Somnium
CPAP Machine Redesign
Separating permanent infrastructure from evolving living.
neura.
SEP 2025 - APR 2026
Rhino, Solidworks, Keyshot, Photoshop
DURATION
TOOLS
The moment home
improvement hits the wall.
Neura began while remodeling my grandparents’ basement with my brother. Surface-level work like painting, flooring, and trim became approachable once we broke it down. But once outlets, switches, and wall wiring entered the project, the experience changed completely. What felt like a home update suddenly became a high-stakes interaction with permanent infrastructure.
Outlet #4
Outlet #1
Outlet #2
Outlet #3
As a typical home contains dozens of outlets, each one is tied to the same hidden electrical layer.
The home is evolving.
While the process is not.
Need: confidence and clear boundaries
Fear: exposed wiring and making an irreversible mistake
Barrier: task feels simple until the wall is opened
“I can handle painting or furniture, but wires
feel like something I shouldn’t touch.”
Maya - 26
First-time apartment owner / DIY beginner
Need: reliable installation and serviceability
Frustration: repeated device-level replacement
Barrier: every upgrade depends upon disturbing the electrical layer
“If the installed base stays solid, future
upgrades will become cleaner.”
Darren - 38
Licensed residential electrician
Denise - 51
Multi-property owner / rental units
Need: faster refreshes across units
Frustration: small upgrades = scheduling / service costs
Barrier: tenant expectations change faster than property infrastructure
“I need my units to stay current without
every update becoming a project.”
The gap is not between people who care and people who do not. It is between permanent infrastructure and the different ways people need to interact with it over time.
How might we reduce repeated exposure
to permanent residential wiring during
receptacle replacement?
The Market & Working Within the Box
Current products solve parts of the problem, but not the full process.
Plug-in smart devices are easy to add, but often feel temporary and visually cluttered. Integrated products like USB-C outlets, smart switches, and smart thermostats feel cleaner in the home, but they are anchored.
Nest Thermostat
WAGO Wire Connector
Nest Thermostat
A modular smart home platform.
Early form studies explored how outlet modules, smart controls, and face attachments could share a consistent visual language while serving different functions.
Testing at the wall.
For my year-end thesis showcase, I built a faux wall with interchangeable Neura interfaces to test at a real-world scale.
Allowing people to interact with the modules physically instead of only seeing the concept through renders.
.png)
Towards a finger-safe interaction.
Neura single-gang outlet module.
Installed once. Adapted over time.
Standard Type B Outlet
Thermostat Interface
Speaker Module
USB-C Outlet
Night Light
Supports both vertical and horizontal orientation.
Scales from single to multi-gang boxes.
Integrated removal grooves for simplified swap.
Magnetic finish replacement to fit with changing home aesthetics.
Connected Ecosystem
Neura extends beyond a single receptacle by supporting connected modules that can participate in a broader smart-home ecosystem.
Physical interaction remains grounded at the wall, while mobile control can support status, settings, room-level control, and future connected functions.
