HearingMate presents… Portable Fire Alarm for the Deaf Xiang Chen, CTO Alisha Ling, CEO Christopher Liu, CMO Tiffany Lu, CFO Jessica Lui, CRO

Introduction Our Product PortableAffordableUser Friendly Alerts through flashing lights and vibrations Design Problem Many fire alarms in buildings only alert via sounds, creating problems for the deaf and hard of hearing The fire alarm with lights are not portable, expensive, and hard to install

Background Motivation Currently, there are approximately 11 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the US Who is considered Deaf, Hard of Hearing? Hard of Hearing: have some hearing Deaf : Cannot hear with hearing aid Main Causes of Deafness Hereditary Disease Injuries Deaf and Hard of Hearing Percent of Total US Population by Age

COMPUTTY Alarm Monitor KA300 System Connects to existing fire alarm system Strobe light, loud speaker & bed shaker (for heavy sleepers) $ Requires installation Doesn’t vibrate Not convenient to carry around Only works where transmitter is installed Existing Products CharacteristicsLimitations

Gentex 7139 Bright strobe light High decibel horn (90dB) Tandem connect to 6 other alarms Wall or ceiling mounted Portable version available Hard-wired – requires installation, not portable Not effective for deaf during sleep Portable version (limited detection range) Existing Products CharacteristicsLimitations

Recognizes various sounds such as baby’s cry Sends signal to any Simplicity receiver. Sensitivity to sound can be adjusted Receiver strobes to indicate the sound and the signaler $84.95 Does not distinguish between loud sounds Related Products Simplicity Sound Signaler/Transmitter & Remote Receiver

Target End-Users Visual/tactile alerts (lights and vibration) Different subsets of the population experience different levels of adaptation and visual awareness Technical Experts Minimum requirements by ADA, NPFA, CPSC, & UL No standardization of the fire alarm sound (bell, siren, etc.) Interview input DeafHOH Born HOHBecame HOH later in life

Reliable Must properly detect fire alarm Must minimize false positives Portable Should be small enough to carry around. Lightweight Accessible Screen should be large enough to be easily visible Minimal buttons Constraints and Specifications

User-friendly Require no training (minimal instructions) Power Requirements Battery life must last at least 1 day without recharging Affordable Should cost less than $200 to build Should cost less than $300 to buy (current market price)

Portable Smoke/Heat Detector Idea 1 How it works 1)Smoke enters the ionization chamber 2)Smoke disrupts the electric current within the ionization chamber 3)Disrupted current will activate a switch in the circuit board activating the alerting devices

Portable Smoke/Heat Detector Advantages Flexibility – can be used in foreign countries, or while camping Long battery life Disadvantages Large likelihood of false positives Large competition – device already exists Limited distance range Idea 1

Portable Alarm Detector Idea 2

Portable Alarm Detector 1)Microphone detects a sound 2)Signal is processed and compared to a library of sounds stored in the microchip 3)A match will signal the activation of the motor and the LCD screen 4)Motor is attached to a gear and offset weight which will cause the device to vibrate Idea 2 How it works

Advantages Multipurpose alerting Large range (distance) Disadvantages Multiple buttons are difficult for the elderly to manipulate Difficulty of signal processing Portable Alarm Detector Idea 2

iPhone Application Same conceptually as Portable Alarm Detector (Idea 2) iPhone already contains physical hardware (hardware components fixed) Idea 3 Advantages No extra device to carry around No hardware warranty necessary No manufacturing costs Disadvantages Much smaller market Constant use of microphone shortens iPhone battery life

Summary Data Input (fire alarm, smoke or heat) Data Processing (Fourier transform, smoke ionization) Signal Output (vibrating & flashing light) Problem: Most fire alarms alert people with an auditory signal Who: 4% of US pop. is deaf or hard of hearing Note: Over half are older than 65 years old Competitors: All other products require some sort of prior installation Constraints: reliability, accessibility, portability, etc. What:1. Smoke/Heat Detector 2. Fire Alarm Detector 3. iPhone Application How:

Thank You Dr. Elizabeth Olson Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Dr. Jaclyn Spitzer Professor of Clinical Audiology and Speech Pathology Dr. Elizabeth Hillman Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Dr. Hayden Huang Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Dr. David Vallancourt Senior Lecturer of Electrical Engineering Mr. Geoff Zoehfeld Hard of hearing undergraduate Columbia student Mr. Robert J. Jackson Fire Safety Officer, Department of Public Safety Mr. Joe McCormack Fire Safety Officer, Department of Public Safety