Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder in which people’s mood is negatively affected by environment, and specifically they typically become depressed when there is a seasonal lack of sunlight. Approximately one third of the population is estimated to have at least a mild form of this condition. The most commonly accepted treatment is the use of a sunlamp, which is a bright lamp that typically sits on a table that the user sits near for at least half an hour a day. In clinical studies, a sun lamp with 10,000 lux has majorly improved depressive symptoms in ¾ of patients.

While this treatment is highly effective and incredibly low risk, it has a major problem. Because of how tedious and inconvenient it is, even those with access to the treatment find themselves not using it. This is exacerbated when a patient is depressed, with its most prevalent symptoms being apathy and lack of motivation. Because of this we decided to make a more convenient method for this therapy that is fully integrated into the home with both function and style.  

To improve convenience, as well as the overall user experience, we made a fully functional sun lamp in the form of a roll up window shade. This integrates the lamp into the user's’ daily routine, making it so they can take in sunlight from a natural indoor location, while not taking up any extra space in their home. This also has a psychological effect of making the artificial light look more natural. One of our main goals of this project was to make our design look like natural sunlight is filtering through a sheer curtain, rather than just a sheet of artificial light. This serves to make the illusion of sun more realistic because it appears that sunlight is coming in from outside instead of being artificially created. The curtain is also made so that it will be compatible with a smartphone, with features like automatically setting times to turn on and off, as well manual features such as dimming. This is done through a mobile app based off of internet connectivity with the curtain.

In the beginning of this process, we really wanted to collaborate with a larger group.  However, we soon discovered that everyone had different ideas about the project so we split into 2 smaller groups.  After a bit of brainstorming and searching for the “problem”,  we altered our mindset, and instead of focusing on a single problem we chose a topic.  And while I can’t speak for the other group members, I believe we chose the topic of mental health because all of our lives had been touched, in one way or another, by mental health.  Finally, we decided our medium would include street art.

That being said, mental health is a broad topic and we needed to narrow it down. The idea of focusing on trauma and PTSD came up, but we feel that topic gets a good amount of coverage and in many cases, the cause/effect link is fairly clear.  For example, it makes sense that the NAVY SEAL who has experienced trauma in war will return stateside changed.  The challenge with mental illness is understanding and identifying those people you see every day that appear "normal".  Many are not aware that one in every three people in America struggles with mental illness.  We wanted our art piece to portray the unseen side of mental health.  We all have things that we wrestle with in private, some are wired to manage those challenges while others will struggle, often alone.  This became the driving force for our studio.

Irene started with a drawing of a woman sitting and staring into the distance,  using paper and a variety of drawing pencils. She sketched the outline and went back in and filled the details, and then shaded, giving the drawing dimension with a smudge tool.  But after receiving some feedback from our coach about how the drawing lacked complexity and depth,  with which we concurred,  we went back to brainstorming.  Jack conceived the idea of a snake encompassing a heart because the heart is perceived to be tied with emotions and snakes are dangerous (like mental illness) but also strong (fighting mental illness takes strength). Tina, who had been working on a side project, decided to join our team.  While she considers herself to be limited in terms of visual arts she brilliantly envisioned incorporating medication into the drawing. Tina explained that when she looked at the drawing, the girl appeared to be sitting outside.  She felt the idea of a flower, something really beautiful, contrasted with something dark made sense, so we chose a dandelion.  The seeds of the dandelions were Prozac, a common anti- /anxiety/depression drug.  We drafted it and then transferred it to the final paper putting the flowers into the hand of the girl.  Jack’s heart was then tied to the girl’s torso with vines, which brought the drawing together.

