PCA Toolkit

The T-Pen

The T-Pen design features a dongle with a “T” shaped head that allows the user to apply force in 3 axes to an adapter. The concept is for each person to have a T-Pen that is capable of working in adapters placed around a workplace, home, shop etc.. This would allow people to open doors and operate mechanisms without touching a surface someone else may have come into contact with – breaking the COVID-19 transmission path. A lid is also provided to allow the pen to be covered when not in use.

PCA Toolkit

The USB-Pen Interface

Building on the USB interface, the design can be extended to also allow a pen (standard biro) or pencil to be used. This extends the “upcycle” mantra associated with the USB design, but comes with the penalty of not having any depth control due to the uncertainty surrounding the pen used. The design can be 3D printed in under 10 minutes and cost less than 2p each.

PCA Toolkit

The Upcycled USB

A simple adapter has been developed, that can be rapdily printed using FFF and SLA technologies, to allow someone to use a USB stick to open doors and operate simple mechaisms and break transmission paths of COVID-19.
The simple design, that takes less than 15 minutes to print on our standard 3D printers costs just £0.04 and can take advantage of the old USB sticks people have at home and in the workplace. If the USBs available also have a retracting head, or a cover for the interface, the contact patch can be sealed from the user when not in use.

Clean Access Challenge

Clean Access Challenge 1: A Toolkit for Queen’s Building

University buildings (like many other buildings throughout our cities) have many hundreds of users every day, all needing to move through and access a variety of different spaces, each with their own locks and access controls. In a world of social distancing, we need to think about how people move through buildings and access spaces efficiently, while preventing bottlenecks, minimising transmission risks, and still allowing important security and access controls to stay in place.