Describe my partner

Our partner is Lamb. She is easy-going and she loves drawing. She is kind (she worries about other people with disabilities and hopes to help them) and very smart.

Desires and difficulties

Her mother mentioned many desires for her. The main issue is that she wants to go outside independently but the wheelchair limited her. The first thing is that she cannot take buses because the gap between buses and station is big. She cannot get on and off buses freely. Sometimes the wheelchair will be sucked into the gap. Another issue, since she can only use one hand to hold an umbrella, she cannot move the wheelchair in raining time.

(Last week we didn’t have our partner for the user test, so this week we have no updates for description)

Project Description & Process

Our project is an umbrella holder that can be attached stably to wheelchair. It consists of a stretchable stick and a light umbrella, which is easy to be opened with one hand. One side of the stick should be attached to the wheelchair. The connection should be strong enough so that it will not fall down during the movement. Another side of the stick should be the holder of an umbrella. After the testing, we realize that an automatic umbrella cannot be held by the stick and the opening process is dangerous for Lamb. So we need to have more tests and research on specific using situations. 

This is the stick we have now. Another thing about the stick is that the rotating joints are not easy to use. We need a strong and easy-using rotating joint for Lamb.