MetMate
AR Glass for Metropolitan Museum in New York
MetMate is an AR glasses for active exhibition experience, exclusive for the Metropolitan museum of art in New York city.
MetMate aims to provide its own specialized museum amusement by offering captivating and insightful information, facilitating interactive AR experiences, and leaving visitors with lasting memories.
September 2022 - December 2022
Product Prototyping Studio (2) / Hongik University
Team Project with 3 Designers
Contribution: Product Design, Engineering
Design Motif : Neo-classicism
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Design Motif : Neo-classicism 〰️
“Inspired by the elegance of Neoclassical architecture”
“Reminiscent of a spiraling staircase”
“Sunlight streaming through expansive floor-to-ceiling windows”
Let's Met Now
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Let's Met Now 〰️
The main interactions through hand tracking will be ‘Tap’, ‘Swipe’, ‘Grab’, ‘Push’, ‘Snap’ and ‘Twist’.
These symbols will show whenever there is hand interactions.
This magical moment will start as you put the glasses on and start the AR museum tour.
You can use your hands to interact with the Easter eggs.
Finding them will help you look at the exhibitions more thorughly.
Your day at the Met will be colllected and printed as a souvenir postcard.
The information of your visit will be transmitted to the printer and make you your very own postcard.
The paths and items on the card will differ by individuals.
It contains your course of visit and your encounters with the hidden museum easter eggs.
Recall your day at the met even after you leave the museum behind.
You will always have a piece of Met with you!
The Tech Behind the Magic
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The Tech Behind the Magic 〰️
Battery Thermal Management System
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Battery Thermal Management System 〰️
Problem Overview:
To address the overheating issue caused by the embedded battery components in the AR glasses temple, a cooling fin solution was implemented. Lithium-ion batteries operate optimally at 25°C, while temperatures exceeding 60°C can lead to operational failures. The goal was to reduce the external battery temperature, which could rise to 60°C, back to ambient levels.
To achieve this, I utilized Ansys Discovery Live to simulate various design models incorporating elements such as inlets/outlets, cooling fins, and thermal pads. Additionally, I conducted independent research to redesign the thermal management system of lithium-ion batteries, ensuring enhanced performance and safety.
First Attempt
For the initial design, aluminum cooling fins were attached to both sides of the battery, with one fin panel on each surface. Assuming the battery was emitting heat at 60°C, a convection simulation was conducted with the surrounding air temperature set to 22°C (ambient room temperature).
Second Attempt
A new structure was designed, utilizing the top and bottom surfaces of the battery, as well as the rear space of the glasses temple. Thermal pads were attached to the top and bottom of the battery and extended to connect with cooling fins.
Third Attempt
The width of the thermal pad’s extension was reduced from 12mm to 4mm, a decrease to 30% of its original size. This adjustment aimed to increase the surface area of the cooling fin exposed to air, thereby enhancing its heat dissipation efficiency.
Fourth Attempt
In this attempt, the number of cooling fins was doubled, increasing from 16 to 32. Additionally, the fins closer to the thermal pad were spaced more tightly to enhance heat transfer efficiency.
Fifth Attempt
The thermal pads were extended to the lateral surfaces of the battery, allowing heat conduction through its broader sides. Additionally, the simulation was shifted from a convection-based approach to a heat conduction (solid heat) method. In this case, the battery's surface temperature of 60°C was converted into a Heat Generation Rate (W) for simulation purposes.
Final Attempt
In the final design, the precise battery capacity and dimensions were incorporated into the model, and the housing for the AR glasses legs was added. To enhance heat dissipation, air inlets and outlets were introduced in the leg section to facilitate natural convection for temperature reduction.
Outcome
Due to the narrow width of the glasses leg design, it was not possible to design fins with sufficiently long blades. This limitation prompted the consideration of utilizing the top and bottom surfaces of the battery instead of the left and right sides for the cooling solution.
Outcome
Although the aluminum thermal pads effectively absorbed heat from the battery, the heat was not sufficiently conducted to the cooling fins. The next step involves modifying the design to ensure that heat is transferred all the way to the connecting bridge between the thermal pads and the cooling fins.
Outcome
The heat conduction to the cooling fin showed improved activity compared to the second trial. However, the heat still failed to reach the far ends of the cooling fin. On a positive note, the minimum temperature dropped significantly—from 38.2°C in the second attempt to 32.5°C in the third—indicating meaningful progress.
Outcome
The maximum temperature within the thermal management system showed a marginal decrease, dropping from 57.6°C in the third iteration to 57.4°C in this design. However, the minimum temperature experienced a significant reduction, declining from 32.5°C to 29.9°C. This result indicates that while the thermal pad continued to absorb the same amount of heat, the increased number of cooling fins enabled more effective heat dissipation.
Outcome
The thermal management system successfully reduced the minimum temperature to 24.3°C, marking a significant improvement. This result underscores the effectiveness of strategies such as utilizing larger thermal pads and denser, wider cooling fins.
Outcome
With the addition of the inlet and outlet system, the temperature of the housing was recorded at 22.1°C. This indicates that, from the user's perspective while wearing the glasses, the perceived product temperature would be 22.1°C. The simulation images show that heat escapes from the inlet and outlet areas, resulting in a relatively warmer appearance in those regions.
