immersed in their gaming world, while the viewers watch through a passive portal.

"The Hapticz system creates a customisable wearable that embeds the viewer into the active, interactive, immersed state of the player, enabling them to 'feel' the action and connect with other viewers in that shared experiential state.

"Hapticz is a system built around haptic feedback modules that represent the on-screen action – through jittering, pulsing and directional vibrations."

Student: Michelle Agyepong
Course: BEng Product Design Engineering

Sense: Feel More, Fear Less by Victor Ewa

"Personal safety for solo pedestrian travel can be a concern. Sense combats this through safety information and enhanced digital community connection and support.

"Designed to be discreet, Sense pairs personal information with crowd-sourced data and recent localised crime statistics to map potential threat levels within a given area.

"Sense is a directional haptic system that suggests safer route options, and its sensors allow users to trigger an emergency response alert by squeezing the device tightly, notifying the authorities or personal contacts."

Student: Victor Ewa
Course: BEng Product Design Engineering

Setz: From DJs for DJs by Khy Martinez

"This project helps aspiring DJs enjoy and capture the dimensions of live DJ sets to support them in learning and developing their own skills and styles.

"The innovation lies in the use of sound recognition technology and dynamic wave analysis compiled into a single application."

Student: Khy Martinez
Course: BA Product Design

Focus One by Ramsey Haider

"Penalties are often regarded as one of the most challenging tasks in football. The pressure of the consequences of missing a penalty can be overwhelming, especially in a penalty shoot-out situation.

"Focus One is an AR headset and app that simulates these high-pressure situations, helping immerse players during training and providing data to enhance performance."

Student: Ramsey Haider
Course: BA Product Design

ShutterMate by Sahar Ali

"The need for sustainable and practical solutions to combat the effects of climate change is becoming more urgent by the day.

"ShutterMate is a post-fit, self-powered, passive system employing temperature sensitive smart materials to automatically respond to temperature changes.

"Nitinol springs linked to a rotational actuator activates a shutter system on windows to block and thereby control internal room temperatures.

"This makes it sustainable, cost-effective and low maintenance. The core technology can be embedded in customisable and modular shutter configurations."

Student: Sahar Ali
Course: BEng Product Design Engineering

Kettle: a pour-to-boil domestic appliance reducing water, energy and economic waste through heat exchange technology by Harry Miller-Adams

"Three-quarters of British households overfill their kettles, wasting 70 million litres of water daily and £68 million annually whilst preparing tea.

"Kettle. is an innovative pour-to-boil appliance providing instant hot water through the use of sophisticated high-surface, lattice structural heat exchanges, integrated vacuum flask housing, microcontroller technologies and modularity capabilities.

"The Kettle's optimisation and efficiency provide not only pour-to-boil functionality but financial, environmental and personal benefits."

Student: Harry Miller-Adams
Course: BA Product Design

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Middlesex University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.