Special Topics in Engineering Design: Design to Deliver (2019)

Play Fetch

My teammate and I were tasked with creating a wheelchair attachable device to enable a C5-C6 paraplegic to play fetch with his dogs. We evaluated a design solution from the previous semester, spoke with members of the first design team, and met with the client to understand the original design solution and the areas that needed further development. After determining that several of the main components, including how the solution attached to the client’s chair, were not effective, we generated new design criteria, used brainstorming and Morph Charts to develop 35 new solutions, and refined our ideas through Pugh screening and scoring matrices. We then constructed and tested prototypes to arrive at our final design solution. A medium fidelity prototype and 10-page user manual were delivered.

Fetch With Dogs: About

Attaching Arm to Chair

Controller

User Defined Scale

Attaching Arm to Chair

Fetch With Dogs: Image

For this system, I was responsible for connecting the device that delivers tennis balls to the dogs, called an iFetch, to the chair. This was achieved by attaching a wooden panel to a section of 80/20, which slides into brackets fixed onto the rails of the chair. The iFetch sits on the wooden panel and is held in place with buckles that are secured to the panel. Additionally, I developed a user manual for the client that details the components of the solution and how to attach them to the chair. Throughout the course, my teammate and I delivered project plans to our professor outlining the steps in our design process and used a Gantt chart to keep track of deadlines. This experience deepened my passion for human-centered design and using my technical ability to have a positive impact.

Fetch With Dogs: Text