Final Mechanism Concept, with One & Co
2010, 2 months

Credits: Jonah Becker, Claude Zellweger, Scott Croyle, Cory Worth, One & Co Team, Microsoft Industrial Design Team, Young Kim, Monique Chatterjee, Dave Zucker

Project contribution: Final Mechanism Concept and Some Aesthetics Exploration together with One & Co. & Microsoft Team

This was a project done for Microsoft while I was working at One & Co, San Francisco. Microsoft was looking for a way to get a mouse to flatten for travel and storage, while being ergonomically shaped during use.

The project involved problem-solving, mechanism ideation and envisioning the resultant aesthetics of each possible mechanical solution. The key approach was to exhaust all possibilities to achieve the flat-to-arced transformation.

My contribution of the bend-and-snap mechanism principle provided the solution Microsoft was looking for. Based on this proposed principle, Microsoft engineered the final version and took it through to production.

The Arc Touch Mouse gathered the 2011 Red Dot Best of the Best Award and the 2011 IDSA IDEA Gold Award.

Individual Honor's Thesis Project
2006, 8 months

Rehabilitative needs of Cerebral Palsied kids are poorly met by existing walkers.

Leapfrog walker invents an elegant mechanical solution for automatic transformation between sit & stand modes, thereby eliminating the need for frequent transfers in and out of the walker for short breaks.

This makes it is less tiring for caregivers - they can let the child practice more frequently! It also allows a more positive form of rehabilitation where the child can actively try to stand instead of being locked into corrective positions, imparting a sense of 'I can do it', achievement and self-esteem.

Lastly, it looks fun & approachable, helping the child with social inclusion rather than frightening other children away.

Leapfrog was honored with the 2007 Braunprize Grand Winner Award, 2008 IF Concept Award, 2007 Red Dot Concept Award. It is currently under development for engineering production by the National University of Singapore.

Teamwork with Ong Zhenqi
2007, 2 weeks
Concept Medical Project

Healfast is a bandage that provides electrically-accelerated wound healing - particularly suited to help diabetic patients speed up the closure of their chronically unhealing sores.

HealFast delivers this technology in a compact form, with comforting and assuring aesthetics. Its clear, intuitive, single-handed usage is easy to use even for people with less dexterous or arthritic fingers. The convenience encourages daily replacement and wound cleaning.

Healfast was honored with the 2007 Lite-On Bronze Award.