Interesting Adaptive Technologies

This is the standard chair, but there are others that can be requested depending on need.

The Biski has a built in hydraulic system

The Bi-Unique Biski is a popular adaptive ski used by adaptive sports programs around the world. It is very versatile and can be easy customized to fit the person's needs. This is accomplished by using various attachments, including replaceable straps and chairs. The skis are high quality, and should be. The Biski runs for $2500. The skis are made out of aircraft quality aluminum (7000 series alloy).  They are light-weight, have a comfortable and safe seating system, have a hydraulic jack to make it easier to use a chairlift. The company also makes similar skis for kids.

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Man in adapted golf cart uses the Strong-Arm to help swing his golf club

  

The Strong-Arm is also used by able-bodied people who want to reduce strain on wrists 

The Strong-Arm is a 100% leather brace that straps to the user's arm to eliminate wrist fatigue. The brace works for both disabled and able-bodied people, but helps people who have limited or no grip. The brace redistributes the weight of the object being carried (fishing rod, golf club...etc) to a person's forearm, bicep, and shoulder muscles. It is compatible with most rod-shaped items, and is one-size fits all.

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3D render of the Robohand 

Robohand being assembled after printing.

Boy born with Amniotic Band Syndrome holds up the first Robohand made

A Robohand is a 3D printed hand prosthetic that is typically printed on a MakerBot 3D printer. The hand can grasp things and open and close. The open source print file was created by Richard Van As, after MakerBot heard he was trying to make the hand in his workshop and began sponsoring his design. The design is available for free off Thingiverse, for anyone to print out. The materials for the hand only cost a few dollars - but you need access to a $3000 printer. The hands are made for people born with Amniotic Band Syndrome and people who have amputated fingers.

CRI first visit

I think I learned a lot on our first visit and got a sense of some of the coach's and client's main concerns. I was surprised by how much specialized equipment they already had, but also was happy that they were open with us about what they needed help with. It seemed like there was a lot to improve, but also a lot to work with. It was difficult to fully understand some of the issues they were explaining, especially since I've barely even been in a boathouse before.


The first thing we looked at were the different sizes of hulls - the "large" and "small". Conveniently, the large paddles were sized for the large boats, and the small paddles for the small ones. The large and small paddles were weighted differently - which makes it difficult to think of a carrying solution for people in wheelchairs. It seems they could easily tip over. One thing emphasized throughout our visit was safety - something I hadn't really though of much. It would be an especially difficult task to create a product to carry oars both safely and effectively.

This is the oar-carrying prototype created by last years class. The ladies at CRI raised a couple of concerns, including stability and safety issues. One of the clients warned that by having the oars at the front of the wheelchair, the wheelchair could become unstable and to tip over.

Last year's oar-carrying prototype

Another aspect of the boat is the clasp that holds the oar to the side of the boat. One of the CRI coaches was explaining the mechanism, and suggested a similar system for the attachment of the pontoon. The pontoon attachment is something that needs a lot of work, and I think the previous class made really good progress with the current prototype.

Clasp that attached oar to side of hull

The previous prototype for an alternative mechanism holds the pontoon up, out of the water, and then it is lowered once the person is inside the boat. The problems they had with the prototype was that the pontoon had to be lowered into the water first, and this caused instability. It was also heavy, so the boat became uneven. I noticed that almost everything going into the boat was either foam or carbon fiber. Also, the mechanism was sometimes clunky and hard to use.

Last year's prototype

After looking around the boathouse, we went upstairs to the ergs. We tried them out, which was great, because it really gives you a sense of the motion. We also looked at the ergs for the adaptive rowing program, and one of their clients demonstrated how it's used. The trainer explained that there are three categories in adaptive rowing: (arms and torso), (arms, legs and torso), and (arms and shoulders). The seat used depends on the category.

We took a good look at the chairs used as well. It seemed they had to create their own chairs based on the circumstance. One chair was specifically adapted for competition, whereas another was for use recreationally. Another one used velcro to stick to the hull of the boat for arm and torso rowing.

Chair used during championship competition. The extra padding was added to avoid injury

The chairs are also difficult to attach to the hull's track and use a pin system similar to the ones used to adjust the height of crutches.

