2016-17 Stanford Longevity Design Challenge
Third Place
A' Design Award And Competition
Silver Award Winner
My Role
Our team consisted of five industrial design students contributed a variety of strengths and interest to make this project possible. I used my skill from entrepreneurship minor to focus on how feasible the product is to enter the market. I led the process of the product’s life cycle as well as the distribution strategy for this project. I was heavily involved with making the presentation, researching, interviewing, ideating, sketching, and testing prototypes.
Goals
We believe in the power of confidence. Our goal was to develop a mobility device that maintains a sense of security without compromising posture in order to enable the aging population to maneuver independently and safely.
Duration: 10 weeks
Challenges
One of the greatest problems elders face is exterior mobility. With age, comes problems such as impaired motor functions which leads to falls. The fear of falling causes the aging population to be bound to their homes. Isolation and depression are direct consequences of being homebound. Elders with increased mobility are fitter, healthier and happier.
Problem framing
We started by researching all the problems senior adults experience with exterior mobility, and discussed their limits and barriers. Then we analyzed our research in brainstorming sessions. Each research method helped us to gain insights about our users
User interviews: We went to senior living community to speak with individuals, learning about their schedule and routines. We also spoke with care takers that aids the senior living and physical therapy.
Market research: Finding current market trends and reading customer reviews on walkers that are currently in the market. We identify current market gap and find opportunities for innovation
Observation: Observing current walker users to see their interactions between users and the walker. We discover key insights that we might not be able to obtain during user interviews
Articles: After researching about exterior mobility and falls. It was important for us to understand “why” users are in fear of falling.
Key Insights
We discovered that people are comfortable with their current devices, but are unknowingly sacrificing their good posture to use those devices. We decided to tackle the problem of poor posture. Poor posture leads to falls because
Balance: Decreased balance cause by misaligned center of gravity
Oxygen: Decreased oxygen to the brain
Awareness: Decreased awareness of the surroundings
Expert says
“People who use walkers now push the walker out in front of them and adjust them to improper heights which contributes to them developing poor posture.” — Amanda (Physical Therapist)
Market Analysis
Current walkers on the market are used to increase balance and stability, however with extended use of the walker encourages the user to hunch over and develop poor posture habits. Poor posture then in turn decreases the users’ balance and stability. This contradiction is what our walker addresses.
Problem Statement
“How do we develop a mobility device that maintain that maintains a sense of security without compromising posture in order to enable the aging population to maneuver independently and safely?”
Design Opportunities
Compact: We want to create something that fits your car, your coat closet, and your bathroom
Easy to carry: We want the product to be manageable. It shouldn’t be a hassle to get you from one place to another — even if your family help you carrying your walker
Less medical: We love the playfulness of your tennis balls — just not at the bottom of your aluminum tubing device
Posture: We want to help you in the long run (or walk). Giving you bad posture doesn’t help anyone. We’re here to give you confidence and to help you keep your upright
Ideation & Prototype
Here is the process of how we bring our ideas to life. From sketching to prototyping, we aim to generate forms that expressed confidence. In addition, we focused on developing an ergonomic arm piece which contains visual cues that promote the correct use of the walker. We revisited senior living community to test series of prototype in order for us to understand how users interact with the walker, and how the walker interacts with the environment.
Final Design
Product Life Cycle
Without thinking twice, walkers covered by health insurance often get completely thrown out because of one part that could easily be replaced. We recreated a way for users to find the right fit while giving an opportunity for users to recycle their walker.
Next Steps
Based on users feedback from our prototype — We learned about couple of things that will help us improve the product.
Develop a break functionality for the walker
Develop a simple folding mechanic for the walker
A mobile friendly application for medical users to place an order for patients