Beaver Speed
Max & Kaia
Insight:
Beavers are slower on pavement than on grass.
How might we create a device that helps beavers maintain traction and speed while crossing roads.
How Might We:
Tim
Source:
Problem:
Beavers are slow on land. They are even slower on paved surface. This is due to the slipperiness of the bottom of their feet: their webbed toes and toe nails cause a lack of traction.
INITIAL EXPLORATIONS
Precedent research: Faster Feet
Precedent reaserch: Faster Legs
Precedent research: Fast animals
Precedent research: Fast Robots
Precedent reaserch: Faster Arms
Speculative Design
Beavers are slow, and delicious. Which results in them being the prey of predators and automobiles. As payment for all the hard work Beavers have done for our environment, we want to gift an invention back to them that will help enhance their abilities to avoid these dangers.
Using modern technology...
OUR NARRATIVE
Ideas/Sketches:
Ideas/Sketches:
Ideas/Sketches
Prototypes:
Second Round
Incorperating feedback
Secondary Research
Results
- Move forward with limb extension
- Create prototypes both for front and back legs
Front Limbs
Goals:
- Focus on exaggerating beaver movement instead of mimicking faster animals
- Allow for Beavers to carry materials in their hands while moving fast
Back Limbs
Goals:
- Focus on exaggerating beaver movement instead of mimicking faster animals
- Enhance the jumping motion beavers run with
Next steps:
- Higher fidelity fabrication
- Testing with/on beavers (in theory)
- Getting feedback from people in the beaver field
Thank You!
Beaver Speed is a speculative design project that aims to increase the speed beavers are able to run. To do this we designed prosthetic leg extensions for the beavers back and front legs. If the beaver is given longer legs and better traction they would hopefully be able to outrun predators and cross roads with less chance of being hit.