Limitations
Our current design does not prevent the user from falling out of bed but rather helps him get into bed easier. When conducting user testing, our user expressed that our current design helps only a little bit. When asked to describe how much easier it was to get into bed, Marc said it went from 10/10 difficulty to an 8/10 difficulty. This is an improvement and helps our user but it does not help at the standard we had hoped. Since then, changes in the prototype have been made to improve comfort and stability; however, the design is far from perfect.
The following areas have been identified as limitations to the success of our project:
Adjustability
Comfortability
Durability
Future Development
In order to address the above concerns, the following could be explored:
To make the design more adjustable, the handles could be made detachable. Currently the design has two handles, one towards the user's foot and one by the end of the rope so the user can pull at different locations depending on what part of the getting into bed process. In order to make sure Marc has the best vantage point when grabbing onto the handles, their position on the rope is important when looking at torques and forces that Marc produces when grabbing on the handles. Making these handles detachable would make our device easier to use for other individuals besides Marc. The handles could be positioned further down to allow shorter users to more easily use the device as this would effectively shorten the length of the device's nylon straps.
To make the design even more effective and comfortable for Marc, looking into the ergonomics of handles for people with cerebral palsy would be a forward direction in this project. Currently the handle came from tools around the shop but researching and developing a handle that fits Marc’s hand and allows him to use the device more effectively and more comfortably. Other avenues that could be further explored and developed would optimize the size of the handles for Marc to grab.
To make the device more durable, extensive performance testing could be conducted on the strength of the adhesive as well as the load bearing capability of the nylon itself. The device's durability has not proven to be a problem thus far in the design's progress. However, it does remain an unknown as the device has not been tested to failure. By doing this, we could better understand where the device fails as well as an expected lifespan of each eLEGvate.