iRGO Pen Case

Developed as a solution for wrist pain in digital artists, ErgoPen is designed to minimize the risk factors contributing to carpal tunnel syndrome when using an Apple Pencil on an iPad.

Based on a study conducted in 1993, 42% of graphic artists in an office reported carpal tunnel syndrome in comparison to no cases in the rest of the employees. No research on the topic had been conducted since then, but user surveys indicated high incidences of wrist pain in digital artists.

The iRGO Pen Case has hotkeys to minimize excessive wrist flexion, senses grip force with embedded sensors, and flashes LED warnings to alert the user of excess pressure. The soft silicon case provides adequate cushioning and friction to reduce pinch force needed to grip the Apple Pencil.

It is estimated that this product will reduce the required grip force by at least 25% and decrease excess wrist flexion and extension by approximately 10%. These lead to an approximate 64% decrease in RSI from 46.1 to 16.7.

Several iterations of design took place, from brainstorming sketches, to fleshed-out concepts, to low-fidelity prototypes.

My primary roles in this project were conducting user research, conceptualization, sketching, low-fidelity prototyping, and data analysis.

The final pitch video for the iRGO Pen Case is shown below.

This project was a group effort, for Industrial Design and Human Factors at UC Berkeley.