Products
18.04.2023
Trainees develop solution for colleagues with hearing impairment
Real teamwork – A young team of apprentices and students develops a "traffic light" with a proximity sensor. For Thomas Leitz and other colleagues with impaired hearing, the creative application could make everyday work and participation in the office much easier in the future.
Acquiring technical know-how, working on Balluff products and doing good in a social project at the same time? A current project in the Balluff apprentice workshop makes it possible.
"Colleagues with hearing impairments often have a hard time in open-plan offices," explains Thomas Leitz, who is a representative for the severely disabled at Balluff and has been wearing a hearing prosthesis himself for two years. "A spontaneous shout from behind or a colleague approaching from the side - these are unpleasant office situations even for colleagues with regular hearing. For hearing-impaired colleagues, however, it can even be dangerous without warning. I wished for some kind of traffic light that would let me know what's going on around me."
Self-research leads to success
When the trained automation technician could not find an existing application solving his problem, he decided to inquire at the Balluff apprentice workshop. Together with junior training supervisor Claudius Lexa, he gathered a team of four apprentices and students to tackle the project as part of their basic training. "It was important for us to involve the team from concept to implementation," Claudius Lexa explains. "Everyone needed to understand exactly: What challenge are we supporting our hearing-impaired colleagues with? What problem do we want to solve, and what are the resulting requirements?" The goal of the training projects at Balluff is to provide apprentices and students with project competence and expertise by working hands-on on Balluff products.
(From left) Florian Lange (apprentice mechatronics technician), Simon Tkac (apprentice IT specialist for application development), Claudius Lexa (junior trainer), Mario Pribil (team lead Engineering Data & Manuals 2), Florian Koch (apprentice IT specialist for application development) and Thomas Leitz (Engineering Data & Manuals 2). Image: Balluff
Innovative application based on a Balluff product
The team chose a proven Balluff product, the Smartlight, as the basis for their project. In its conventional application, the LED signal light is used to monitor the status of machines and systems and visualize desired information via light signal.
"The Smartlight was an optimal basis due to its versatility, which we were then able to modify for our purpose," Leitz explains. "I approached the team as an internal customer with a problem and described my requirements. The trainees and students then took the product completely apart and learned about the functions and structure from the inside."
Hands-on project work at Balluff: Apprentices and students get to know the Smartlight from the inside and adapt it to project requirements. Image: Balluff
A multicolored light signal allows users to provide information about their availability status, similar to digital communication tools. Image: Balluff
Innovation and user-friendliness
The modified application, affectionately coined "traffic light to go" by the team, has a variety of features: Two Time of Flight sensors that can be calibrated together cover an angle of 270 degrees, reliably detecting movements that occur outside the field of view - even in busy office spaces.
A wiping gesture on the Smartlight signals the direction from which the detected persons are approaching and gives early warning. A multi-coloured light signal allows users to provide information about their current availability status themselves, similar to digital communication tools. Claudius Lexa adds: "It was important to us to make our traffic light as user-friendly as possible. No one is helped if an elaborate installation is required, or the battery is constantly empty." That's why the traffic light - in keeping with the tradition of great Balluff products - is completely plug and play and is powered by replaceable power banks.
Application also attracts interest among experts
The innovative project also attracted attention beyond the Balluff world:
"When I told my hearing therapists in the Cochlear Implant Department at Freiburg University Hospital about our application, they were immediately enthusiastic and wanted to arrange a demonstration appointment," says Thomas Leitz. Since the project also met with great interest among experts, the team plans to produce a mini-series of five products after completion and wants to donate them to interested institutions. Currently, the "traffic light to go" is in the final project phase and will receive its own 3D-printed housing.
"We would like to express our sincere thanks to our team and to Balluff for the resources provided, which made this unique project possible," emphasizes Claudius Lexa. Thomas Leitz sums up: "Our traffic light has significantly improved participation in the workplace for hearing-impaired colleagues. We owe this success directly to the passion and commitment of our team."
