Design that Matters Field Journal

Human Use of the Kinkajou Prototype

After the Field Test in Mali there are several aspects of the Kinkajou product design that I would like to change for manufacturing, some of which I recommended in my thesis but couldn't afford to implement in the prototype, and others that I was lucky enough to discover on this amazing visit to Mali. The first apparent change to the prototype is to make the spools more easily accessible from the top of the housing. This is something that I specifically noted in my thesis as necessary in the actual product, but in the production of the prototype a snap release or swivel lock was something that was too expensive and time consuming given our very tight production time. Our experience in Mali has only reconfirmed the need for a quick release type fastener, as many of the teachers noted that they woud like to change the cassettes more often than the Kinkajou team had speculated.

A second change to the prototype would be a change in the focusing ring and advancing dial to more closely match what was specified for in my thesis. I think color scheme in the 3d model was more visually appealing and appeared more cohesive than the maroon with black, which was used because it was more readily available in our lab. This is further justified by the fact that in photos of the Kinkajou the dials and focusing are harder to see because they are black and would be easier to distinguish to the user if they were lighter than the rest of the housing. After observing the user, most people sort of had to squint to distinguish the maroon from the back in dim lighting as I had expected they might.

One user need that I did not forsee was that the focusing ring would need a stop to keep the lens coming completely off. It seems silly now, but until it happened once i didnt really think it would be so hard to screw back on. Because of such small threads on the projection lens this would actually be really good idea to make sure the lens doesnt fall out and get scratched or broken.

Finally, I think the finger hole for the fast andvancement of the microfilm could be smoothed out, to something closer to the original design which called for an inverted dome rather that a through hole where the user puts their finger. Both the test users and the engineers tended to take a pencil and put it in the hole instead of using their finger. So possibly an even better solution would be a small protruded handle that could fold down when not in use.

Overall I was very pleased with the performace of the Kinkajou prototype in terms of people's reactions. When we asked "do you think it is hard to use or confusing" the response was usually like "of course not" or "theres nothing to it" because there were so few features that the teacher had to worry about. To take a product to a rural village in Africa, where any technology is a luxury, and have a teacher say the equivalent of "piece of cake" about using the Kinkajou was truly exciting to hear.