Throughout this process, we enjoyed working together, which doesn't always happen as the group's dynamics can sometimes be hard, but this was really great.  We all worked on the same piece at the same time. Which is rare for kids our age to do.  I’m really proud of us and we made a really great piece.  We would love to be able to transfer the piece to the collection of graffti/art in Cambridge

The objective of this project is to enhance heel-to-toe running by increasing energy efficiency and speed. This is achieved by using a spring to absorb otherwise wasted energy when the heel strikes the ground and release it in the step off, as well as a curved bottom to facilitate heel-to-toe motion. Human feet are designed for standing and walking, but are very inefficient for running. I wanted to create an attachment to the leg that would make running fun by increasing one's speed and endurance. The spring below the heel absorbs the energy when the foot hits the ground, which reduces stress on the shin which would otherwise absorb this energy. After the heel hits the ground, the curved bottom rolls the foot into position for the push off, being in a more efficient shape for heel-to-toe motion. Once weight moves from the heel, the spring expands and pushes the bottom from the foot, aiding the user in pushing off the ground.

The objective of this project is to enhance heel-to-toe running by increasing energy efficiency and speed. This is achieved by using a spring to absorb otherwise wasted energy when the heel strikes the ground and release it in the step off, as well as a curved bottom to facilitate heel-to-toe motion. Human feet are designed for standing and walking, but are very inefficient for running. I wanted to create an attachment to the leg that would make running fun by increasing one's speed and endurance. The spring below the heel absorbs the energy when the foot hits the ground, which reduces stress on the shin which would otherwise absorb this energy. After the heel hits the ground, the curved bottom rolls the foot into position for the push off, being in a more efficient shape for heel-to-toe motion. Once weight moves from the heel, the spring expands and pushes the bottom from the foot, aiding the user in pushing off the ground.

The original design of this project was a brace that would allow one to wear athletic prosthetics without being an amputee. It would also feature an elastic knee brace. Due to the cost of the athletic prosthetics, this design was not feasible. The idea of a curved, springy bottom stayed and the elastic knee brace addition was scrapped. Although we could not procure an athletic prosthetic, we did have non-athletic ones available. Thankfully, there was a curved piece in those prosthetics which was appropriated into the design. From there, a spring and hinge were attached to the prosthetic. We were unsure of what to put above the prosthetic, but conveniently there were leg cast bottoms which were not going to be used. When attaching the two layers, however, a spring holder needed to be designed and the hinge needed to be attached using more secure methods. 

One challenge was attaching the spring. The springs that I had chosen to use were too long, and needed to be cut. This would leave one end unflat, and make it difficult to attach at the right angle. Originally I tried to put a 3D printed piece inside the spring at that end, but broke it when testing the attachment. A second 3D print was made that would go both inside and outside the spring and feature a thick base. This worked, but unfortunately shortened the compressable length of the spring and altered the angle between the cast and the prosthetic.

Another challenge was attaching a hinge to the prosthetic. There were no holes for screws at the front end, and because it was made from carbon fiber, even epoxy could not attach the hinge to it. With the help of Sotirius, we drilled screw holes into the prosthetic and screwed in the hinge. This caused the screws to stick out a bit on the other side, so a dremel was used to smooth the protrusions.

The first iteration was created while we planned to use athletic prosthetics. Because these prosthetics would add at least 26 cm to the wearer's height, special wooden "sandals" were created to experience the height increase. Between the top and bottom of these "sandals" was an extruded cross which made the whole creation very stable. Rubber bands were used to secure one's feet to the "sandals".

The second iteration was simply two pieces of cardboard taped together on one end with a spring connecting the two on the other. Again, a rubber band was used to secure the wearer's foot. This iteration was created to test putting a spring in the heel.

For thousands of years, humans have used animals as a cruel form of entertainment. We decided to create a multimedia project called “Entrapment”, where people can experience what it feels like to be trapped in a cage and gage an understanding about how helpless animals feel. We specifically focused on elephants in captivity, mainly circuses. Studies have shown that elephants live half their average lifespan in captivity than if they were to live on a wildlife reserve or in the wild. The cage that we created gives a false perspection of how much room these animals have, with sliding doors that close in on the experiencer and sound to make them feel even more trapped. The experiencer enters the cage by crawling through the door. On each side of them are two sets of walls, one set closes in on the experiencer giving them less room. The walls are controlled by a crank on the outside of the cage which is powered by another person, who has to continually agree to the punishment. This element affects the experiencer on a physiological level since they are left helpless and hoping that the other person won’t hurt them. We were also planning on adding sound and playing around with light, however because of limited time we did not get the chance to work on those aspects of the experience.

