I'm Conor Alken, a Product Design graduate. Specialized in Consumer Grade Electronics, I enjoy working across hardware, software and physical design. I'm interested in working in the space where those three meet. Using a strong user-centered approach to design along with a depth of knowledge in design for manufacture, lets me push ambitious ideas without losing sight of how they'll actually be made. I like to bring energy to my designs and create products that enable and empower users.
Forge: Building Competence in the Free-Weight Area
Forge is a device for commercial gyms that helps beginners progress and build competence in the free-weight area. Free weights are a major drop-off point for beginners, despite the variety and functional benefits they offer, the setup is unfamiliar, and the social pressure is high, often discouraging continued progress. Forge encourages users to progress movements by using on-device pose estimation to track functional metrics such as range of motion, tempo, fatigue and balance so they aren't sacrificing technique to chase numbers and by surfacing more meaningful progress.
The device is privacy by design, video is processed on-device and discarded, only metrics are stored, and a physical camera shutter and visible recording indicator make that clear to the user and everyone around them. It uses transparent and centralised approach which can help combat unregulated filming, which is becoming a growing concern in commercial gyms.
