Auto Blade Clan final Presentation video

TRANSCRIPT

Intros
We are AutoBlade Clan. I’m Tanvi I’m a first year, first semester, IDM student.

I’m Alice, same as Tanvi.

My name is José Hernandez and I am a member of Team AutoBlade Clan. We’re working on a device that will allow me to push buttons in my vehicle. So without further ado: let me talking you through what Jose had initially developed. We’re working to design a tool that assits our team member jose with driving.

Tanvi:
This is the implement that Jose, came up with themselves. It has two straps, a pointer, and a bendable metal ruler that acts as a splint. The buttons we see in the image that are blue and a light up. Or actually what controls all the functionality of the car from ignition to draw down the windows and the pointer is used to press them. It sounds like a pretty straightforward process, but for something as stressful and time consuming as driving, This implement has to be really comfortable so Jose can have the best experience and remain safe. So with that in mind, we met with Jose and kind of made small list of what our goals are and what are the things you want to keep in mind when developing the next iteration of the autoblade. So some of the goals were provide the wrist with adequate support because he does not have feeling in his wrist, but wants to make sure that it’s not a flimsy implement and he can rely on it for pointing the buttons. Adjustable pointer length was also one of the things that José was looking for in situations where he’s not driving and doesn’t need the pointer can be extended. Another thing that we noticed was that Jose needed a friend to put it on. And we taught it, be cool if it could be autonomously wearable. So José can drive on its own. So by not just like also be able to put this thing on its own and take it off whenever he really wants to. Lastly, we wanted to make sure it’s more comfortable. It’s lighter weight and most important of all it’s black because it has to be. We’ve come, I feel a long way in like addressing those little components for most of our goals were in the testing stage, with Jose and trying out different options. But we will now give you a more in-depth view of what’s actually going on.

Alice:
So for our references, were found some designs that are simplicity and light, this way allows José to put the splint on easily by himself Anita showed us The Wrist Support with Universal Cuff, also known as a long opponens splint, is ideal for spasticity or a weak wrists following spinal cord injury or stroke. This three Velcro strips model is similar to what Jose made for himself his original model, but with an additional strip on the wrist. But we kind of want to keep the Velcro to the minimum. So Jose doesn’t have to ask for help from others. José gave us this idea of Quadtools that designs kitchen tools for people with disabilities. And the U-shape clasps is what he is looking for. Gutter wrist splint is what I found online. I think this gave us a clearer version of how to provide strength to a person’s wrist. So we collected a few references from other assistive devices, and had a chat with Jose about what our technology could look like, and what other things he has come across. José introduces us to an actuator. It was hard to visualize the 3D object. So we did some drawings to imagine how it will look like and how it would work. We kind of combine parts that we need from our references list and put them together. Jose gave us this idea to use three claps with two facing up and one facing down. Tanvi tried out the moldable plastic of the back of her hand just to see how well can this design holds her hands in place. So the first prototype we made, we kind of wanted to clarify our design and thoughts for us to follow better in the future. We used cardboards to create the design we want. And we tape tapes around to simulate how moldable plastics stays in place. Pencil as a pointer, Which is very similar to what José is using right now. At this stage, we’re just making our thoughts into a 3D model. And we plan to test out the materials on the next prototype. So passing on to Tanvi.

Tanvi:
Here’s a video of Alice trying out The next prototype we made, Prototype 2.0 that actually is formed with bendable plastic. And you can see it’s like fairly easy for her to get her arm out of it. But the first clasp is tight and she needs some assistance to Either she needs to use her other hand to be able to get her out of it and similarly give her a hand in it, which led us to use the D-Ring and a velcro strap so that it’s more customizable and will offer a better fit for José. We then took this prototype and use it altogether and mailed it to José to test out what his thoughts are and what is feedback is probably feels it fits or doesn’t fit. And when feedback we got from José was the hand and the the wrist claps are too close The wrist part, which here, is too wide and could potentially be half in width or are similar to the first clasp that these two parts, part one and part two. Here. are too close together and he wants more space in between them We realize that we probably need to meet him up, take measurements of the space between his thumb crease and his wrist and as such to make sure that this is modeled perfectly for his needs He felt that the entire Autoblade was a bit too long, but that can be adjusted. And the next steps for us also include testing out the pointer.

Alice:
José also mentioned that he would want that the D Ring would be on the opposite side, so it’s easier for him to actually use it Going forward we want to also work on the second main component of the AutoBlade apart from the armature, which would be the pointer.
So I looked up magic shops. that Amy suggested us. But most of the magic props are either too long or too light, which is not what we’re looking for. I found several pointners for teaching stuffs and self-defense sticks, which meets our needs the most. So starting from the stick, I found this is slightly longer than what Jose wants, but it can be locked in place and automatically pops out. I think we’re going to work on this. Secondly, we are using a thicker moldable plastic And then we’re going to attach that with a layer of foam, this way it can protect Jose’s wrist as well as giving better support. Lastly, we’re adding a strip of Velcro on the palm side of the hand just to keep the splint in place and a D ring that allows Jose to use the velcro easier.

Tanvi:
Finally, we would like to thank Amy, Anita, Jose and all of the classmates. Yeah, thank you for supporting us. Hopefully, we can continue with this project in the future. and José can get the Autoblade of his dreams.