ViPER (Visible Protective Emergency Response) Barrier
Mike Ciccone, Kevin Grospitch, Justin Taylor, Adam Rukin
Characteristics
Total length = 29’ 4.5”
Total Weight = 44 lbs.
Size: 24” x 26” x 8.5”
Introduction
Any product that is used by EMS services, including fire and police departments, must be able to perform perfectly every time it is used. Almost any piece of equipment has lives that depend on it. As well as regular usage, it must be able to withstand rough handling, drops, and potentially vehicle impacts, all of which can (and likely will) occur to a product such as the ViPER Barrier.
- Visibility
With regards to specifications that were set by the team, the ViPER Barrier performed well. One of the areas it succeeded in was visibility. When comparing the barrier side-by-side with traffic cones, ViPER visually outperformed cones in both day and nighttime conditions. Increased visibility was our main objective, so achieving this was most important. Additionally, ViPER was noticeable at a distance similar to traffic cones, giving drivers ample time to react to the scene. An unintended feature that ended up working out to benefit the visibility aspect was the pylons curving after being wrapped around the hub. This reflected the light more towards oncoming traffic.
One way to increase visibility even more would be to create a more eye-catching pattern on the outside of the enclosure and add LED lights along the entire length of the track, with an option of a blinking pattern. Additionally, LED lights could be added to the top of the pylons.
- Deployment
On average, the ViPER takes 2.5 seconds to unload and set down from a waist-high storage area, and approximately 5 seconds to unroll and deploy the track. The track takes about 8.5 seconds to wind back up, and another 2.5 seconds to load. The time for each action varies from trial to trial and from user to user, so it is difficult to measure a precise time for each action. Based on the trials, unrolling and rolling the track could be made easier (and less resistive) in future prototypes to further reduce the total deployment time.
The total weight of the solution is 44 lbs. This is below our goal of 50 lbs, so the product excels in this area, especially considering that the housing includes 25 feet of rubber track. However, there is a lack of places to grab the prototype when loading and unloading, so it can feel cumbersome. In the future, handles and cutouts could be added into the housing to make it easier to load and unload, which would also slightly reduce the weight.
The track curves about 5 inches per foot of track, which makes it highly adaptable to different working conditions. This is also a measurement that would apply to both smaller and larger ViPER barriers in a product family. One minor issue is that the pylons can fall over while the track is physically dragged and curved. This would be fixed by either widening the track, changing the weight distribution of the pylons, or making the base of the pylons heavier in future models.
- Durability
The loading and unloading portion of the durability testing was a success. The ViPER was roughly put on a shelf, then taken off and put on the ground without any issue or damage occurring inside or outside the unit.
However, a problem did occur during the unrolling and rolling of the track. The springs, hinges, handle, axle and pylons remained functional after 15 iterations as expected, but the track itself would bind up inside the enclosure upon retracting. It was determined that the bulk of the hinges pushed the folded pylons to the side, making them catch on the bearing supports. A remedy for this would be utilizing smaller hinges that have a torsional spring built into them, instead of an external tension spring that is bulky. This would give the track and pylons overall a sleeker, more manageable profile, both while rolled up and while deployed.
- Size
The total size of the prototype is 26 inches long, 24 inches high, and 8.5 inches wide. Our goal was to make the prototype small enough to fit into approximately a 2’ x 2’ by 1’ box, based on measurements we took at the Westerville Fire Department. We met these goals on the height and width, and only exceeded the goal on the length. Overall, the ViPER will fit on virtually any emergency response vehicle, so our size goal was achieved.
Summary
All in all, the ViPER Barrier performed to our expectations. Visibility and size were where the prototype excelled most, with durability leaving room for improvement. Due to the ease of deployment, improvement in visibility and remarkable flexibility of the product, the ViPER Barrier will provide adequate competition for the current market solution.
Due to the scope and budget of the project, there are improvements that could be made to the prototype that could not be done during the project. These improvements include: making the casing out of some type of durable plastic, using different hardware (such as the hinges) to make a sleeker, more manageable track, and including handles or grips so that the unit can be more easily loaded and unloaded on to emergency response vehicles. In the end, we learned that there were some functional issues, but are overall pleased with the outcome.