BuzzFinder

Wearable technology as a reflection on assistive design

Smart glasses and a necklace that question how assistive devices are designed and experienced.

Role: Designer & Developer

Worked with a teammate to design and prototype a wearable that blends style with function. Beyond just being a device, the project was meant to spark reflection on how assistive technologies are often created and who they are really serving.

Problem

Many assistive devices are designed without enough input from the people who actually use them. This often leads to products that look helpful on paper but don’t always work in practice.

With BuzzFinder, we wanted to make this gap visible: instead of building a finished assistive tool, we created something that lets others imagine what it might feel like to depend on one. The idea was to raise questions about design, empathy, and whether technology truly supports those who need it.

Solution

We built a two-part wearable that works like a pair of everyday accessories:

• Smart glasses with three sensors that detect obstacles across a 180° field of view.
  → Reduced the effort of pointing with the hand and gave a wider sense of awareness.
• A necklace with three vibration motors that signal the direction of the nearest object (left, center, right).
  → The neck was chosen for feedback because it’s more sensitive than the hand, making vibrations easier to notice without strain.

The result was a device that looked discreet, felt natural to wear, and revealed how simple design choices, like where sensors or feedback are placed, can completely change the user’s experience.

Impact

• Demonstrated how design decisions affect usability, comfort, and awareness
• Offered a way for people without vision impairment to step into the perspective of relying on assistive tech
• Highlighted the importance of designing assistive technologies with users, not just for them

Skills & Tools

• Human-Centered Design → explored comfort, wearability, and user perception
• Prototyping & Hardware Development → built functional smart glasses and necklace with embedded sensors and motors
• Speculative Design → used the project as a way to question and critique assistive technology practices
• Collaboration → co-designed and refined prototypes through teamwork and iteration

Keywords: wearable technology, assistive design, haptic feedback, speculative design, human-centered design