Bottom of the chair, which is difficult to attach to hull. The seat is made of carbon fiber.

Basic seat, without all the padding, used on a daily basis.

Seat that velcros onto hull. The seat looks almost identical to a classic rowing seat.

One thing that really intrigued and excited me, was the one-handed attachment for the ergs. The trainer explained the difficulty of attaching it to the machines. You currently have to remove the old handle entirely from the machine, hold onto the chain, and attach the new one. Also, the handle slides on a track, and they have to bungee cord part of it to stay in place. When rowers come in to train, it's hard to predict what adaptive technologies they will need. If they need a one-handed handle, the trainers are put on the spot to use tools and replace the handle.

One-handed handle

Overall, the visit helped me a lot with understanding their program, what devices they already had, and brainstorming in general. They people there emphasized that they wanted to promote independence, and the entire rowing experience as a whole. I will keep those two things in mind moving forward.

DET Ch.2

The first thing that I realized when reading this chapter was just how important it is to understand human psychology when designing products. Since we as humans don't even understand all the intricacies of the human brain, this is especially difficult. I found it amusing when he said engineers dismiss visceral responses as irrelevant. I disagree with that statement because I do believe "logical" people at least have the capacity to care about how a product looks and incorporate that into their designs.

I realize how the Seven Stages of the Action Cycle might help break things down, but I don't feel like it is a very useful model because these processes happen in a matter of seconds to skilled individuals. I think breaking down the cognitive process, in a way, over-simplifies and generalizes. There are plenty of instances where I may execute a task, find that it doesn't work, and then jump into planning again instead of "comparing" and defining a new goal.

I appreciate the depth Norman goes into in this chapter, but some models seem irrelevant to me, and he generalizes. In the end, however, I do have a deeper understanding of how the human psyche relates to product design and human-product interaction.

Milk Frother Disassembly

Our product testing began with the Ikea ($2) milk frother. First, we had to put in the batteries because it didn't come with any. This took some effort because the battery slot was not smartly designed at all.

Battery hinge design flaw

The hinge of the battery cover blocked part of the opening, which made it difficult to get both batteries in. The overall design of the device was also lacking. It felt cheap in your hand, with a thin spray painted plastic body, and flimsy rod. The frother had no grips, just smooth plastic. The on/off tab felt like it would break easily.

Ikea milk frother did not feel like a quality product

                                     

Despite the aesthetics, the frother actually did its job really well. It was produced to agitate the milk and create air bubbles. This creates a thick froth. It aired up the milk nicely and only took around 30 seconds to do so. Also, the air bubbles in the milk did not collapse very fast (<5 min). The frother didn't splash the milk everywhere, which was nice, but then again, it didn't have a very powerful motor. 

The product has the following strengths and weaknesses:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Cheap	Flimsy design, could break easily
Easy to use and clean	No advanced features - some simple features are clumsy
Does its job-frothing	Not a status symbol
-	Doesn't feel good in hand
-	Hard to put in batteries
-	Not much power

When you first turn the device on, you can feel/hear it vibrating in your hand. Meanwhile, the rod and metal "spring" rotate, indicating that it is powered on and ready to agitate your drink. Based on these cues, the device affords to froth, and does so. However, if the device is not turned on, it is difficult to see what it's purpose is, if you don't know beforehand. Also, the slide switch that turns the device on does not afford rotation. It is a slider that is slid upwards to turn on, and therefore lacks an apparent mapping.

Chocolate milk after being frothed with Ikea milk frother 

The next step was to disassemble the frother. This took place in the following steps:

1. Battery cover removed (unhinged).

2. Metal frother attachment and silicone plug removed.

3. Rod pulled off.

4. Plastic casing opened (with the help of pliers).

5. Small internal metal components and DC motor removed.

It was easy to pull everything apart except for the two plastic halves of casing that were latched together. The inner components were surprisingly simple and standard - especially the motor. It looked like something that would be very easy to copy. It would be interesting to see how they protected their design.


