The Support Skeleton is an assistant exoskeleton designed to improve back posture and reduce stress on the spine. The reducsd stress decreases the chance of critical nerve damage and chronic back pain. It has been developed to augment the user’s movements and reactions by shifting the weight from their spine to their legs. The Support Skeleton is designed to assist the user when transporting heavy loads. The device functions by utilizing a series of plywood cuts designed to conform to your spinal column which are pressed against your back to help back posture. While increasing healthy back posture, the artificial spine also redirects the weight from the users shoulders and back into their legs. In addition,a hip mount is used to redirect the stress from the spine to the hip.

the design for the support system is inspired by the natural curvature of a human spine as well as the organic structures found in nature. The full Support Skeleton consists of two acrylic fins supported by a brace in the center, which is connected to a hip plate via three different connection rods. These rods are manufactured to have a spring component, which pushes the spine support backward, forcing the user to stand up straight as well as channeling the weight through the spine support and into the user’s hips. 

Connecting Housing is a proposal recommending changes to increase transit, accessibility, and housing for the Great Road area in Bedford, Massachusetts. There’s a critical shortage of housing across the Boston metropolitan area, driving people to find more affordable homes in more suburban areas. Bedford is one such area and this project seeks to connect these homes to better transit and opportunities.

Boston is soon to surpass San Francisco as the second most expensive city to rent in as well as one of the highest to purchase a home. Brookings finds that distance to work impacts local health and employment prospects, especially of low-income and minority workers. Connecting Housing identified potential new transit routes by visualizing the existing transit and population on a map to find areas that could grow with additional public transit options. Expanding rapid transit to areas that are already populated means lines can be built for existing residents while making the area more accessible and desirable for new homes. Looking closely at the Great Road area shows vast underutilization of the available space. It proposes a potential Red Line Extension through the Route 2 corridor, covering many municipalities west from Cambridge, and sites for construction of housing and public spaces in the form of maps and 3D models. Connecting Housing creates an area supporting residents to find high quality opportunities in a replicable way.

Lonely is a 2d platforming video game that creates a player experience grounded in themes of grief, social isolation and anxiety. According to the CDC: Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health, approximately 5.8 million children suffer from symptoms linked to social isolation and anxiety. Lonely creates a gameplay experience that helps the player build a deeper empathy for those that experience anxiety and social isolation.

 In Lonely, the player dives into the child's mind which has become a twisted maze under the weight of such heavy grief. The player then navigates through distinct areas each representing different aspects of the child's grief. In those areas, the player will have to concur platforming challenges, puzzles, and monsters each of which has been manifested from struggles of intense grief.

Saving Skills is a money planning and budgeting game that educates Special Needs individuals about life skills through play. Saving Skills prepares Neurodiverse people to live independently as much as possible. This game enables neurodivergent people to become accustomed to the daily tasks, and adulthood skills that typically may have been done for them without thought. Saving Skills provides a fun step in the right direction towards independence in fundamental life skills for the Special Needs community. 

The game  is designed to engage people with higher needs  in simple dialogue and math with the help of a mentor. The gameplay is divided into three sections, meal planning, discussion, and play. The player navigates through purchasing food and other household items, discussing financial choices and their effects, and spending or saving their left over allowance on fun items to decorate their house and yard play scenes.

Optimizing Waste is a project focused on exploring ways to turn plastic waste into usable material. Plastic waste is a monolithic problem, both environmentally and economically, with countries like Kenya being unable to dispose of it properly. The plastics industry is always producing full-blast regardless of demand, meaning it’s not realistic to expect production to decrease anytime soon. There is one small positive in the midst of the plastic crisis, the reason it’s so hard to dispose of is the same reason it’s so useful for manufacturing. It can be cut, shredded, scored, bent, milled, melted, formed, molded, extruded, and all manner of other modifications, and remain the same material. Since plastic waste supply is practically limitless and the material itself is incredibly robust, developing a method to easily use it at home would be invaluable for makers both at NuVu and everywhere else.

https://simmer.io/@blablabla123/could-that-be-me

Could That Be Me? is a choice-based game revolving around a transgender non-binary teenager in the modern day. A common experience for trans people is to feel social dysphoria as a result of ignorance and misgendering. The goal of the game is to help cisgender people understand some of the daily struggles trans people face. The game is an amalgamation of the creator’s experiences and is not meant to represent the experience of every trans person. The game allows the player to choose their name and avatar, and as the game progresses the player is brought through everyday experiences with the character.

Brief- Finn

Lift Easy is a tool that supports eating for people with muscle problems. The goal of this utensil is to help alleviate the specific problem of grasping the utensils and being able to safely transfer the food from the plate to their mouth. 

Cerebral Palsy is a disability that destroys a person’s ability to control motor movements. Lift Easy is a  tool that will allow for an easy way of eating that is accessible to all, particularly users with CP. There is a lot of stigma around how people with CP feel when going outside or are trying to engage  socially. Particularly social interactions that involve  eating. CP patients have trouble controlling their body, specifically their  arms and legs. . 

The Lift Easy  creates stability and strength for a user white eating. Magnets connect the utensil to a band. The band serves as a base to keep the utensil stable. The angle that the fork is placed on the band allows for maximum strength when trying to pierce food. The Lift Easy can still be used as a regular eating utensil so in a social setting everyone can use the utensil without needing the band. This will help to alleviate  stigma by  allowing users to feel as if they are like everyone else.

Lift Easy is a tool that supports eating for people with muscle problems. The goal of this utensil is to help alleviate the specific problem of grasping the utensils and being able to safely transfer the food from the plate to their mouth. 

Cerebral Palsy is a disability that destroys a person’s ability to control motor movements. Lift Easy is a  tool that will allow for an easy way of eating that is accessible to all, particularly users with CP. There is a lot of stigma around how people with CP feel when going outside or are trying to engage  socially. Particularly social interactions that involve  eating. CP patients have trouble controlling their body, specifically their  arms and legs. . 

The Lift Easy creates stability and strength for a user white eating. Magnets connect the utensil to a band. The band serves as a base to keep the utensil stable. The angle that the fork is placed on the band allows for maximum strength when trying to pierce food. The Lift Easy can still be used as a regular eating utensil so in a social setting everyone can use the utensil without needing the band. This will help to alleviate  stigma by  allowing users to feel as if they are like everyone else.

Lift Easy is a tool that supports eating for people with muscle problems. The goal of this utensil is to help alleviate the specific problem of grasping the utensils and being able to safely transfer the food from the plate to their mouth. 

Cerebral Palsy is a disability that destroys a person’s ability to control motor movements. Lift Easy is a  tool that will allow for an easy way of eating that is accessible to all, particularly users with CP. There is a lot of stigma around how people with CP feel when going outside or are trying to engage  socially. Particularly social interactions that involve  eating. CP patients have trouble controlling their body, specifically their  arms and legs. . 

The Lift Easy creates stability and strength for a user white eating. Magnets connect the utensil to a band. The band serves as a base to keep the utensil stable. The angle that the fork is placed on the band allows for maximum strength when trying to pierce food. The Lift Easy can still be used as a regular eating utensil so in a social setting everyone can use the utensil without needing the band. This will help to alleviate  stigma by  allowing users to feel as if they are like everyone else.