Course Description (Excerpt)

Students work closely with people with disabilities to develop assistive and adaptive technologies that help them live more independently. Covers design methods and problem-solving strategies; human factors; human-machine interfaces; community perspectives; social and ethical aspects; and assistive technology for motor, cognitive, perceptual, and age-related impairments. Prior knowledge of one or more of the following areas useful: software; electronics; human-computer interaction; cognitive science; mechanical engineering; control; or MIT hobby shop, MIT PSC, or other relevant independent project experience.

About the Project

Our client was a 16 year old high school student with congenital weakness in her right leg and uses forearm crutches. She asked us to develop a small and portable attahcment to make it easier for her to carry a plate of food.

Our group designed a 3D-printed plate holder that can be easily attached and removed from our client’s cructch and can hold a variety of plate sizes by adjusting the arms.

My Contributions

I was responsible for the mechanical design of the plate holder.

CAD model of the adjustable plate holder. Due to scheduling conflicts, the physical prototype was delivered after the course ended and I have no pictures.

Skills

Computer-Aided Design (Solidworks), 3D Printing, Hand Tools