Lora
Redesigned Walker
Principles of Assistive Tech / Winter 2018, Fall 2019
Skills: User interviews, User testing, Assistive technology, product design
I worked with Lora at an assistive technology hackathon, where my team redesigned her outdoor walker so it could be used to navigate independently outdoors. We continued working together with class funding, on a project to create a walker for indoor use.
A 3 minute video documenting our experience can be found below:
Process:
Defining User Needs:
Our primary success metrics were stability, maneuverability and the ability to use with one hand. These were selected based on Lora’s feedback about what would be most important to her. Though she doesn’t need very much support, it’s crucial that when she needs support, it is there - she told us while meeting that “having a walker that falls is worse than having no walker at all.” Since we were designing for indoor spaces, such as her apartment, that often have narrow hallways, we wanted to create a compact design. We also wanted our design to be maneuverable, so she could navigate any obstacle.
Rapid prototyping:
We completed 2 rounds of rapid prototyping. In our first stage of prototyping, our goal was to find a frame design that would provide Lora with a good amount of stability when using it with one hand. In our second stage of prototyping, we focused on finding a design that would increase Lora’s maneuverability without forfeiting much in the way of stability.
During user testing, we focused on walking and turning, and we aimed to see how comfortable Lora felt doing both with our prototypes. We used a variety of different walker prototypes that we had made, including 2 wheel, 3 wheel, and 4 wheel models. With each walker, we observed whether Lora was able to walk in a straight line without any external support.
We found that the two wheeled walker did not provide enough stability, tipped over easily, and Lora was unable to use it without external support. However, Lora was able to use the three wheeled and four wheeled models.
Final Version:
Detailed assembly instructions can be found at our instructables.