Design challenge

Preliminary design challenge

 

During the first meetings with the participant, one of the main goals was to formulate a design challenge. Two inconveniences were discussed in the daily life of the co-designer, of which it was eventually decided to take the participant’s walker as the focus of the project. The design challenge was as follows:  

“A walker which incorporates crutches and is collapsible for transportation per tricycle.” 

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Requirements: 

In general 

• Aesthetically desirable 

• Sturdy (can handle weather and expected use for ‘many years’) 

Walker 

• Single-action brake (brake can be operated with one hand) 

• Adjustable height  

• Board/table in between 

• Lightweight  

• Stable when leaning into it  

Crutches 

• Stabilises the arm (supports the wrists) 

• Adjustable length 

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Conceptualisation 

The number of requirements were difficult to integrate into a single design. As the team worked on concepts, the co-designer was asked to keep a diary to give a more nuanced picture of the situation. This could help to understand the issues with his current walker even better and anticipate possible problems he could have with the new designs.  

However, during a later meeting in turned out his feelings about the walker had changed radically. He had grown quite fond of the walker, which meant the design challenge needed to be rewritten.

  

Final Design challenge

 

With this development, a revision of the design challenge was made. The crutches and folding mechanism was no longer a priority. Instead, the focus was on making the walker transportable by tricycle. This makes the co-designer more autonomous when they, for example, would like to go to the mall by themselves. The goal was to improve the mobility of the user by letting them take the walker with them.  

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“The product must provide a solution, which ensures that the tricycle of the user is able to carry around the current walker of the user. ” 

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Requirements: 

Sturdiness  

• Able to carry the weight of the walker 

• The product should be adjustable in width, so that the device is still usable for a smaller walker 

• Attaches the walker securely

User experience 

• Easy to use when the user lacks coordination

• Requires little force to operate

• The participant can successfully maintain balance walking and standing when using the device 

• Made for left-handed users