Diego Project new jump rope

During our final presentation of the invention, we received number of constructive comments from the teachers, which we have included here as suggestions for improvement:

1) Adhesion of the rope in the bracelet:

The teachers suggested that we could have used a material with better adhesion to hold the rope more securely inside the bracelet. This would increase the safety and reliability of our device.

2) Use of the wrist:

Another point raised concerned the difficulty users have in turning their wrist to catch and use the cord correctly. The teachers pointed out that this is not necessarily a design problem, but rather a learning curve for the user: they have to get used to using their wrist appropriately in order to handle the system effectively.

3) Changes in wrist size:

Finally, an important point concerns the growth of the user. If a person grows, the size of their wrist will change. We would then either have to make a new wristband, or rethink our prototype by using a more elastic material, capable of adapting to morphological changes.

These comments will enable us to improve our invention, taking into account the practical, ergonomic and evolutionary aspects of the product.

During this last session, we had Diego test our invention. The bracelet fitted perfectly on his wrist, but unfortunately we couldn't use it with the skipping rope because we didn't have it.

Session 1 and 2:
Adapted objects
We approached the theme of disability through an activity focusing on the differences between objects designed for people with disabilities and those designed for able-bodied people. The discussion focused particularly on visual impairments.
We discovered that there are several forms of blindness:
- Partial blindness, which includes, for example, the wearing of glasses or the presence of areas of impaired vision.
- Total blindness, in which the person is completely deprived of sight.
Session 2: We were lucky enough to meet Yousra, a young woman in a wheelchair. She can no longer use her legs and has reduced mobility in her wrists and arms, which makes certain everyday actions very complicated, such as cutting food or lifting heavy objects.
For around thirty minutes, Yousra shared her story with us, explaining the origins of her disability and how she lives with it. Her testimony gave us a better understanding of the concrete difficulties she encounters every day.
After her talk, she visited each group to give her opinion on the objects designed by the students. She highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each creation, helping us to spot errors and clumsiness through her eyes.

For example, one group had designed an apple slicer, but Yousra found it unsuitable: it didn't fit the shape of her hand and was difficult to use. Another group had imagined a sports glove, but several shortcomings were noted, making it impractical for a person with constraints. Session 3: Accessible objects We also met Diego, a young boy with a congenital genetic disorder that has left one of his hands without a thumb. He was accompanied by his mother, who gave us more information about his situation. Because of the reduced mobility of his hand, Diego faces a number of difficulties on a daily basis. Some of the gestures he struggles with include:

 - Cutting meat or using a knife and fork simultaneously. 

- Grasping objects such as a skipping rope, which usually requires a firm grip with both hands. 

- Tying shoelaces, especially the knot, a task he can't do alone. 

- Riding a bike, as he struggles to maintain his balance and can't hold the handlebars properly.

After Diego tried out our first prototype, he gave us some important feedback. He found that the wristband was too big for his hand, which made it impractical to use. In addition, the slot for inserting the skipping rope was too wide: the rope didn't fit properly and slipped easily.

Taking these comments into account, we designed a new prototype, more closely adapted to the size of his hand. We reduced the width of the strap and the width of the rope pocket. The new model, made from a stronger black fabric, offers better support and a more precise fit. So this prototype is more functional and closer to what Diego wanted.

During this session, we made the first real prototype of our bracelet for Diego. To design it, we reused a jumper sleeve, which gave us a soft, comfortable and stretchy material, while keeping a shape that suited the hand. We cut the sleeve to create an opening for the thumb, allowing the bracelet to fit securely on Diego's hand.

The system allows the rope to be attached directly to the surface of the rope, without the need to hold a handle, which is perfectly suited to Diego's body shape. We used a fabric with Velcro fasteners to ensure that the rope stayed in place and to enable quick and easy adjustment.

This prototype has enabled us to validate the feasibility of our idea, and marks a concrete step forward in our project. All that remains now is to test the device with Diego to get his impressions and, if necessary, make a few improvements.

Today we've finished designing the bracelet to which the skipping rope without the handle will be directly attached. We've tried to make it hypoallergenic, comfortable and sweat proof. It will leave a place for the thumb to slip through and will have a fastening on the palm of the hand. We cut the fabric to make a pattern and created holes in the thumb. We then added an open pocket on either side of the palm for the skipping rope handle. So we've sewn a fabric pocket that's elastic enough to allow different types of handles to slip over it.

On session 4 we started to learn how to use Autodesk fusion, a website and application wich is made to help us on our 3d conception of our project.

Today we worked on a prototype for Diego, who explained to us that he couldn't jump rope because of his hand. Because of his illness, he can't hold the handle of the skipping rope because his fingers aren't big enough and the handle keeps slipping.

To solve this problem, we wanted to create a kind of handle adapted to his hand, and on top of this handle we could attach the skipping rope handle.

My team and I based our basic idea on a drawstring, to hold the handle and shaft of the rope. Thanks to this, the handle of the skipping rope won't be able to move and this will give Diego the impression that he's holding the rope.

During this session we met Diego, he is an a 11 year child with agenesis in his left hand ( Definition of Agenesis : In medicine, agenesis refers to the failure of an organ to develop during embryonic growth and development due to the absence of primordial tissue. ) and his mother. They talked to us about the problems that Diego can encouter in order to use things, like his drone or the jumping-ropes during is basketball trainings. We tried to work on a device to let him use the drone controller the best way possible, inspired by the controllers that we can find in the FABlab.

We so that some others groups wanted to work on the controller so we managed to work on the jumping rope. We found that the main problem is that Diego doesn’t have the capacity to handle the jump rope cause it slips so we thought about a type of gauntlet to attach the rope.