The device only has two "states" - on and off. It operates using a slide switch. I knew that when you slide the switch forward, the circuit is completed, but I wasn't sure exactly how it worked. I found some good images explaining how it functions:

Inside a slide switch, "see saw" mechanism : http://www.engineersgarage.com/insight/slide-switch?page=4

I'm pretty sure this switch is a lot more complex than the one in the Ikea milk frother, because I didn't see any springs or small plastic parts. But I imagine it's the same concept where a piece of metal is pushed downward onto a contact point. The "pins" on the bottom are also apparently soldered - but I didn't entirely understand that part.

The parts were easy to lay out in order:

Ikea milk frother disassembled

We then brought out the higher end milk frothers for comparison. One thing I noticed was that I didn't realize how weak the Ikea milk frother's motor was, until I tried the $20 milk frothers. They had thicker casing, were heavier in the hand, and seemed more waterproof with thick silicone spacers.

According to goodhousekeeping.com, milk frothers should be judged based on the following criteria: how well and how quickly they froth both whole and nonfat milk, how easy they are to operate and clean, and how stylish they are sitting on the countertop. Based on these criteria, one of the higher-end devices would win, especially when it comes to style. They would also win if judged based on the "feedback" the device gives to the user. The higher end models had more powerful motors (same amount of batteries), which eludes to better froth, and were heavier in the hand, which is indicative of durability. 

After disassembling this device, I had a deeper understanding of how the internal components interacted. It was especially helpful to list each part and its interface to see the context of each part. I also was able to guess the materials and manufacturing methods for each part, which helped me think if the device from a perspective other than the consumer's.

Name Tag

Last week we made name cards for another classmate again. This time we were paired with different people, and had to incorporate new unconventional craft materials; 40% of the material used to be precise. I was paired with Celeste. Our first few minutes of crafting time was dedicated to the interview. Unlike last time, we dived straight into the direct questions instead of starting off with a more general discussion. I found this to be ok overall, but at the moment it felt a little rushed, and I would have like to get to know her "vibe" a little more before going straight into her preferences for a name card.

Based on the short discussion we had, here are the point I wanted to incorporate:

- Class of 2016
-Psychology major because she likes forging connections between herself and others.
- Favorite color navy blue.
- Likes modern aesthetics.
- Likes "Ralph Lauren" type designs. 


After the interview, I sketched down a rough idea of what I wanted the name card to look like. I drew out the patterns, and labelled the colors. One thing I noticed from last time we did this activity was that I lacked direction at the beginning. By starting off with a plan and vision, I was able to complete the task more efficiently. Surprisingly, I ended up changing the design almost entirely throughout the process, but the initial design helped me stay on task no matter the changes.

In terms of the design - it was an evolutionary process. I had to improvise along the way given a few materials weren't on hand right then, and the short time frame. The elements of my design included:

- "Leather patch" in upper left corner and striping on top edge. When Celeste mentioned Ralph Lauren, the first things to pop into my mind were leather patches and strips. I wanted the name card to encompass that, so I used a piece of burlap as a substitute for leather. I also intended to define the edges of the fabric with stitching. We didn't have needles, so I just drew a stitching design using markers. I made the stripes a darker blue and silver because I thought they fit her "modern" criteria, and also looked clean against the lighter blue card stock.

- I didn't think much about Celeste's name plaque. I picked the wood because it was sturdy, unconventional, and easy to write on. I spelled her name out clearly, since I got the feeling she didn't like things too busy. The little bow in the upper right corner of her name plaque was a last minute addition. Initially, I had a heart cut out next to her name to represent her love for people, but I thought that was corny. When I added the bow, just as an additional feature - I realized it could also represent "tying the knot" between her and other people.

- I at first tried to incorporate her class color of red by attaching a red LED light to the paper, but the circuit wasn't working, and I didn't have time to trouble shoot. The problem was either with the bulb itself or the battery. So I ended up just markering in the numbers '16 on the patch. I think it turned out nice like that anyways since the patch added a lot of blank space.

- Finally, I used basic cards tock as the main backing mostly because of the color. I used an old mini cardboard box for the name card stand. I then velcroed the card stock to the base.

Original name tag - first round

Now going back to the point I first wanted to incorporate:

- Class of 2016
-Psychology major because she likes forging connections between herself and others.
- Favorite color navy blue.
- Likes modern aesthetics.
- Likes "Ralph Lauren" type designs. 

