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Winter Quarter 2008 Course
Announcement:
with Professor Drew
Nelson |
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Project Suggestions
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Mobility Motivation Device Problem: For many elderly people, it is an effort (and perhaps painful) to walk or move around. The lack of movement can result in loss of muscle strength and edema. Aim: Explore design concepts for a device that motivates these individuals to move and walk and provides a distraction from pain would avoid these problems. Specifications:
Second Round Development of a Page Turner Problem: In 2006, a ME113 team developed a prototype page turner for use by an individual with ALS. This device permitted the user to independently turn the pages of a book or magazine by activating switches that controlled its mechanical elements. Aim: Further development of the device to reduce costs, enhance its design, and simplify its operation is sought. Refinements in both the mechanical and embedded microcontroller systems are needed. An original member of the ME113 team will coach this project. Other Information: Options for page turners for those who have a mobility disability are often as simple and inexpensive as rubber-nosed sticks ($7) to as intricate and expensive as a hand-free, electronic, manual turner ($3,500). To date, nothing priced between these solutions exists. Specifications: A useful page turner would not only be inexpensive (less than $500) but also require minimum movement to operate.
Mobility Device for Hilly Street Environments Problem: A mobility device is sought for an elderly man living in San Francisco. Aim: Explore design concepts that address this need. Specifications: The user would like an electrically-powered device that he can fit in the trunk of a car, easily unload and assemble, negotiate the hilly areas in the city, and would also be suitable for use indoors.
Device for an Individual with Hand Contractures Problem: After a stroke, some individuals experience contractures of the hand. This is manifested as an uncontrolled clenching of the fingers and results in considerable pain. Aim: Explore design concepts that would enable a stroke survivor with hand contractures to independently unclench the fingers of the affected hand. Specifications: The device should provide a range of finger extension, controlled by the user.
The "Whiz" Problem: The Whiz is a mechanical device that enables individuals with MS or neurogenic bladders who have limited hand function to independently empty their leg bags by operating a lever that opens a valve. An initial device was designed for a wheelchair user with quadriplegia. A second round of design development is sought for this device to ... Aim: Specifications:
SkillSet Problem: SkillSet is a family of inexpensive tools that help people with limited hand function work effectively in a modern office environment. Included are devices for handling diskettes, papers, paper clips, file folders, paper folding, and staple removing. SkillSet can enhance the productivity and independence of office workers, professionals, students, or anyone who works with documents or computers. Each tool in the SkillSet is designed for specific task, making it easy to build customized tool kits. SkillSet tools work with standard office equipment and supplies, making them an attractive investment for employers wishing to meet ADA requirements cost-effectively. A collection of prototype devices was designed at the VA Medical Center in 1996. The design challenge will ... Aim: Specifications:
Continuous Passive Ankle Motion Device Problem: Design a device to produce ankle articulation powered by wheelchair motion to provide relief from deep vein thrombosis. Aim: Specifications:
Coiled Cane Project Problem: Canes used as mobility aids for blind individuals need to be long during use, but stowable when not used. While there is a collapsible cane on the market, it does not produce sound or transmit vibrations as well as a solid cane. There is a need for a design that offers both rigidity and collapsiblity. Aim: "A number of years ago, or should I say decades, there was a study at MIT of the white cane. It came up with some innovative designs, only one of which was commercialized, to my knowledge. This was the Hycor Cane, which was made up of segments held together by a central cable with a toggle on top to tighten the cable to hold it rigid. One other design that I was intrigued with, but which never went anywhere as far as I know was a coil of spring steel with a pipe clamp on it. To deploy the cane, you loosened the clamp and pulled out the tip of the cane which was in the center of the coil. The spring steel was a wide strip so as you pulled it out from the center it would elongate with the turns overlapping. You could extend it as long as you wanted it and then tighten the clamp. When you loosened the clamp, it would spring back into a disk-shaped coil." "There is a lot of personal taste in what kind of cane people like, though I think there is wide agreement that it should be as long as you want or need it when you are using it and zero length when you are not. It needs to be as close to zero mass as possible and strong. Cars occasionally run over them. I don't think much is known about the ideal vibration transmitting characteristics, but you would want the feel of ground features to be transmitted without a lot of resonance and noise from the cane." "I use a solid fiberglass cane and like its feel very much. But it doesn't collapse at all. Thus, I have another cane that telescopes into a small bundle which I use for times when I am with someone and don't have to do any "hard traveling" which I call my 'concert cane'." Specifications: The cane must exhibit both rigidity and be collapsible.
