Auxilary Components

Two of the components of the system that have been discussed in passing during out group development discussions, but not really directly referenced in our blogging, are the Head set device, which is quite essential to the audio component of the device brains and infomation retreival, And the barcode reader for instore identification of products and uploading of data to the.

Both systems already exist with some generic designs so very little adaptation to the needs of our target user group is needed in the overall design.

Firstly the headset design, with the recent explosion of bluetooth capable communication devices there has been a great influx of new headset designs moving away from the large bulky RF/IR wireless headsets and the more standard wired inner earphones and over ear headphones. While classic inner ear headphone and earpiece's were part of our early concept's for the device, After gathering info from the target user group it was realised that idealy the user's hearing should not be impaired if at all possible. Initial thought was to use a system similar to noise canceling headsets, but this was deemed too bulky and after more discussion, deemed not to provide the level of hearing accuracy needed for the target group. The Second concept of a headset design that came up in discussion was similar in design to current bluetooth mobile headsets, as the ergonomic's of there design fit quite nicely into the requirments of our users and is easily adapted to fit the needs for the product.

More Specifically the headset consists of, a generic mobile bluetooth headset.(we will be using blue tooth and device pairing for general connectivity of the devices components and it is ideal for short range data communication). This is then cut down by removing the mic component as this is not needed in our design, though if used in conjuction with a mobile phone it might be pertinent to retain it. The basic design of the the remaining ear piece is then changed to suit the need of not directly impairing the users hearing, this is acheived by moving the audio output (speaker) compont of the earpiece forward and away from the surface of the ear allowing clear passage of normal sound. The audio output is then orientated in relation to how the headset is worn, to project sound into the ear cavity from its new position. Directed sound projection will allow for the user to hear output while, not been loud enough to damage hearing or for other to be aware of any noise emmission