The Legs Guardians

The Legs Guardians  Weekly Updates Mid-term Updates   Final Presentation

Group Information 

  • Team Name: The Legs Guardians 
  • Group Members: Milagros, Aaron, Yihan, Jane, Nafl

Overview of Tools and Expertise

  • What tools/expertise will you leverage to complete the project?
    We are going to use the tools in the Maker Space.  
  • What additional tools/expertise will you need to complete the project?
     We will either purchase low-cost materials or contribute what we have personally. 

Main Point of Contact

Aaron Chu

Meeting Schedule for the Semester

Every Wednesday from 8-9 p.m weekly team meeting.
Overflow meeting time: Thursdays 6-7pm. 

Project Description

Tammy Mat is a piece of fabric Milagros can wear on her lap to protect her from her cat’s, Tammy, claws digging into Milagros’s legs whenever Tammy spends time on her lap. The mat should be thick enough so the claws cannot penetrate it. It should also be easy to put on and take off.     

Description of Team Name

The name we came up with is based on our goal to protect Milagros’s legs from Tammy’s claws.

Project Plan

Current plan: 

  1. To sketch design ideas for the Tammy Mat then
  2. share it with Milagros to get feedback
  3. follow up with the rest of the steps within the timeline.

Long term plan (till end of semester):

See Timeline 11/3 — 12/15

Competitive Analysis and Literature Review

What is commercially available to solve the problem?

During our competitive analysis, we learned that most assistive technology is prohibitively expensive. In the case of Tammy Mat, although we discover fabric that seems to have the

quality we desire, they are either expensive or more customization is to be desired. We have found that no device can truly fulfill the criteria we set with Milagros. The closest option was a weighted mat, but that might not be suitable for its inability to dissipate heat. We also suspect that the pressure from the weight of the blanket may not be a very comfortable option for Milagros. Furthermore, due to its weight and lack of fastening, it might not stay stable on Milagro’s lap.   

Timeline

10/6 – Reaching out to and introduction with Milagros  

10/13 – First team meeting and begin market searching for similar products

10/20 – First team meeting with Milagros and identify our project focus based on her preference. Start sketching designs.  

10/27 – Midterm presentation

11/3 – Design development

11/10 – Research (material, structure) 

11/17 – Prototype making and testing 

11/24 – Fabrication and feedback

12/1 – Fabrication and feedback

12/08 –  Project Presentation

12/15 – Final Documentation Due