Liquid Metal Cane Problem: White canes used by blind individuals may seem like simple devices, but they must exhibit strength, flexibility, the ability to produce sound and transmit vibration, and be lightweight. Many of the canes on the market are lacking in one or more of these mechanical properties. Aim: "What I'd like to see tried is to make a cane from Liquid Metal, that new material from which they are making golf clubs, tennis rackets, and some portable computers and other electronic packages. It is several times stronger than titanium and casts at about 600 degrees, like plastic." Specifications: The resultant cane should perform better than currently marketed canes. Liquid metal is advertised as possessing high yield strength, high hardness, superior strength/weight ratio, superior elastic limit, high corrosion resistance, high wear resistance, and unique acoustical properties. These properties and its $11 per pound cost should make for a rugged and inexpensive cane.
Musical Wheelchair Problem: A wheelchair user wishes to use his wheelchair in a musical performance. Aim: Equip a standard wheelchair with a variety of sensors and a music synthesizer so that the user can create music as he/she moves, changes his/her position, or touches various areas on the wheelchair. Optionally include a light show capability. (Alternatively, target other common disability equipment such as a walker or a white cane with music production capabilities.) Specifications: The user must have complete control of every step of the process: programming, editing, and playback.
Device to Press Elevator Buttons Problem: A Stanford student who is a user of a powered wheelchair has very weak arms and is unable to independently press elevator call buttons. Aim: Design a device that would provide this student access to the elevator call button and provide a means to press the button corresponding to the floor desired. Specifications: The device must be able to be used by an individual with a limited range of motion and ability to produce a force. The device must be attached to the wheelchair, but not increase its width.
Device to "Un-freeze" (due to Motor Block) Residents with Parkinson's Disease Problem: Aim: Specifications:
Aids for Residents with Macular Degeneration Problem: Aim: Specifications:
Devices that Motivate Residents with Alzheimer's to Engage in Interesting Activities Problem: Aim: Specifications:
Quick Deploying Cane Problem: Aim: How about a telescoping/folding cane that can be carried along the forearm and deployed as needed. This would be especially useful for dog guide users who need to locate chairs, counters, etc. without the cumbersome need for a folding cane and a way to carry it. Specifications:
Seatbelt Reminder Device for Wheelchair Users Problem: Some wheelchairs users can fall out of their wheelchairs when their seatbelt is unfastened. Some individuals have to be reminded to fasten their seatbelts many times a day. There are devices that sound an alarm when seatbelts are unfastened, but they are obnoxious and highly stigmatizing. Aim: Explore designs that employ a digitized verbal prompt reminder to fasten the seatbelt. Consider a lockout connection that would prevent a powered wheelchair from being operated until the seatbelt is fastened. Specifications: The unit must be not be intrusive or stigmatizing. It should be able to be turned off when the user transfers into or out of the wheelchair.
Wheelchairs for Use around a Therapy Pool Problem: Because of its buoyancy, a pool is often employed to provide exercise and aquatic therapy for a variety of conditions including arthritis, acute injuries, neurological disorders and the affects of stroke. The warm water used in aquatic therapy also reduces spasticity and relaxes the pool's users, allowing them to move with greater mobility and less pain. Users gain the general benefits of exercise without suffering from the compressive and torque forces associated with the gravity of a dry land exercise setting. For some individuals, a wheelchair must be employed to transfer the user into and out of the pool. This requires a wheelchair specifically designed to survive a watery environment. While commercial products exist, they have design problems and do not meet the specific needs of therapists who work with these individuals. Aim: The goal of this project is to design and construct a prototype wheelchair that is durable, resistant to the effects of water, and meets the specific needs of users and therapists. Specifications: The prototype must be strong, lightweight, and resistant to the effects of water. It must provide a means to push it easily with a user sitting in it. It must be maneuverable and stable, especially while traversing the ramp. The prototype must be able to accommodate both large and small body sizes.
Portable Travel Transfer Lift Problem: When traveling, users of powered wheelchairs have the need to get out of their wheelchair and into bed at night, and from the bed into the wheelchair in the morning. While there are products offering transfer solutions, they either are exceptionally large and cumbersome or typically require two able-bodied assistants. Aim: Explore designs for a device that attaches to side of a powered wheelchair, using the weight of the chair for additional stability, that would enable a disabled individual to be transferred from / to the wheelchair and a hotel bed. Specifications: The device should be portable and compact, small enough to fit in a carry-on luggage bag, preferably with space to spare, and weigh less than 50 pounds. The transfer operation should be accomplished one able-bodied assistant. (The disabled individual would usually not be able to provide any assistance, only direction.)
