Vibrating Alarm Watch

About Nikita Golovlev

Nikita Golovlev was born in Russia in 1983, relocated to Sweden in 1993 and started University in 2003.

"I decided that I wanted to develop functional and appealing products, so I took a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in Innovation and Industrial Design at the Royal IT in Stockholm, Sweden. The industrial design part was particularly interesting to me, so I decided to pursue a Master's degree in that. Out of a couple design schools in Europe, Loughborough University in the UK appealed to me the most because of their reputation in teaching user focused and evidence based design. I can't say that I have a particular interest in watches, but I do recognize them as an extremely important lifestyle object. There's a great challenge to design a watch because that is such a personal object, and the user will truly have to be in love with it to wear it, and willing to be seen wearing it."

Nikita Golovlev Answers Questions about the AlarMe Vibrating Alarm Watch

How did you come up with the idea for AlarMe Vibrating Alarm Watch?

The first step was to identify a problem. It happened when I was walking past the Center for Hearing Impaire, in Loughborough, where the fire alarm was activated at the moment. At first, I found it ironic, and then it struck me that the majority of alarms rely on something most of us take for granted, and yet is unaccessible to a large part of population - the sense of hearing. My idea for a solution was to stimulate any other sense, and the most logical seemed to have a vibrating object in constant contact with their body. Such a device would have to be something people are used to wearing and comfortable in most situation, even to be able to sleep and shower with it. The wrist watch was the most natural choice for that criteria.

What is the biggest advantage of AlarMe for deaf users?

AlarMe is able to sense the audible alarms and alert the user through vibration or visual communication. This is believed to be most useful in public places where the user is likely to be alone, places such as hotels, offices, gym showers etc. While at home hearing impaired people have some sort of aids for alarms, in public areas they often have to rely on other individuals notifying them in case of emergency.

The watch has a unique design that reminds me of a stylish bangle bracelet. How is the design functional as well?

The aesthetics of the watch were designed to emphasize security, so that is the reason for the solid and unified appearance like a bracelet. It also has a very simple interface for quite a complex device.

How does the visible warning work? Can you explain the microphone system for our readers?

The LEDs simply flash different colors depending on how serious the warning is. The vibration is the primary warning system, but since that is only functional if the watch is on your wrist the lights were included so that there still would be a chance of noticing the alarm if you took off the watch, even if only for a moment.

They're two multi-directional microphones that are exposed on all sides, to make sure the audible alarm is heard no matter where it's coming from. The watch is programmed to trigger the user notification process when a number of criteria is met. Such criteria could be the sudden increase in ambient sound level, a certain frequency being hit, the duration of a sound, or a combination of all those.

Have you designed any other products? Can you tell us a little about those?

I have a big interest in electronic gadgets, especially communication and information devices, so many of my designs fall into that category. I am specifically satisfied with a GPS navigator inspired by a tourist map and utilizing e-paper, and an RSS-reader that I designed back in 2005. Another fun project was an ergonomic snowmobile, designed specifically to be comfortable for long comfortable rides, unlike the most snowmobiles today that are based on a racing model.

You have a Master's degree in Industrial Design. How does this influence the overall appearance and function of your inventions?

I tend to focus on the functions the users would need and benefit from, as well as analyze what look the target audience will accept and prefer. In my opinion, for a product to be successful it is important to have a motivated reason for any design decision, and to be elusive of any subjective preferences of the designer. I suppose the designer's strength is to see the big picture and understand why and when some things will work and why and when others won't.

Your multi-environment laptop is amazing. Although this interview is about watches, could you also tell our readers a little about this laptop?

Thank you. The laptop is basically the size of a normal laptop, but thanks to the flexible fixing mechanism and a detachable keyboard it can be transformed into a desktop or various other setups very easily. The idea came about because of the increasing amount of people using laptops as desktop workstations, which isn't exactly ergonomic. The ways people find to interact with their laptops, especially the younger audience, is immense so a highly adjustable mobile computer seemed like a needed and feasible product.

Do you feel that one of your strengths as a designer is taking a current product, such as a watch or laptop, and improving it and making it more modern and cutting edge? Where do your ideas come from?

I feel my task as a designer is to identify the problems with current products and propose solutions. Those problems can be anything from beneficial functionality or production and cost constraints, to aesthetics appealing to a certain audience. As the products and technologies evolve, so do our needs and expectations. It's a bit of a positive catch 22, and I believe every product can and will be improved eventually. The ideas to solutions usually come by a natural association to either a manmade product or something in nature that performs the desired task, communicates a feeling, or evokes a certain emotion that I want my product to emulate. That said, things known as "happy accidents" occur as well.

What has the response been from emergency services and the deaf community to the AlarMe watch?

They have liked the concept, especially because it would work with the current alarm systems without requiring any major installations or demanding legislation updates. All that has to be done is for the users to acquire AlarMe and wear it. Several retailers for hearing aids and accessories have contacted me and are willing to distribute the product, not realizing that it is only a concept at this stage, so I guess that shows there's a real need and interest. I would not be surprised if someone somewhere is already developing it, which at this point would only make me happy if the product became a reality because it would certainly help a lot of people and make them feel safer.

What products can we expect to see in the future from Nikita Golovlev?

I have recently began working for a hardware company, and will be working on traditional tools such as hammers and knives. It may seem as though there is little room for innovation on products so simple and utilitarian as those, which is exactly why I'm very excited about this challenge. I still haven't lost my interest for consumer electronics and will most likely propose concepts in that category once in a while.

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A special thank you to Nikita Golovlev for taking the time to share with us what industrial designers do. "The common misconception is that the profession is all about aesthetics. I hope this may clear some of the confusion, and show that there's a lot of critical thinking involved to establish that final form of the product," adds Golovlel.

To learn more about Nikita Golovlev's designs and view additional images, visit his website.