DESIGN NAME: Shadow
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Multifunctional Lifesaving Blanket
INSPIRATION: In a refugee crisis, Allan, who was just 3 years old, followed her parents to board a refugee boat and took refuge in Europe. However, because the refugee boat he was overturned because of a severe overload, he was unfortunately encountered with a capsize accident on the way. Allan's body was washed into the Turkish beach by seawater, and the photos of his "sleeping" beach have caused worldwide concern and caused people's attention to the refugee wave.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Regional conflicts, climate and other reasons have forced many people living a stable life to become refugees.The starting point of this design is to help refugees improve their ability to deal with extreme events. It has many functions such as life blanket, life jacket, simple sleeping bag and so on. It can meet the basic needs of people in the process of migration, and improve the chance of survival.We hope this product will accompany people like a shadow and help people if necessary.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: This product has three functions of buoyancy aid, sleeping bag and warm blanket. It can be unfolded and folded by elastic bands, making the product suitable for marine rescue, disaster relief, emergency material storage and other occasions.
Function 1: Buoyancy assist. A large number of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa must cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. However, in the process of crossing the sea, there are many dangers. The rubber boats used by the refugees were severely overloaded and there were not enough life jackets. Once the ship sinks, the risk of refugees losing their lives is high. Therefore, if the refugee can wear the product on the body, once refugee falls into the water, the buoyancy sponge filled inside the product will provide some buoyancy for refugees (about 90N), which will increase the refugee's chance of survival at sea.In addition, the product has a built-in waterproof inter layer, which can ensure that some important documents will not get wet when crossing the sea.
Function 2: Lifesaving blanket. If refugees can successfully cross the Mediterranean to the other side, the most serious challenge they face is declining body temperature. When they cross the sea, they will inevitably get wet, coupled with the cold sea breeze on the shore, if they do not keep warm in time, they will face a serious crisis. At this point, refugees can quickly expand the product into a life blanket and use it to wrap their bodies. Because the inner layer of the rescue blanket uses an aluminum film material, the heat emitted by the body can be reflected back to achieve the effect of keeping warm. This material is also widely used in emergency situations such as outdoor adventures and disaster relief.
Function 3:Sleeping bag. When refugees have just reached the opposite shore, they generally cannot quickly find a suitable place to live. At this time, they often sleep directly on the roadside and are easily ill due to cold and other reasons. In this case, they urgently need a temporary resting place, at which time the product can be transformed into a sleeping bag by simple expansion. The buoyancy sponge filled inside can be used as a simple version of the mattress, and the aluminum film material can also ensure the temperature inside the sleeping bag . And when they need to continue to migrate, they can put the product on their body and carry it conveniently.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project was launched in Taiwan in March 2019, completed in Dongguan in July 2019, and exhibited at Dongguan University of Science and Technology in October 2019
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Social Design
|
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: This product is aimed at the refugee phenomenon in the world today. By designing methods, this product is helpful to the lives of refugees, hoping to improve the ability of the public to resist unknown dangers. And increase the public's attention and understanding of this group and reflect the social responsibility of designers.During the production process, high-frequency heat-sealing technology is used to ensure that the product is strong and tight so that no water can penetrate into the product.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Folded state:500*200*150
Expanded state:2000*1500*5
TAGS: Refugee,Life blanket,Keep warm,Sleeping bag,Buoyancy aid
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: This product is aimed at the refugee phenomenon in the world today. By designing methods, this product is helpful to the lives of refugees, hoping to improve the ability of the public to resist unknown dangers. And increase the public's attention and understanding of this group and reflect the social responsibility of designers.
CHALLENGE: In the course of the project, a large amount of information must be collected, such as relevant data from UNHCR and relevant reports from the media. It is necessary to find important information for integration and reasonably consider the needs of refugees and give priority to their most important life safety. In addition, it is necessary to consider what manufacturing process can meet these three functions, which can not only be used normally, but also be convenient for refugees to carry.
ADDED DATE: 2020-03-30 18:08:05
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Image #1: Photographer Xudong Cai, Main picture, 2019.
Image #2: Photographer Xudong Cai, Front view, 2019.
Image #3: Photographer Xudong Cai, Rear view, 2019.
Image #4: Photographer Xudong Cai, Use process, 2019.
|