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Firefly Featured in Machine Design

Thu 29 Mar 2012
Machine Design
"When most individuals think “future technology,” they probably imagine such things as personal helicopters, replicators, and even time-travel machines. But it can also be argued that there is a growing trend to bring technology back to earth, so to speak. Not everyone in the world has access to the tools needed to build hightech gizmos. So engineers and engineering schools are coming up with ways to help what is sometimes called “the other 90%” — that is, groups of people living in poverty, for instance, in the U.S., Asia, and Africa."

"Project Firefly took a collaborative approach to the problem, marshalling hundreds of volunteers and contractors from academia and business to donate or charge very little for their expertise and resources. “Our approach leverages great technical expertise from the U.S., Europe, and parts of the Third World,” says Johansen.

Firefly

The main challenges in designing the phototherapy device were designing something compatible with low volume manufacturing techniques or low-cost tooling so the Vietnamese group could take over the design, distribution, and servicing. “But the techniques still needed to give the device a high-quality, professional aesthetic,” says Johansen.

So, the bed the infant lies in is made from vacuum forming — a low-cost process, says Johansen. “The top light with the white housing is an aluminum extrusion. The extrusion tool is low cost. The two end caps are injection molded from plastic. A stainless-steel tube holds up the light. We were able to outfit the Vietnamese manufacturing company with its own tube-bending capabilities at a low cost,” she says."

- Leslie Gordon, Back to the Future, Machine Design, 22March2012

Learn more about Project Firefly

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