Legs Guardians Weekly Updates

The Legs Guardians  Weekly Updates Mid-term Updates   Final Presentation
Week 8
(11/3)		 Week 9
(11/10)		 Week 10
(11/17)		 Week 11
(11/24)		 Week 12
(12/1)		 Week 13
(12/8)		 Week 14
(12/15)

Week 8, 11/3

The Legs Guardians met twice this week. On Tuesday, Milagros met up with Nafl, Yihan and Aaron in person to physically study, examine and take measurements of Milagros’ wheelchair as planned from the meeting in the week before. We also briefly discussed during this session some requirements for the Tammy Mat and some draft ideas how the mat can work with the device Milagros uses everyday. She also shared with us how she uses her wheelchair and what we should be mindful of when designing attachments for the mat.

On Wednesday, Nafl and Aaron updated Jane with what we learned the day before. Due to Zoom technical difficulties Yihan was briefed asynchronously after the meeting. We also discussed plans for Week 9 and 10. The following are two key milestones we discussed.

Week 9, 11/10 (Wednesday) Week 10, 11/14 (Sunday) or 11/15 (Monday)
Agenda:

  1. With our personal list of materials, we will discuss how best to use the $100 project fund and if/how we split any extra cost.
  2. Pitch our sketches to Milagros.
  3. Understand and begin to synthesize our sketches.
 Agenda:

  1. Ideation and Play
What to bring:

  1. A list of materials each of us want.
  2. Each person shares at least 1 sketch of their idea of the Tammy Mat.
 What to bring:

  1. Any used fabric, recycled or prototyping materials.
  2. Curiosity and Ideas
Outcome:

  1. List of materials to be purchased during Week 9 and 10.
 Outcome:

  1. A clear idea of what the form factor of the mat should look like.
  2. potentially compile ideas and feedback to be presented to Milagros on 11/17.
  3. Define agenda for 11/17’s meeting.

 

Throughout the week we coordinated our schedule to meet as a group for our ideation and play exercise on November 14th.

Week 9, 11/10

Last week, Nafl, Yihan and Aaron met up and decided on what materials to buy online from Amazon. We decided that we will be purchasing Kevlar, leather, Nylon, microsuede as well as medical bed chucks to experiment for the most appropriate material for the Tammy Mat. We also discussed attachment options for Milagros to affix Tammy Mat to her wheelchair. For that, we also needed to purchase snap buttons.

On Sunday 11/14, Nafl, Yihan and Aaron met up for a prototyping session. The goal of this session is for us to discuss and experiment different form factors for the Tammy Mat. In that session, Nafl created a prototype using fabric and velcro. With that prototype, we felt that we had decided on the form factor. Instead of Velcro, we will be experimenting with leather for the attachment straps because it looks more visually pleasing. 

At this point, we have purchased our materials, they will be arriving between 11/17 and 11/18. Our next step is to coordinate and start creating an alpha Tammy Matt prototype.

A table with prototyping materials including scissors, cardboard, fabric and duck tape.
Fig 1. A table with prototyping materials including scissors, cardboard, fabric and duck tape.

Nafl trying on a prototype he created. He is testing the velcro straps by affixing the prototype to the arm rest of a chair.
Fig 2. Nafl trying on a prototype he created. He is testing the velcro straps by affixing the prototype to the arm rest of a chair.

Week 10, 11/17

After our meeting last week, Aaron purchased the fabric we needed to begin our fabrication. With the $100 sponsored by the Ability Project, we were able to purchase a yard of Kevlar felt, microsuede, a letter-sized piece of letter, snap buttons and a pack of chuck cloth. We also have a roll of vinyl donated to us by Daniel, artist in residence at the Ability Project.  With the materials in place, we will be meeting with Milagros next week to get measurements for the mat.