Shower Bench Problem: Many people have a need to be seated while bathing. While there are several shower bench products on the market, many position the bather at a fixed height above the level of the water and others are adjustable to several heights. There are no products that fully immerse the bather. Aim: Explore design concepts for a shower bench that will lower the user into the tub and raise the bather out of the tub. Specifications: The mechanism must be stable, rugged, work in water, and be able to be operated by the bather or an able-bodied assistant.
Portable Ramp Problem: Stairs can be a formidable barrier to wheelchair users. While most places of business, especially newer buildings, are accessible, there are many that are not. Aim: Explore designs for a portable ramp that folds up. Specifications: Must be strong enough to support the user in his/her wheelchair and fold up or collapse to a small size for transportation.
Multisurface Wheelchair Problem: Aim: A yet unmet need is a manual chair that can convert well between hard and soft surfaces. The Quickie TNT tried to do this, but didn't fly and it has been discontinued. This could mean easily switching out casters from small to wide, which probably means the footplate angle has to change for heel clearance, not to mention changes in front seat to floor height. There will also be toe-in issues. The main wheels would need to change, too, from narrow 100psi to wider treaded or knobby. It is still cheaper to buy two sets of wheels that can easily be switched out than to buy two chairs. Specifications:
Amplified Answering Machine Problem: Existing answering machines do not meet the needs of individuals who are hard of hearing. Aim: Create a universal solution for individuals who are hard-of-hearing and need a way to hear their answering machine messages. Specifications: This could be an external device that hooks onto an existing phone or a stand-alone external device.
Color Identifier for the Blind Problem: The blind community has expressed a need for a simple, intuitive device that can identify color. The Color Teller is currently an option on the market, but is more often unusable by consumers due to its design problems. Aim: Explore design concepts that address this need. Specifications: The device might actually speak the name of the color or identify it tactically to aid users in making decisions about matching clothes or selecting a color palette to decorate a home.
Handwriting Reader Problem: Individuals who are blind or have low vision have requested a device that can read handwriting. Aim: Explore design concepts that address this problem. Identify commercially available devices and technologies that could be adapted for this use. Specifications: This device could be handheld or computer based to either manually scan the writing on the letter/note/card or to scan the page into a computer to be read by a speech synthesizer or converted to Braille. This device should be simple enough for even young, beginning readers to use.
Switch-Adapted Kitchen Appliances Problem: Switch-operated kitchen appliances (from a blender to a toaster and anything in between) are frequently requested. Aim: Explore design concepts that address this problem. Specifications: A switch-adapted appliance should allow the user to take advantage of each function the appliance offers with the simple press of a switch (e.g. Buddy Button, Big Red Switch, etc.). Infrared capabilities with switches like the Jelly Beamer would be particularly useful as well.
Baseball Bat Assistance Problem: Individuals with mobility challenges that result in shaking (e.g. Parkinson's, Turrets, etc) have requested an apparatus that assists them in steadily holding a baseball bat. Aim: Explore design concepts that address this problem. Specifications: The device would be lightweight and available in models appropriate for a variety of hand types and ages.
Accessible Video Game Controller Problem: Parents often contact us to request accessible gaming devices, especially controls for Xbox and PS2. There has not been anything developed for gamers with cerebral palsy that make it easy to play standard video games. Aim: The aim of this project is to create an accessible gaming control or gaming control apparatus that makes it simpler for players with Cerebral Palsy to play. Specifications: The controller should be large in size and have buttons large enough for someone with little motor control to hit. The controller should also be capable of being mounted on a desktop or wheelchair if needed. Students should take into account the sensitivity of the buttons and include an adjustment that allows for a change in setting, as users may have uncontrolled movement/hit specific buttons accidentally.
Bowling Aid Problem: Many individuals with a disability are unable to enjoy bowling due to amputation, paralysis, or inability to walk, hold, or swing the bowling ball. Aim: Design a bowling aid that would enable these individuals to participate in bowling. Specifications: The device should be portable, easy to set up, and give the bowler the ability to aim and release the bowling ball independently.
Sailboat Control Problem: A sailboat racer with Muscular Dystrophy wishes to control a 12-foot sailboat independently. The adapted sailboat already has a joystick switch control, but the sailor is unable to use it. Aim: Design circuitry (this is actually very simple) and user interface to enable the racer to participate in this sport. The sailboat is located in the South Beach Marina. Specifications: The controller should employ an interface that the user can easily operate. The unit should temporarily connect to the existing joystick interface without modifying it.
Further Work on ME113 Projects from 2006
Other Ideas
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