Maddie Johnson-Harwitz

The Stand Assist:

An assistive device to bring more independence to the elderly by helping them stand up from a sitting position with more ease and comfort.

Modern society does not do enough to assist the elderly and care for their mental health, as much of the elderly population struggles with feelings of helplessness. The Stand Assist is designed to combat these issues and enable the elderly to feel empowered and independent. The Stand Assist was designed for a client named Prisilla, who was severely weakened by a seven month long coma. Due to her weakened muscles, she has extreme difficulty getting up from a chair. It can take her ten tries to fully stand up, as she attempts to build momentum and throw her body forward, catching herself on her walker. The device uses her momentum and then actuates to assist her to rise into the standing position. The design of the device is minimalist and elegant to appeal to a very proper Prisilla, who was reluctant at first to use an assistive device.

Although it was designed with Prisilla in mind, the Stand Assist is an assistive device that can empower many elderly people who struggle getting up. The improved design fits as two knee braces connected across the legs at the knee joint. The motors on the outside of each brace are started by a single switch, which straightens the braces until they are fully extended, pushing the user from a sitting position to a standing position. 

The project will support Heidi Latsky with her mission to create a moving and revolutionary performance art piece that challenges people's biases and prompts conversation about disability. Amy Meisner is a dancer with Heidi Latsky’s Dance Company. She danced professionally as a young adult but eventually quit to pursue social work. She mentioned that the last role she auditioned for was in the ballet, Aphrodite. Even though she did not receive the role she says it stayed with her as her farewell to ballet. She started experiencing symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis a few years after quitting dance. She spoke about how, to get to the house of a client of hers that lived on a hill, she had to cling to a chain link fence for support. As her symptoms worsened she had to use a wheelchair. Many years after her diagnosis she was convinced to dance with Heidi Latsky Dance company. She also spoke about her insecurities, both her MS and her age brought her farther from her idea of the ideal dancer.

The Evening Star is a chest piece made out of multiple chains of interlocking small clear acrylic triangles. The chains are an artistic representation of the chain link fence Amy used for support. The chains also represent Amy’s personal armor with their references to chainmail. The chest piece itself is comprised of multiple concentric chains. The draping of the chains is meant to show the Grecian influence from the ballet Aphrodite. The triangle links also make the chain look like crystals, a reference to Amy’s love of them. The piece is attached by an adjustable strap that rests on the wearer’s shoulders. As Amy is in a wheelchair the designs are focused on the front of her body.

Maddie Johnson-Harwitz

The Stand Assist:

An assistive device to bring more independence to the elderly by helping them stand up from a sitting position with more ease and comfort.

Modern society does not do enough to assist the elderly and care for their mental health, as much of the elderly population struggles with feelings of helplessness. The Stand Assist is designed to combat these issues and enable the elderly to feel empowered and independent. The Stand Assist was designed for a client named Prisilla, who was severely weakened by a seven month long coma. Due to her weakened muscles, she has extreme difficulty getting up from a chair. It can take her ten tries to fully stand up, as she attempts to build momentum and throw her body forward, catching herself on her walker. The device uses her momentum and then actuates to assist her to rise into the standing position. The design of the device is minimalist and elegant to appeal to a very proper Prisilla, who was reluctant at first to use an assistive device.

Although it was designed with Prisilla in mind, the Stand Assist is an assistive device that can empower many elderly people who struggle getting up. The improved design fits as two knee braces connected across the legs at the knee joint. The motors on the outside of each brace are started by a single switch, which straightens the braces until they are fully extended, pushing the user from a sitting position to a standing position. 

Automated doors have allowed buildings to be significantly more accessible, giving people with physical impairments the ability to navigate more independently, and generally being convenient for everyone. However, while current door automating systems offer great accessibility, the systems themselves are not very accessible to the general public. They typically cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, have extremely involved installation, and are huge, intrusive devices. Doorbot solves these problems with a low profile, easy to use, and affordable design. Doorbot uses two motors to open a door, one that pulls the doors handle down with a string, and one with a wheel on the ground to roll the door open. To install Doorbot, the user simply slides the device beneath the door and uses the ratcheting mechanism to push up and grip the door, while pushing the wheel against the ground for improved traction. Then, after attaching the string on the device to the door handle with its strapping mechanism, the user can simply actuate the remote control to open that door. Since the design only requires two motors, a receiver, and remote, it can be made for under a hundred dollars.