The problem we were assigned was to create a project around having healthy individuals be able to empathize with those who have a specific disease.

We chose parkinson's due to the physical nature of the symptoms. We felt that physical symptoms could be best represented mechanically versus mental symptoms. Of the many symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, we chose to represent hand tremors and poor posture. This was done through the use of mounting motors to the back of the user's hands.

The main problem we were trying to solve was the inability for people to experience parkinson’s disease. It is hard for people in general to experience what life might be like to actually have those symptoms.  With our project the participant gets to physically experience what the disease is actually like. They will understand the struggles associated with the disease and how much harder life becomes. We accomplished this through creating two hand modules and one back brace forcing the poor posture of parkinson’s victims.

Our project is built of two hand modules and one back piece. In our hand modules each hand was powered by a single motor. The module was build around the single motor as it was the main source of movement and power. We designed the motor to be encased with a wooden walls connecting on a bottom base. This base board is then strapped to the back of the hand through the use of velcro. Atop the motor lies a gear which is meshed to a wooden ellipse. On the opposite side of the ellipse lies a hole fitted with a M6 screw and two M6 nuts. This provides the weight needed to make the hand tremor.

We faced many challenges over the progression of our project. Our first main problem was determining how we should mount the motor on the hand. At first we thought that we would use a glove, but we soon realized we needed to use straps for additional tightness. Our next problem revolved around the soldering. Since the two wires traveling from the battery to the motor were soldered to the motor, it could easily be pulled off. We ended up breaking the solder off twice. Our final problem was beyond our control. The motors we were using were on the cheaper side and could burn out easily. To cope with this, we had to monitor motor head and make sure not to run the motor for extended periods of time.  

We had many iterations for the different aspects of the project. At first we began to decide on the ellipse size which we made far too large the first time. We ended up lowing the size of the ellipse two more times until we found the size we wanted. Do to the smaller size and faster rotation, we had to add an 20mm M6 and two nuts to the end of the ellipse to create more of a tremor.

We had many cardboard iterations of our back brace that we designed. Designing the back brace was exceptionally hard because no two humans have the same structure. We decided that we would make the brace more accepting to broader ranges of people. To do this we created rounder and more forgiving edges, and made them less intense. This way the brace fit a larger selection of people.

We faced two iterations when creating the box to hold the batteries. Our first iteration was too big for our preference and the extra size was not necessary. The extra size also made it harder for the user to access the batteries for switching out the old. We ended up lowering the size down on the edges making it more comfortable to wear.

Our assignment was to create a simulation of a disease for the user to empathize with the victims. To do this we had to find and research a disease that could be represented mechanically. Parkinson’s proved to have physical symptoms that wished to recreate. We chose to represent the hand tremors and the poor posture. To represent hand tremors, we created a laser cutted hand plate that would mount on the back of one's hand. Atop the hand plate we vertically placed a motor surrounded by laser cutted walls in order to provide stability. A 3.5 centimeter ellipse was then meshed to the gear on the motor. On the far side of the ellipse was a 20 millimeter M6 screw with two M6 nuts holding it in place. The hardware was incorporated to provide additional force exerted on the hand with each rotation of the motor. This created for more realistic hand tremors. To power the motor, we created a wrist module to encase a 9 volt battery. We then soldered a wire connector to the motor leaving a connectable side for the battery. Sturdy fabric strips and velcro were used to secure both the wrist and hand modules. To represent the poor posture that is often associated with parkinson’s, we designed a back brace that forces poor posture. This consisted of creating one large curve and notching four additional pieces horizontally. The back brace also used fabric straps to secure itself to the user's back. Our project produced extremely realistic results. The hand tremors were very natural and made normal tasks exceedingly difficult. One of the best traits of our project is the hand modules ability to shake more vigorously when the user performs a task. When the user grabs an object such as a pencil, the hand module will tighten around the hand creating faster tremors. This is often how hand tremors affect those with Parkinson’s disease. The back brace creates an unbalanced feeling and forces the user to experience bad posture. The two elements create for an overwhelming, slightly scary, and empathizing experience for the user.

