Rose's Cane: Extra set of hands

myminifactory

The Project: Designing an Innovative Cane That Enhances Mobility and Convenience for People with Disabilities. Our primary objective is to create a cane that not only provides stability but also serves as an effective grabber, allowing users to pick up objects without having to bend down or risk losing their balance. The Challenge: Our end-user, Rose, suffers from Parkinson's disease, which often causes her to lose her balance, especially when bending down to retrieve something. She currently relies on a separate grabber, but it has limitations - it struggles with flat pieces of paper and small objects like pills, and she sometimes drops the grabber itself. The Solution: We propose an integrated design that combines the functionality of a cane with a built-in grabber. This innovative device enables users to simultaneously utilize its supporting function and grabber feature. To operate the grabber, the user positions the cane near the dropped object, aims it using a laser light, and then extends the arm downward to grasp the object with a robotic hand. Once the object is secured, the arm retracts, allowing the user to safely retrieve their dropped item.