User Centred Design

I studied mechatronics during my MEng (Hons) in Design Engineering at the University of Bath - graduating in 2022. During this time I was part of a group project tasked with tasked to develop a handheld device to aid a daily activity for user suffering with post-polio syndrome. After several meetings with the user it was evident that designing an aid for putting on trousers would have the greatest benefit to their independence and self-esteem, with opportunity to benefit a wider demographic of wheelchair users.

This module provided experience in conducting empathy studies, user interviews, rapid prototyping. Task management and ownership were further required to produce the end prototype - especially when working as part of a team of four working during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Dressing Aid for Post-Polio Syndrome 

Here I was tasked to explore the winching attachments that could be attached to trousers and operated by a user with limited mobility.

Storyboard of the final prototype: a wheelchair or seat cover that uses a motorised winching system to pull trousers up the users body - with limited mobility required by the user.

Design Process

An iterative design process that involved interviews with the end user over multiple stages of the project; rounds of concept divergence and convergence after user meetings; and prototype testing to converge on the final design was utilised. Empathy studies helped highlight user pain points that may not have been clear or questioned from online interviews, and deepen the groups understanding of the impact of post-polio syndrome on user needs.

As the project took place over COVID-19 lockdowns, rapid prototyping with accessible materials was necessary to help drive design decisions. Development of different sub-systems was delegated to different team members to ensure overall design progress in a limited project timeline. My primary role was to design attachments between this system and a pair of trousers, without requiring finger dexterity.

  • Initial concepts after first user meeting

  • Empathy studies

  • Concept development after second user meeting

  • Converged concept

  • Early prototyping

  • Final prototype

Sub-system Prototype Testing

When creating initial prototypes for the attachments , it was assumed that the user may be unwilling to modify clothing, hence attachments would be to belt loops or waistbands.

Attachment Prototypes iterating from Clip, Peg, and Hook Designs. Fusion 360 was used to create 3D models for 3D printed prototypes.

Testing videos of sliding attachments with belt loops. A sliding attachment was found to be easiest to control with one hand than a peg or clip.

Outcome

Following a third meeting the user informed us that they “wouldn’t have a problem modifying all trousers”, as it currently took 20 minutes and excessive effort to put them on independently. This changed the design direction to utilise two string arcs sewn into the back of waistbands, enabling the pulleys to be outside of the users’ body with equal tension either side.

The final prototype significantly reduced dressing time from 20 to 7 minutes and was deemed as posing “no problem for pressure sores” by the user. Please see the full design report for further details of the projects’ design process and results.

Empathy studies and user interviews to enable the ability to design for a user with a different perspective and needs of our own. Studies were continued throughout the project to improve data quality, with prototyping and testing found to accelerate design development.

Working in line with COVID-19 restrictions at the time gave an appreciation for in-person collaboration for efficiency in building the prototype. However remote working improved management skills and productivity by splitting the design into sub-functions.

Final Prototype Testing

The prototype is a fabric cover that can be velcro’d over a wheelchair/seat. A motor is housed inside the upmost part of the cover and powers a winching system that lifts trousers as the user shifts their weight whilst seated. 3D printed attachments join the winching system to clothing, by sliding and hooking onto sewn-in loops in the trousers.

Attaching trousers

Shifting weight

Removing attachments