<aside> ✅ Client Interviewing
</aside>
<aside> ✅ Front-End Design & Static Program Development
</aside>
<aside> ✅ Vector Art & planning (Figma Design)
</aside>
<aside> ✅ Presentation Skills
</aside>
<aside> ✅ Ergonomic Design
</aside>
DP-4 brought us into the real world. DP-1 and DP-2 were theoretical at best, with us being given specific prompts, and DP-3 was very much understood to be: “find a problem, solve a problem” with little to no product validation or client opinions. This is what made DP-4 stand out. Our first design studio for DP-4 was the interview with the client; it was up to us to find the problems the client faced, and creatively come up with a solution.
Our client, Heather, has multiple sclerosis (MS). MS patients have a broad list of symptoms, but Heather was mostly struggling with mobility issues.
A picture of RehabiliMate being tested as it approaches completion.
Heather, our client affected with multiple sclerosis
We invented and developed “RehabiliMate”. RehabiliMate is an automated physiotherapy device for Heather. Heather expressed she hated “feeling robotic”, or like “she needed help”, so the goal with RehabiliMate was to help her grow so that she could, eventually, stop using the device. By helping Heather stretch her hand, she can reestablish the strength and mind-muscle connection and grasp the future.
After talking to Heather, we identified multiple issues that we could attempt to solve. There were several solutions to design concerning her drop foot, scooter, and hand. When we inquired further, we found that Heather has only received physiotherapy for her shoulder, legs, hips, and arms, but never hands. We decided to try and create a rehabilitation device for her hand, that she could use anywhere.
The initial dilemma we faced when designing RehabiliMate had to do with the preliminary idea generation. There were many ways to approach the problem. After much consideration was given to brainstorming, and sketching, the solution converged into a single sketch
Original Sketch of RehabiliMate
The Design Process can be split into 2 different sections, as this was a very multi-faceted project: Mechanical and Software Components
The first design included a DC motor that would pull on the fingers via cutouts of glove fingers. The design included a band of extra support along the back of the upper palm. Finally, the fingers were pulled back by elastics glued in various places. This design led me to construct the initial prototype where some changes were made during the assembly process.
Initial prototype
Finally, after one more very low-fidelity prototype, we began to start the modeling for the device. The low-fidelity prototype showed us that some parts of our initial design would not work.
The second iteration of RehabiliMate being constructed