Institution
National College of Art and Design (NCAD)
Medium
Design
Graduation Year
Class of 2026
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WayPoint is a communication device and power bank that enables rural communities to stay connected during prolonged telecommunications outages after severe storms. After being distributed to households on a free, rental basis by An Post following a storm, WayPoint pairs with users’ phones and uses decentralized radio communication to connect with nearby devices, creating a backup messaging network for neighbourhoods, with a range of 2-5km. In doing this, WayPoint relieves the struggles faced by rural households during prolonged outages by allowing them to share information, coordinate resources, and care for vulnerable community members. I designed WayPoint to enhance community resilience to climate change and as a response to the widespread disruption caused by Storm Éowyn 2025 which left up to 1.25 million households in Ireland with little to no mobile or broadband coverage, along with other key utilities, for up to two weeks. Through my research with affected households, I found that organized help from Emergency Hubs or other aid organisations did not reach many in rural areas, and as a result of the communications outages, they struggled to access resources and information and support each other. Furthermore, many adults in these areas faced amplified responsibilities with little support themselves. Following case studies into solutions developed in other places such as on Réunion Island in France which faces storms frequently, I was inspired to examine what a backup communication solution could look like in Ireland. Along with the device itself, WayPoint includes a surrounding product-service system, including the simple, device-hosted WayPoint Messenger web-app, which allows users to send and receive messages from neighbours, and An Post Rental Service and charging rack which are designed to allow for deployment following a storm. These were all developed in close collaboration with rural households and experts, such as staff from Civil Defence and An Post, who were involved at every stage of the process in order to ensure the solution responded to the needs of stakeholders. Given its rental use case, WayPoint is designed to be durable to withstand repeated deployment and to be easy for users to adapt to using. It has a simple interface with all of its main touchpoints on the front of the device, while the LED ring on top gives users clear visual feedback on things like battery level or incoming messages at the push of a button. The upright form also takes inspiration from existing, familiar at-home technology like smart speakers and its orange and off-white colour palette and matte body--moulded mainly from PC-ABS, disguises wear and balances durability with a calm but optimistic presence that encourages confidence in the face of major disruption.
