The Transformation North West (TNW) was a cohort of 12 PhD design students aiming to maximise new product and service opportunities for business in the UK’s North West, active between 2017 and 2021. Several projects were developed by partnering with industry startups and organisations.

OPPO: Oscillating Personal Place Occurences

The OPPO project consisted of the design of sensor boxes and an Internet of Things (IoT) system that can collect data (light, temperature, humidity and motion) from a building and virtually translate it into a musical score. This project was a collaboration between Sonalux, members of the Transformation North West and two partner institutions. It was first implemented at Sensor City in 2019 and posteriorly implemented at two libraries at the University of Liverpool (Sidney Jones and Harold Cohen libraries) in 2020.

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AudioTrek was developed through collaboration between Sonalux, members of the Transformation North West and Pulse Systems, a startup company based in Liverpool at the Sensor City hub, whose specialisation is in manufacturing sensor technology and IoT. The project aimed to produce a sensor-based assistive device prototype for people with visual impairments. Our goal was to develop a new assistive device integrating functions such as colour identification, long-distance range finder, obstacle proximity, asset tag (e.g., QR code) and motion detection.

This device could be useful for home use or supplied as an assistance device at cultural events. For example, in a gallery setting, it would be possible for the device to identify tags and orientated the user in space (e.g., exit, toilets, etc), and/or give information about an artwork on display.