Second Year | Semester 2
DMEM Steps
Design a product that captures otherwise wasted energy and converts it into something useful, adding value to an everyday activity.
When our lecturer told us to “have fun with the project,” we decided to take a simple idea and make it deliberately silly. With only 58% of Scottish children reporting walking for at least 5 minutes every day, we wanted to make getting active more fun. We created a step counter powered by your own steps, then pushed the concept further by turning it into a Crocs Jibbitz. It can also be used on normal shoes… but that’s boring!
Design Process
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Sketch
Explored the logistics of capturing wasted energy, testing different mechanical elements and mechanisms before developing the final concept.
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Prototype
3D printing and Tinkercad were used to prototype and test the effectiveness of different designs.
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Testing
Cheaper components were tested first to refine the design before selecting more sustainable, long-lasting alternatives, supported by market research.
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Final
The final product successfully fitted and transferred between different Crocs, with a simple interchangeable design and no issues during testing.
Final Design
The final design used durable, reliable components to convert the energy from each step into a useful output. Testing confirmed that the mechanism worked consistently and could be easily transferred between Crocs, making the product simple, reliable and practical.