Today we had another brainstorming session and we decided to scrap the idea with the belt system because we thought it would be too bulky and Nico, being in a wheelchair, likely would not feel comfortable with this. We then went on to start prototyping more and we came up with a third idea of a physical therapy device so that Nico could train without having to have the hoop or ball and when he is playing basketball he would not need his brace. We continued to iterate on this idea and came up with a similar brace with two strings attached to it and weights attached to those strings that could go behind his wheelchair, then the brace would be attached to two pillars with a base that would sit on his leg. As we kept on iterating on this idea we eventually decided to scrap the brace and weights and go with something similar to a resistance band with the same sort of brace design connecting the two ends.

PICTURES POSTED

1. Picture of the resistance brace in an active position

2. Picture of the resistance brace in a standby position

3. Picture of Raph wearing the brace at a standby position

4. Picture of Raph wearing the brace in an active position

5. Picture of scrapped weight idea at a standby position

We worked a lot today on the idea of the physical therapy exercise for Nico today. We created different prototypes and kept coming up with different design issues. We started off by creating a brace with an elastic band to make it harder for Nico to extend his arm and work on the muscles involved in his shooting motion. However, it did not provide enough control for Nico's arm. We decided to then create a stand for the brace that would attach to the wheelchair. However, it provided too much control and not enough mobility for his arm. So we decided to design a stand that could move in three directions: side-to-side, up-and-down and forwards and backward. We would like to pursue this design and finish its prototype in the coming days.

Learning a lot of new mechanics really excites me about this project and I also the idea of working on someone's performance through a device. 

We would like to know more about Nico's shoulder and overall arm mobility as well as if he prefers and a physical therapy device or a device that would help him shoot further.

So, Today we got into groups and started to brainstorm. After brainstorming for a little while we started hand prototyping, we had 2 ideas one being an arm brace with a spring steel connection to try to help Nico shoot basketballs into hoops and the second was a belt type thing that had a large spring on it and an elbow cup so that his arm would shoot up and he would have to articulate arm to aim the ball.

PICTURES POSTED                                                    

1. A head-on view of the arm brace

2. A side view of the arm brace (where you stick your arm)

3. A parallel view of the unfolded (unrolled) arm brace 

Nico is a 15-year old who loves to play basketball. However, as he is in a wheelchair, he is not able to reach the hoop when shooting the ball. Aveen and I are working on a system to help him shoot the ball into the hoop.

We are looking at this problem in two different ways. The first way is a system that would add momentum to his shooting motion and arm. The second way is a system that would make it harder for him to shoot and work on his shooting muscles so that when he removes the system it is easier for him to shoot the ball higher and further.

For the first idea, we have different methods of resolving the problems. We thought of a sort of spring attached to Nico's body or his chair that would spring up when he shot the ball and add momentum to his shot. We also thought of a brace that would go around his elbow and that would also have a spring, therefore helping the shot too.

For the second idea, we thought of something similar to the elbow brace but instead of having a spring that would help his shot, we would have a different mechanism where he would have to work harder to extend his elbow, therefore working on his shooting muscles. We also thought of the possibility to build a mini-hoop, much lower than the average hoop, to help him practice while having fun. 

Next week, we will start designing the last idea's prototype and finish the other prototypes. We will decide which idea we want to pursue and hopefully meet or skype with Nico in order to discuss the idea and get his feedback and maybe some demands or suggestions. Then we will start designing a more complex prototype.