Thales Glasgow creating the Focus Band prototype
Thales UK are a national partner for our Leaders Award competition which asks pupils aged 3-19 the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?”. This year Thales UK will be creating 6 prototypes across 5 of their UK sites, in total turning 6 pupils’ ideas submitted to our Leaders Award competition into a working prototypes over the 2024/2025 academic year.
Pupil designer, Sophia will see her engineering idea the ‘Focus Band’ turn into a reality by Thales Glasgow. Her idea is a headband which makes it a little easier to focus on school work with features such as noise cancelling, a smart camera, a desk projection plus a customisable look.
Introduction to the prototeam
The Thales Glasgow second prototeam (Team DELTER) consists of six members, each bringing different skill sets to the table:
- Des Jemwa
- Emma Russell
- Luke Brand
- Tomi Akintunde
- Ellen Taylor
- Ronaldo Mupudzi
Why did they choose this design?
It was chosen as the engineering professional who originally graded the competition entry identified the product as being extremely beneficial to those who have the likes of ADHD or autism who struggle to concentrate in class, this was highlighted as a personal struggle amongst family members/friends. In addition, the focus band will help eliminate noise within the classroom that might distract them and maximise their engagement and learning at times.
Prototype planning
Features:
- Headwear:
- Elasticated, colourful band
- Noise cancelling, adjustable earbuds
- Circuitry integrated into band, including:
- Accelerometer for motion tracking
- Bluetooth for software connectivity
- Optional microphone for lesson recording and text to speech
Functions:
- DB Meter
- Optional speech to text (teacher preference)
- AI Generated work
- Mirroring Screen
- Data Storage
- Feedback
- Engagement levels
Software:
The software on the Headband
- C++ using the Arduino IDE.
- The goal will be to collect and handle the data in a sensible fashion
- Then send this data to the application to be interpreted
The application software
- Using JavaScript in react native to create a cross platform code base (IOS and android)
- The app will receive data from headband. Interpret it into user friendly, insightful and fun format.
- The app will also work as a study companion app to further push the idea of focus, this will where the ‘AI’ capabilities will be utilized.
Timeline
The team plan to visit the pupil designer’s school in February to update her on their plans and get any feedback. Then visiting again in March with the initial prototype before a design review.
Next steps
The team are excited to be working on a project that aids teaching and learning whilst having the fantastic opportunity to upskill team members taking on a new challenge. We can’t wait to see the next update.