At first, we thought about using pulleys and wheels to close our walls. Strings would be tied to the wheels that would go through the pulleys. There would be an extra two inches on the cage for the wheels to sit in, so that the contraption would be hidden. The strings would loop around a set of dowels that would also travel through the middle of the cage, to reach the top of the cage. We also considered using springs that would decompress as the walls moved, but we decided this was too complicated. To eliminate friction we had our wheel design sit in the track because plastic moves better across wood than wood does across itself. The wheel design was 3D printed and had just enough space for the 3D printed wheel to move freely with a lock nut. There ending up being seven dowels in both the top and bottom of the cage: three on each side and one in the middle. One dowel is in each corner and then there is a dowel between those dowels. The dowel in the middle holds a circle with four cut out circles that the strings would be tied into. The strings would be tied in directly across from each other, to get the desired movement. Both the top and bottom of the cage had this contraption. Unfortunately, we were unable to get the walls moving or all the strings implemented by the end of the two weeks.

For our iterations we scaled down the cage to be one fourth the size it would actually be. We originally planned for the second set of walls to be outside the cage and they would just affect light, but we decided that walls sliding closer to the experiencer gives them a deeper understanding of what it feels like to be trapped in a small place. For our first iteration we built a standard cage with two sets of walls, however the walls could not move. After looking at this and thinking about the mechanisms that causes the walls to move we added two inches on both the top and the bottom of each one of the outer four walls, so the mechanism could be placed inside to make the walls move. For our final iteration we reworked some of the holes and placements, because the mechanism changed. We did not get enough time to put the mechanism in, other than the wheels which help the walls move because of limited time, however we are going to continue working on the project for IPP week and hopefully will have a working model by the end.

Today, many dogs are out of shape, thus; making their walks a slow hassle. THE BOG TREADMILL makes it easier to walk these dogs by allowing the dogs to walk at their pace on a manual treadmill while you push them going at your pace. We at Bog Treadmill, are solving this detrimental issue with our Bog Treadmill, which is essentially a push able cart with a manual treadmill on top. Bog Treadmill is so great because it allows your dog to go at its own pace, prevents the dog from stopping to sniff, and makes walking the dog more enjoyable for the owner. It all started with Mrs. Lou, my lazy, overweight terrier, who walks slow and makes frequent stops on walks.

Our final treadmill will be open on the top and have screen on the sides so the dog doesn't feel enclosed. The sleek design makes the bog aerodynamic, which was a consciously thought out design decision. For the mill, we taped together duct tape and attached it to two rollers made out of pvc pipes. Then, we stuck a dowel through the pvc pipes and attached it to the sides of the frame. The treadmill is a trike with two bigger wheels in the back and one smaller wheel in the front. This design was not only more stable than a four-wheeled dolly shape, but also the front wheels makes it easier to turn the treadmill. We 3D printed axes that attached the frame to the wheels. then we made a handle bar for the owner to push the treadmill. 

Our first cardboard iteration was extremely boxy, and had a dolly-like structure. It had four wheels and had an unnecessarily large surface area which only made it heavier and less aerodynamic. We used pencils for the dowels and duct tape for the mill. The treadmill was also raised above the surface. 

Our second iteration was made out of wood and was the same size frame as the first iteration. We used the same rhino file for the second iteration but we laser cut it out of wood. On this iteration we used pvc piping. 

Students will be given the chance to formulate, pitch, and develop their own ideas.

Body Design:

The 3d Printer Station had to be redesigned due to a modular system that is being integrated into NuVu. It is now much wider and holds two printers each oriented horizontally. It is also shorter by quite a bit. The filament had to be held horizontally and there is little extra space for storage. The electronics compartment now fills the entire back of the Printer Station. We started to model the station in one file so we could have parameters and easily change the height, width, depth and plywood thickness. When we had to change the plywood thickness the model broke to the point of needing a complete redesign. We then decided that a multi-file model assembly would be much easier to deal with and edit. This new model was made within a day and is much better than the old one.