Design Problem and Solution

Because many people don’t understand what it feels like to be blind, I created a blind simulator in which you put on your head to understand what blind people go through. Blindness isn’t just a blindfold over your eyes, or even closing your eyes to sleep. When someone is blind, some see a varied shade of an unknown color. They don’t just see black, they see light to dark. Because blindness is misinterpreted, I took on the task of creating a blind simulator so ordinary people can see what it feels like to be blind.

Further Elaboration

In order to build empathy and have a better understanding of blindness, it is necessary to reenact what blind people see. I created a helmet that you put on your head which mirrors how blind people see. In my blind simulator, when you put the helmet on, a button is pushed down which completes the circuit to the Arduino. This rotates the cardboard cutout on the outside. There is also a button on the inside which turns on lights to make the effect of blindness even stronger. When I first started working on blindness, I thought of a pair of goggles that you put on to simulate being blind. I soon realized that blindness wasn’t just darkness or black. I had to make something much bigger. I then switched to the idea of a helmet with an outer layer that spins around the helmet and your head. This is what I created my final project on. Throughout the project, I encountered a couple of challenges such as the length and height of the outer border of the blind simulator. I was constantly switching and moving around how big and tall the cutout should be. In the end, I figured it out and created an awesome project.

Iterations

When I first started thinking of how to imitate blindness, I thought of a pair of goggles which could attach to your eyes and you see lights and darkness. As I did more research, however, I found that blind people don’t just see pure black, they see a range from light to dark. As I was thinking, I found that a pair of goggles were just to small to fit everything inside that was necessary to imitate being blind. I needed something bigger that you could still see into.

With this, I thought of a headpiece and a helmet. The helmet would be still while the outer shell moved and could rotate in circles. The helmet would have a build in special rotating system where the outer shell could move but the helmet could stay in the same place. With this idea, I created a small version out of cardboard which I ripped and cut by hand.

After my hand cut mini version, I laser cut cardboard and put all of the pieces together. Instead of tape, which I used in my previous iteration, I used a hot glue cut which secured it more tightly. Again, this iteration had the special rotating thing in the helmet.

My next iteration was very similar to the previous one as there were only small differences. I added circles in the inside of the outside border to make it a perfect circle. I also made the cuts smaller while the border was bigger. I also found a helmet so I attached it to the special rotating thing to make sure that it worked. Sure enough, while someone was wearing a helmet, the outer border could spin.

My final iteration was similar to the last one although they were not identical. I added holes in the border to let a minimal amount of light through so it is closer to what blind people see. I also added black felt in the inside to make it more realistic. In addition, I completely got rid of the special rotating helmet as I put a motor on the helmet itself and it did the job. Additionally, I added lights and a mirror at the very top of the blind simulator. As all of the little details matter, I spend a lot of time designing and figuring out the best solution for each little detail.

Design Problem and Solution

Because many people don’t understand what it feels like to be blind, I created a blind simulator in which you put on your head to understand what blind people go through. Blindness isn’t just a blindfold over your eyes, or even closing your eyes to sleep. When someone is blind, some see a varied shade of an unknown color. They don’t just see black, they see light to dark. Because blindness is misinterpreted, I took on the task of creating a blind simulator so ordinary people can see what it feels like to be blind.

Further Elaboration

In order to build empathy and have a better understanding of blindness, it is necessary to reenact what blind people see. I created a helmet that you put on your head which mirrors how blind people see. In my blind simulator, when you put the helmet on, a button is pushed down which completes the circuit to the Arduino. This rotates the cardboard cutout on the outside. There is also a button on the inside which turns on lights to make the effect of blindness even stronger. When I first started working on blindness, I thought of a pair of goggles that you put on to simulate being blind. I soon realized that blindness wasn’t just darkness or black. I had to make something much bigger. I then switched to the idea of a helmet with an outer layer that spins around the helmet and your head. This is what I created my final project on. Throughout the project, I encountered a couple of challenges such as the length and height of the outer border of the blind simulator. I was constantly switching and moving around how big and tall the cutout should be. In the end, I figured it out and created an awesome project.