Week 11, 11/24

On Tuesday,  Jane, Yihan, and Aaron met up with Milagros to get the measurements for the Tammy mat. With the measurement, Yihan will cut a prototype of the Tammy Mat from the microsuede and vinyl.  He will deliver them to Milagros to test for a couple of days. After that, we will gather feedback from Milagros before creating our final product. As of our current plan, Jane will lead the fabrication while Aaron will help construct the straps of the mat if needed. We are also exploring an over-the-neck design so that Milagros can wear the mat in a similar way she wears an apron. 

Week 12, 12/1

For this week’s project development, Yihan’s going to make the prototype of the Tammy mat, get feedback from Milagros and do some adjustments to the prototype based on feedback. Meanwhile, Jane did some researches about the fabrication tutorial that might be needed for the final production. Because this mat will not only be made of soft fabrics like microsuede and chuck cloth but also hard materials like leather and copper. The final product will be made out next week based on Yihan’s prototype.

WEEK 13, 12/8

Yihan finished the Prototype of the Tammy Mat using two types of fabrics ( Vinyl and Microsuede) clip on strap. Nafl picked it up from Yihan and delivered it to Milagros on Thursday for two days testing. Nafl tried to test with Tammy but unfortunately Tammy is not used to strangers. Nafl sat with Milagros and discussed instructions of the wearing for the Tammy mat and Milagros put it on and informed that she will be testing both sides of the mat(Vinyl and Microsuede). Yihan met up with Milagros and got her feedback and marked the needed adjustments on the prototype. Milagros’ feedback concluded that it’s comfortable  but she prefers if the straps go around her back rather than her neck, the strap is too long and the mat should not go beyond her knees. In addition, to make the strap adjustable and easier to put on and off. Yihan picked the prototype and on Sunday met with Jane, gave her the prototype and briefed her on Milagros feedback. On Monday, Aaron, Jane, Nafl and Yihan met via zoom to discuss the progress and next steps. Few options of new adjustable straps and fasteners were discussed. In addition, there was discussion about using both fabrics and sewing them together. Aaron brought the point that it means it will be more expensive and not work efficient going that route. Jane will be doing heavy lifting on the final fabrication this week and Aaron will be available over the weekend to assist her.

a green mat with a golden straps laying on a grey wooden floor
Fig 1. Tammy Mat Prototype

a black adjustable strap with clip on fastening
Fig 2. Adjustable Strap

a black buckle fastening device
Fig 3. Buckle
a black hook and loop fastening material
Fig 4. Hook and Loop

 

Week 14, 12/15

In our last stretch of our project, Jane, Nafl and I had planned to gather on the weekend of 12/11 to complete the fabrication of Tammy Mat. Last week, Yihan created a prototype based on Milagros’s specification and our measurements. Nafl and Yihan delivered the prototype to Milagros and had her tested the piece for a week. Unfortunately because Milagros’s wheelchair was in service, she was given a replacement chair during the week.  Perhaps because the replacement chair is unfamiliar to Tammy, she did not jumped on Milagros. We were only able to based the strength of the mat on Yihan’s sharpness test in which he used nails and various sharp objects to test the materials we used for the mat. When Yihan and Jane retrieved the mat from Milagros, they interviewed her for feedback.  Milagros mentioned that she prefers the strap to be around and over her body than over the arm rests of her wheelchair. Despite not being able to test the strength of the prototype, Milagros liked how the piece felt on her body. The Mat. is constructed using a top Vinyl piece with a microsuede lining. With this and more feedback, Jane led the final construction of the mat.

Tammy mat with a greenish-yellow felt front and a buckled strap. The mat resembles an apron in the shape of a cat's face. At the top of the mat the two sides of the strap are sewn to the cat ears.
Fig 1. Front view of Tammy Mat.

On the back of the Tammy mat, slits were cut on a felt so that it can be sewn onto a piece of vinyl in a round shape.
Fig 2. In progress, back view of the Tammy Mat before the microsuede lining is sewn in.

The Tammy mat has a blue microsuede lining
Fig 3. On the back side of the Tammy mat is a blue microsuede lining.
The backside of the Tammy mat is a blue microsuede lining.
Fig 4. On the back side of the Tammy mat is a blue microsuede lining.