Industrial - Bachelor
Hydro is a compact, rugged wearable designed for mining workers. Using haptic notifications Hydro reminders users to drink at suitable intervals, preventing dehydration and fatigue.
“Sometimes I’d forget lunch and only notice when I felt terrible.”
iNTERVIEW PARTICIPANT 1
Prevention is better than a cure.
That’s the Hydro advantage. Current hydration trackers do not have all the features required to both track hydration, and warn users of hazards in real time. Compounding this issue is the harsh environment of Australian mines, where temps can reach well over 40 degrees.
Haptic vibrations are used to interact with the user, removing reliance on hearing from users that are often wearing hearing protection.
Personal hydration baselines are developed in real time, and stored for review at a later date. The TDS sensor tracks dissolved salt content of sweat when in contact with skin. This provides true hydration data in real time, allowing for early warning of dehydration before its symptoms become hazardous.
Further data integration from the climate sensor and RFID drink tracking create a bespoke dataset to inform and warn of hazardous conditions or habits.
Based on research conducted and existing literature, current protocols and products for fatigue management are not suitable. Workers require support and early warning to manage fatigue and hydration at a personal level, based on user specific data, rather than corporate level oversight or policy that does not factor in individual needs and specific environment variables. Any solution that is intrusive or difficult for the end user will not be utilised properly, or even deliberately circumvented (Horberry, 2012). With this in mind, Hydro is designed to meet three criteria: Personal, intuitive, positive.
A personal solution is highly tailored to the individual user, either by collection of baseline data or user selections. Users should be able to see exactly what is happening, and how it could benefit them.
Intuitive solutions mean the user is not slowed down or inconvenienced by the solution. It must be easy to user for all age groups identified by survey, without causing frustration, discomfort or slowing down work significantly.
Finally, the design solution must have a positive impact. Solutions that cause the user to stress about metrics or be criticised or targeted will not be positively accepted by the worker community, significantly limiting their effectiveness.
Fatigue and dehydration remain critical safety concerns in FIFO mining, contributing to increased risk of accidents, reduced productivity, and long-term health impacts (Cavuoto & Megahed, 2017). Investigation clearly identified a intervention possibility, and Hydro delivers a solution
With a focus on precision, usability, and manufacturing practicality, Albert Michell designs products that respond to real world needs. His experience spans small-scale projects, digital fabrication, and commercial production, reflecting a commitment to creating purposeful, well-engineered solutions through thoughtful industrial design.