This week we met with other students who are also going to be participating in the Make-A-Thon. We also got to hear people in the community as well as more potential mentors speak to us. While we were interviewing our users with mentioning or idea for the glove, we found a new challenge of being able to use a knife to cut and a fork at the same time. It requires a lot of force on food like tough meat and the plate tends to slip away. This was interesting for us to learn because we were just focused on a glove that helps with grabbing things, but this was a new opportunity space that we haven’t thought about.
My friend Brandon who works in Beckwith recommended a student to talk to about grabbing things, so we might still interview him this week if we believe that is the direction we want to go in. There seem to be many opportunities now and it is hard to decide on the one we want to pursue.
Another opportunity that came with talking to one of the users John, was that he cannot wear a watch, but would love to. John has Charcot Marie Tooth. This affects both motor and sensory nerves. He has trouble with buttons and zippers, and would appreciate something that would help him deal with them as well as stylish. This discovery about the watch idea came from the student pictured above asking him about it. He had the opportunity to try a strap for a watch that was magnetic, but that interfered with his wheels when he was pushing them forward. I think this is an area that I want to pursue more, because it not only excited John but it also seems feasible.
I got the number of the guy pictured above so we could work with him during the Make-A-Thon, but unfortunately I don’t remember his name. I am hoping to figure that out soon in order to see if he has thought about his watch idea more.
Next steps include interviewing the student Brandon suggested to see if we want to finalize pursuing the glove idea and figuring out who the student pictured above is to contact him before the Make-A-Thon.
Hi Saloni, I really like your take from the pre-night session. Firstly, your take on the force of using utensils is definitely a great area that we need to emphasize more in the future. Also, I appreciate that you reach out to people to get more interviews. I also agree that the watch has potentials because it can solve many people’s problem. My only concern would be how to integrate that with our current project.