I think I made a decent attempt at hitting each point. I wasn't sure if I had completely missed the mark, though, until we talked to each other and reflected. The hardest part was definitely finishing on time, and accepting imperfection. It's hard to dive into a project with only half an hour to invest, but I think I learned that an obsession with a "polished" and finished look, can sometimes hinder crazy creative and improvisational opportunities.

Celeste and I then exchanged final suggestions and comments for improvement. She didn't want me to change anything in terms of the visual design, but offered that I make the card stock sturdier so that it holds up better. So I glue gunned a piece of cardboard to the paper as a backing.

Corrugated cardboard backing

Overall, the process was a lot easier than the first time around. I actually finished making the name tag in the original time, so I was happy about that. I feel I could have gone crazier with the materials, but I found it difficult to balance between clean aesthetic and new textures. Had I had more familiarity with the other materials, I could have incorporated more into my design smartly. I enjoyed stepping back from the table and surveying all the name tags and whose was the most clear and bold. My classmates mentioned it was easy to see Celeste's name and that the design stood out. This is both a good and bad thing. The name was easy to read, but they also commented that the name tag didn't necessarily highlight her personality as fully as it could. 

In the future, I will stick to planning before jumping into the construction of the item. Everything went smoothly for the most part, even when I had to improvise. I feel I summarized Celeste's personality and incorporated her preferred aesthetic well, even if it wasn't the most boisterous name tag in the room. However, I will work on gaining confidence with the unconventional items in the room so that I can experiment more in the future.

DET Ch. 1

The first chapter of "The Design of Everyday Things", by Donald Norman really resonated with me. I especially enjoyed the "door" examples he gave, because it is something every reader can relate to. It was surprising to realize just how much we tolerate as consumers, on a daily basis. We have learned to cope with bad design, and work around complicated, non-intuitive functions. Although the chapter doesn't necessarily answer the question the author poses at the start: "Why do we put up with the frustrations of everyday objects?" it did get me thinking - and attempting, to answer the same question myself. It also opened my mind to how complex we are as human beings, to be able to handle upwards of 20k individual products in our lives.

There is one particular product in my room that has caused me a good deal of frustration for the past few weeks. It's a simple product - and intuitive. However, it simply does not work properly according to its affordance. The product is the Quirky Prop Power Extension Cord. In theory, the product is supposed to be a flexible extension cord, built to wrap around any vertical protrusion to give you easy access to a power outlet.

The Quirky Prop Power wraps around objects like ladders

After all, an object with a corrugated and flexible body should afford to wrap.  Unfortunately though, it does not. There are three reasons why this object cannot carry out it's civic duty:

1. The corrugated body of the extension cord does a horrible job of binding to the service it is trying to grip onto. The plastic is slippery, with no rubber coating. Therefore, when you wrap the cord around something like a bed post, it just slides down. This is related to the next issue, which is:

2. It does not wrap tight enough. As hard as you pull and curl it around an object, it always lets loose as soon as you let go. It doesn't remain as snug as you would like it. Furthermore, anytime you unplug anything, it completely unravels, and you have to tug at it again. You therefore need to find a place that will sort of "prop it up", such as a "T" shaped post.

3. It cannot handle weight. I finally found a place on my bed post where it could stay relatively stable and upright. So it was then time to plug something in. I went for my laptop charger since that's what I needed the extension cord for most. In order for my laptop charger to fit US sized outlets, I need an adapter. This adapter served to be too much for the already vulnerable Prop Power, and it immediately tipped over, now "flopped over" against the wood of my bed frame. This didn't defeat the convenience of having an outlet at the base of my bed, but it did not look as pretty as the picture above. For $19.95, I couldn't help but feel annoyed.

The conceptual model for Prop Power is very intuitive and simple

In conclusion, even an object with no buttons and no complex manual, can be infuriating to work with when it cannot afford what it is supposed to.  If it looks like it should wrap around something. And if its sole purpose, its selling point,  is to wrap around something. It should do it with no issues.

This raises a few questions:
- Why didn't the designers spend less time on pretty packaging, and more time on getting the product to work flawlessly?
- Why did the designers skip out on rubber grips..etc? Was it price point?
- What sort of customers did Quirky test the product with?