Kaitlyn Smith

Industrial Design, 2023

Drop is a wearable hydration sensing patch allowing parents to track sick children’s basic vitals. A complementary smartphone app supports the system by making the data easily understandable. Drop aims to accurately measure hydration non-invasively. When children are under the stress of a viral or chronic illness, hydration is a valuable and controllable factor for recovery. Parents are under a high level of stress while their children are sick, impeding on their ability to provide full levels of care. The system monitors hydration, temperature, and medication intake, alleviating caretaker’s responsibility and providing actionable tasks to improve the child’s health.Preliminary research consisted of secondary research into the topics of at-home healthcare, dehydration, and care of sick children. Primary research included 99 surveys to caretakers of young children and 6 one-on-one interviews with parents at BFA in Clintonville, Ohio.

Kaitlyn Smith is an Industrial Designer graduating in the spring with Research Distinction and a double minor in History of Art and Fine Arts. She is passionate about research-driven design solutions to public health issues. Following graduation she is attending Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands to achieve a Masters in Design for Interaction. Outside of her design life she is an avid rock climber and reader. Keep an eye out for her around town on a little yellow scooter.

View Kaitlyn’s other project at here!