As with any human centered project, the primary stakeholders are the individuals the project is working to support. In the case of this project, the primary stakeholders are wheelchair users specifically those who are primarily independent or are striving to be primarily independent. In addition to these stakeholders, external partnerships will be formed with a variety of individuals with mechanical or medical knowledge that is beyond the current expertise of the team.
The team has consulted a combination of individuals with technical backgrounds and individuals who have experience working with or using wheelchairs. The team completed an IRB application and received approval. The team has begun to gather information from a variety of healthcare professionals and wheelchair users by conducting the surveys and interviews that were approved by the IRB committee. The team conducted our first interview with a wheelchair user who expressed his excitement for the new technology and his appreciation for being included in the project. Some of the preliminary feedback includes an emphasis on keeping the device lightweight and some concerns about placing hands near the moving spokes of the wheels. Additional interviews are being scheduled for completion during the interim. The team has also begun sending out surveys to healthcare providers that focus on the current difficulties faced when tackling inclines and declines in a wheelchair as well as user interface preferences.
For the surveys, the team hopes to survey and interview more people with the help of the connections of team members as well as the individuals who were interviewed using the survey questions found below. The current survey results are inconclusive due to a low number of initial responses. The team is working on making the processes of completing the survey easier with the hopes of obtaining more responses. The team hopes that the surveys and interview will provide us with a better idea of what design would best assist wheelchair users who are looking for assistance going up and down hills without giving up the autonomy that comes with a manual wheelchair. Since none of the team members use a wheelchair, it is difficult to design a product without additional feedback. Many of the people the team hopes to interview and survey are friends or relatives who have already agreed to help.
Throughout the design process, feedback will be sought from the faculty advisor, Professor Utter, on aspects of the design that extends past the general level of current schooling. In addition to Professor Utter, the team has begun consulting our assigned lab tech, Rob Layng, on improvements to designs that would allow parts to be cheaper and easier to manufacture without sacrificing the quality of the part, specifically the use of sheet metal for some of the metal housings. Additionally, the team has elicited the help of Professor Nees from the psychology department to share his expertise on human factors in engineering, especially his experience in how technology impacts those with disabilities. As needed, the team may also consult current and past professors on questions related to the subject matter of their expertise. For example, controls professors may be consulted regarding aspects of the design which require more complex controls than those discussed in class. Although these are all the people the team hopes to elicit feedback from at this point, the team is continuing to look for additional relationships that may help the design project to be both functional and effective.
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