How can we help parents in wheelchairs to bring their kids in a baby stroller outside safely and independently?
Project Timeline
May - Aug 2018
Team
Echo Zhan Product Design
Edwin Tanu Product Design
Patricia Moore dresses as an elderly woman, in order to find out the everyday challenges that elderly people faced and how they were treated.
“Universal design is driven by empathy, an understanding that one size doesn't fit all.”
—Patricia Moore
Story of Karla
“I had to carry the baby stroller with one hand and move the wheels with the other.”
Karla got injured in a car accident at the age of 11. She is now a mother of two lovely children. She told us about the struggling story of raising two kids in a wheelchair. Small things became difficult. Bringing her children to a park was challenging for her because of the inconvenience of maneuvering a baby stroller. Her story inspired us to design a baby stroller that can make it easier for parents like Karla to have bonding time with their kids outdoor.
Market Research
There are hundreds of baby stroller on the market desiged for different needs. However, none of them can help Karla to have a convenient and safe experience spending time with her kids outdoor.
Our Solution
linc is an adaptive baby stroller that enables safe and convenient transport of infants for parents who use wheelchairs.
linc connects baby stroller to wheelchair, it also strengthen the bond between parents and their children.
Product Features
Easy to attach/detach Two hooks are installed onto the foot rest. Attaching or detaching the baby stroller only requires the user to lift the stroller and lock the rod between two wheels onto and off the hook. The rod is fixed onto the hook but still able to rotate around the axis, which allows the stroller to over come bumps on the road easily.
Effortless to fold and unfold After releasing the hinge, the roller on the rail would roll down the rail with the help of gravity. To unfold the stroller, it only requires the user take care of the front side. When the rollers are up, the stroller is unfolded.
Seat Adjustable The angle of the seat can be adjust after pressing the release button on the side. This is useful when user wants to stay at one spot and park the baby stroller on the side.
Visibility for safety concerns We are proposing to use see-through fabric as the baby seat material in order to ensure the safety of both the parent and their kid when moving around in public.
Structure Details
Primary Research
Begin with talking to potential users As a class, we went to a Rehabilitation Center and talked to people.We met Karla and she told us her story as a mom on wheelchair. Edwin and I decided to team up and design something for Karla.
Try it ourselves to understand their pain points We tried using wheelchairs to experience the inconvenience in daily life.
Learn from experts We talked to and learnt from occupational therapists, physical therapists. They explained to us the current states of what equipments are being used, what are the major difficulties patients have to deal with daily.
Design Development
We started our design with sketches, tape drawings and small mock-ups.
Mock-up 01 We made a full-size mock-up to see possible problems. - Handle on the side for lifting when encounter bumps on the road. - Two attachment: one on the footrest, one on the side.
Problems - Attachment on the footrest works. - Attachment on the side is redundance. - Hard to control when trying to make a turn. - Hard to pass over bumps on the road.
We continued looking for problems and opportunities that are revealed in the previous prototype testing.
Mock-up 02 - Updated method of attachment on the foot rest. - Use swivel wheels for the front wheels. - Simplify structure. - Adjust the angle of the seat. - Put storage pace right in front of the parent.
Problems - Foldability - Angle of the seat can be adjustable - Storage place refinement
Our third round of ideation focused on the exploration of foldability.
Mock-up 03 - Updated method of attachment on the foot rest. - Collapsible, fit in the trunk of a car.
Problems We brought this mock up to Karla. She likes our design and said her favorite part is that when the babystroller is detached, the height of the baby seat allows her still getting close to her kid.
Testing Video of our third prototype
Fabrication Process
special thanks to: Karla Sanchez, Andy Lin, Jeff Higashi
