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ME 115A Final DP2 Video.movStabileSize Beam by Marsie, Corey, Loghan & Nick
StabileSize Beam by Marsie, Corey, Loghan & Nick
One of the hardest but healthiest things you can do for yourself is to maintain a level of fitness. Unfortunately, for the elderly, this can almost be impossible. One might think if there are fun routines or easier weights that people would exercise more, but we found that just being able to stand with dignity is its own reward. Watch Doris's story for more information.
Designing the product
Designing the product
We had an interesting design constraint: How might we encourage the elderly to maintain a level of fitness. Some initial interviews that we conducted at the senior living community suggested that people didn’t exercise because they were bored, inflexible, missed getting out of the house.
Our team began by ideating to figure out how we might solve these needs. One idea that we had was a golf cart service to take people to the park. Another idea that we had was a specialized dance routine that we could share so they could dance with their grandchildren. Finally, we realized that people of the greatest generation have competitive spirits. So our final idea was to create a bar that people could lean against and play competitive games.
filtered-3292973A-7C3C-47BA-A333-81C31CEF6D0C.MP4
VID_20191109_163404.mp4
After visiting the Senior Living Facility, we learned that one privilege that younger people take for granted that seniors don't have is the ability to move and stand. One of our star testers, Doris, loved our beam idea, not because of the ability to be competative, but because she was able to stand on her own time. A lot of our other seniors liked it for a similar reason. So we decided to go with the bar.
Images of Sunrise Senior Living Members enjoying our prototype
Dmiw63jnRgaP0oXgcZ1UsQ.MOVVideo of bar in use
Making the product
Making the product
Some of the feedback we got from the project after we tested it was that the beams were unstable and that the grip was hard on the hands with arthritis. Therefore, we redesigned the beams with that feedback in mind. We added a foam grip as well as a heavier wider base to prevent stability issues.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed creating this project with my group. The seniors that we presented this project to really enjoyed the bars as well and it livened up their exercise time. Because of the liability issues, we were not able to leave the project with the seniors unless it was certified. However, they wished they had something like it.
If I ever decide to continue on this project, one piece of feedback that we received that I would like to implement is to add an adjustable height setting. The seniors had different levels of flexibility and the ability to adjust where they can hold would make it better. My team would just have to differentiate the beam from a walker.
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