The Up/Down Chair: Expanding Access for People With Limited Mobility
Goal
My long-term goal is to develop a portable chair that allows older adults and younger people with disabilities to get up from and down to the ground in environments ranging from exercise classes to remote trails in the woods.
Project Description
In the summer of 2016, Alex (a pseudonym) contacted me about designing a device to help him get up from the ground if he fell in an isolated area. Alex, who is 55, has limited mobility in his legs and lower back and walks with assistive devices. He likes to bike and go hiking. A student and I designed Version 1 of the “Up-Chair” (Fig. 1A). Through co-design, we iteratively improved upon the design and sent Alex home with a chair to test.
In the fall of 2016, not only had Alex’s mobility improved, thus prompting him to venture into more remote locations, but a recent trip to the beach had also piqued his interest in sitting down on the ground in a social context. Thus, Version 2 of the “Up/Down Chair,” with improved function and aesthetics (Fig. 1, B-D) was born. We are currently working to make the design more robust.
The requirements for the Up/Down chair are that it:
- allows users to stand up from and sit down on the ground;
- is light-weight and portable;
- is easy to assemble, even by someone who has fallen;
- is aesthetically pleasing; and
- feels safe for users.
The current model (Fig. 1B) resembles a step-stool with stair (9 inches) and chair (18 inches) height seats. I would also personally like it to be inexpensive, low-tech, and something that a technically-inclined lay-person could manufacture.
While this started as a “design-for-one” project, I believe that the Up/Down Chair has potential for much broader appeal. Certainly, other people who wish to walk independently and are at risk of falling, particularly people with lower-body weakness or low flexibility but high upper body strength, might use it – both older adults and younger people with disabilities. Another group of interest might be people going to exercise classes with a floor component. A yoga instructor who works with older adults reports that though mat-based classes offer more in terms of improving flexibility than chair classes that many older adults won’t do the mat classes because they are afraid they won’t be able to get up.
Proposed Outcomes
My goal is to continue to improve upon the Up/Down Chair in collaboration with additional potential users to understand if it could provide them security and access to activities that will enhance their physical, social, and emotional well-being.
During the summer of 2017, my students and I intend to:
- conduct user interviews with older adultsand younger people with disabilities to understand their needs and interest in the Up/Down Chair
- continue to work with Alex on the design of the Up/Down Chair
- continue to improve the design of the Up/Down Chair to make it more useable and desirable
|
