Fun Benchmark

By visiting Lukas at home we saw the old 'Loopschip' in action.

The assignment is divided into 2 main aspects : the fun and the therapeutic aspect. At home the fun aspect is very important, but in 'de Zonnebloem' it's the the therapeutic aspect that is the most important. It's up to us to find the right balance.

The 'loopschip' is a DIY hack of an existing baby 'toy'. The Evenflo 'Exersaucer'.



The things Lukas likes the most about it are: the spring system, the rotation, the sounds the toys make.

inspiration, materials and shapes

The talk with Lucas' Parents , left us with some images that will guide us through the rest of the project

Meeting with Lucas' parents: iteration 02

We met Lucas' parents, and it was a pleasant, good experience. We learned a lot about the use of the loopschip, and the parents wishes and concerns. Here are som pics and a conclusion-table.

	exp	unexp
Pos	*Should be adaptable when Lucas grows *Should fit easily in a trunk * Because Lucas has to like it, looks are important... *Lucas likes toys that make noises, music,... *He is in his loopschip for 1 – 2 h a day. The thing should be engaging for him for at least this time a day!	* loopschip should be a play-thing *looks don't really matter for the parents, as long as Lucas likes it. Metal tubes, connections, skai,... are not the real problem! *Lucas likes Yelow toys (also, rounded soft stuff,...) *In his loopschip Lucas can turn around and jump (spring-element) → interesting feature! *It does not have to look like anything (horse,...) because Lucas will probably not recognize it anyway.
neg	Everything was very positive really!

First try-outs: iteration 01

To kick-off the project, we made some quick and dirty prototypes out of scrap-materials. The goal was to test some hypotheses and to check the information we got out of the 1st meeting at the zonnebloem.
Main conclusion: this will not be as simple as we hoped for... Lots of work to be done!

Prototype 1: round table  

	expected	unexpected
Pos	*Height of the table is OK	*Easy to put him in, because ther is no need to take him up. There is nothing tn the way at the back side.
Neg	*Support is not good enough, more side-support needed, more fixed support needed, straps are not good! *Height of the seat is'n adjustable	*Width at base isn't enough → no room for his feet! Seat is to wide, (maximum 5cm)

Prototype 2: square table 

	expected	unexpected
Pos		* much room for the legs
Neg	*Support is not good enough, more side-support needed, more fixed support needed, straps are not good!	*Table to low, should be almost under his arm-pits *Difficult to put him in, because of the metal tube, between the back-legs of the device

Adaptation strategy

After our meeting with the people at "zonnebloem", we decided to put our focus on the Identity, Pleasure and convenience-factors. The economic factor wil be important for our prototypes themselves, but not for the project itself. Performance is not a primary goal, because, in a therapeutic sense, we will probably not be beter than the competition, or the benchmarks.
So, in this project we're focussing on Identity, Pleasure and convenience-factors. The aid has to be esthetical, and should not look to much like the usual therapeutic stuff. It should be nice, good looking, comfortable and easy to use. Lukas has to feel good, when he's walking in it, and his parents to. It should be thrustfull and playfull at the same time.

Onze vriend Lukas

A little background on Lukas.
Lukas is a boy with a complex disability. He has a mental, as well as a physical disorder. Usually during daily life, he sits in his wheelchair. Sometimes he can stand in a "standing aid". and sometimes he can stand in his "loopschip".
He can stand on his own legs for a very short time, but then he needs support at both sides as well as at his back and chest.
a little film to explain:

Hacking Products

We went to the container park and got some material to work with. These all have good rigid structures which we can cut up and rearrange to make prototypes.

Meeting Lukas

Who is Lukas?

Lukas is a 10 year old boy with a multiple restriction, problems with sight (origin unknown) and suspected of having a abnormal metabolism. He has a very weak immune system (gets sick very easily) and gets food through a tube. At this moment it’s discussed whether he should undergo an operation or not. This due to his scoliosis and kyfosis which have gotten worse, and his dislocated hip.

What's the problem?

He really loves playing with his toys (and throwing them away) and when he's at home he does that in his 'loopschip'. This is a self-made chair/support so he can stand up and play. Unfortunately he has grown out of it completely (despite some adjustments the parents made), and a better solution has to be found.

What's that solution?

The solution is something that fulfils of firstly Lukas, but also his parents. This means it has to be therapeuticly correct and really fun to stand in it, BUT the parents need to be comfortable and at ease with placing him in there.

Structural inspiration

We looked up some inspirational images towards making supporting structures.
They are seperated in 3 categories: smaller scale, same scale and bigger scale.