Project Proposal

Stop Touching

A step towards fighting the virus.

The COVID-19 virus spreads through the air, and therefore we maintain appropriate distance between each other, and some people wear masks. However, there is also another way the virus can spread. What makes the COVID-19 virus especially dangerous, is that the virus can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours (source). We can infect ourselves and others if we touch our faces or mouths with our contaminated hands.

We have two options to fight this method of contamination. We can either disinfect the surfaces that we touch after every use, or avoid to touch them all-together. Disinfection can be hard to achieve for frequently used objects. Therefore refraining from touching these objects is the safest way to prevent contamination.

While public places like schools and stores are slowly opening their doors again in Europe, we have to be cautious about how we can limit ways for the virus to spread. We have to suppress our natural tendency to touch the objects that we usually touch. Many everyday objects require our hands to operate them. Doorhandles, water taps, soap dispensers, buttons and handrails are all things that are not only touched often, but by many people. Instead of franticly trying to clean these objects continuously, we could try to come up with solutions to refrain from touching these objects with our hands completely.

We could start with doorhandles. Try and imagine the amount of people that touch a door handle in a public building. Doors have existed since the beginning of human history, and we are used to operating them with our hands. We could come up with either a partially electronic or fully mechanical system system that is universal, and fits on every door. It might be hard to use something as self-evident as a door in a different way than we are used to, but we need to stop contamination on frequently used surfaces. Automatically opening doors are already a thing, but they have to be installed by a professional and are very expensive. We want a simple modification that can be applied to every existing door.

We need to stop touching door handles. It may not seem like much, but every object that we don't touch is one less way to spread the virus. The ultimate goal is to come up with a product that gives us the ability to open a door without touching it. The solution has to be affordable, universal and accessible.

Accessibility

The hardest aspect of the solution will be accessibility. We have to keep in mind that we cannot produce and provide products the way that we are used to in current circumstances. There are also countless doors in public buildings, so the product would have to be reproduced often. There are three possible methods to bring our (yet to be designed) solution to the people.

Decentralization of production by tutorials

This method is based on the "teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" philosophy. There are many things we don't have due to the lockdown, but one thing we now do have is time. If we create clear and simple instructions people can make their own door modifications for at home or at work. If we end up using electronics, we can provide people with the circuits and programming to make our product. For the mechanical parts, we can use tools that many people have at home, like printers, and create templates for our product so they can be made manually. Since stores are open in the Netherlands, the consumers have the same access to materials as I do. The lack of a fabrication lab would pose no problem if we choose this method. The online design is not fixed, can be modified or improved at any time, by anyone.

Mass production and distribution

Materials are still abundantly available in the Netherlands, since the home improvement stores are open, but not every country has this luxury, and not everyone is able to go outside. If we design this product in a way that we can reproduce at it high speed, we can send people these ready-to-use products via mail. This will require no skill or time from the user. This way the level accessibility of the product depends on the availability of postal services, or independent delivery services.

What might cause a problem here, is that as a developer and manufacturer I have limited resources to create the tools for mass reproduction. I have no fab lab and it might be difficult to create my own tools. I do have access to the home improvement store and there are many things that I can do at home. In the case I do manage to create a tool to make these products fast and easily, I could share the knowledge to create this tool online, which gives other people the ability to create more products.

Decentralization of production by kits

To combine the two previous methods, we could consider taking the IKEA approach. Partially assembling the products at home saves the manufacturer time, and possibly makes the packaging more compact. This means we can produce and distribute many kits. Remember that we would want this device on every door, so we need quite a lot of them. Creating building sets can keep the costs to a minimal, and on account of the lockdown we can assume that people have some time left over to assemble the products. This also gives more opportunities for consumers to hack our kit, rather than having a ready-made product.

This method however most likely needs classic fabrication machines that I personally might not have access to. I however am able to create a prototype to test the concept, and create files so people with access can produce these kits.

Summer Danoe 2020 (personal documentation)

Inspiration

Please take a look at the projects that inspired me!

pageInspirational projects