Keep your water in focus
Test water on site
The Coloryzer® helps people accurately test water conditions, covering a wide range of users from the hobbyist, such as aquarium and swimming pool owners, to the professional, such as coral growers, breeders, and laboratory institutes. The device uses light-sensing technology to analyse the quality of water.
Client: AYXON-DYNAMICS GMBH
Product DNA
ID & UX Design
Engineering
Proof of Concept
The task
Ayxon-Dynamics turned to Pilotfish for a compact and user-friendly design of the Coloryzer®, to optimise the unique light-sensing technology for accurate, fast and portable water analysis.
The solution
Pilotfish designed an approachable device where the interaction surface faces the user, and the device encapsulates the water samples in complete darkness for accurate analysis.
Magnetic sliding door
Due to the darkness requirements of the sensor, the cuvette needs to be fully covered during the measurement. To sense this, Ayxon-Dynamics provided a hall sensor on the electronics that sensed the device was closed by contact with a magnet, which then signaled to start the reading of a sample. This opened up the opportunity for a unique opening and closing mechanism for the device.
Taking advantage of the use of magnets, Pilotfish designed a magnetic sliding door that held securely in place in either open or closed state, allowing for a simple, yet satisfying one-handed interaction. The magnetic attachment also allowed for easy removal and cleaning, which was an important factor for the device.
In the POC phase, the size, strength and placement of magnets were tested for optimal sliding and holding results and to ensure the door blocked light sufficiently. To avoid scratch marks from the sliding, POM material was used for the underside of the door.
The Coloryzer® uses light sensing technology, where an LED beams light through a water sample held in a cuvette. The beam is received on the other side of the cuvette by a sensor and analysed.
For accurate results, this technology requires absolute darkness inside the device. This was an important aspect to consider in the design. In the POC phase, Pilotfish tested the effect of surrounding light on the sensitivity of the sensor, and found a simple solution to block all incoming light by creating a tube that covers the sensor area.
Connected, portable water analysis
The Coloryzer® works with all available reagents and is easy to use, accurate and affordable. It is connected to an app that provides feedback on the device’s status and results of the measurement.
Pilotfish also designed the carry case to hold all the necessary equipment for measurement out in the field.
What’s up?
“Are you looking for a partner who can guide you to create unique user experiences and help you to achieve your digital challenges? Let’s get in touch and tell us what you have in mind.”
Marc Nagel, Managing Director