Project: Creating First Prototype

The first step was brainstorming ideas for the issues faced by athletes in CRI. The next step was choosing an idea and carrying it out. Stephanie and I were assigned with oar carrying and right away We decided to follow through with our idea of the of the arms that swing and hold the oars in place. It seemed like the most functional, accessible, and efficient way for the wheelchair riders to carry the oars from storage to the docks and vice versa. We made our vision come to life with the first flap prototype using cardboard boxes and cardboard rolls.

However, after making our product, we slowly recognized all the problems associated with it. First, our prototype was made of cardboard, so it was easy to rotate flaps from front to back. But what could we use in real life that would be sturdy enough to hold on to the wheelchair and oar but flexible enough to move around? Second, we had to rethink and elongate measurements to make the flap reach far enough to go behind the chair. But, if it is too long, it becomes to hard for the rider to easily take the oar and attach in the front because they would need to extend themselves more and we are not sure how much their body would allow them to do that. The final problem is that creating and elongating these flaps would take away from the center of mass- the person- which means there would be an imbalance of weight around the wheelchair. This could lead to a lot of complications and falling when going up and down ramps or unsteady surfaces. The idea created more problems than it solved, so we would either have to come up with a new product for oar carrying or drastically improve this one.