For this project, we brainstormed and produced low fidelity prototypes for swim/floatation devices that would give Liam, a young man with Ataxia, the chance to safely swim in his home’s backyard pool with more freedom and less required supervision.

I started out listing both the constraints and objectives:

• Should have neck/head support for when Liam fatigues
• Swim support that keeps the majority of his body underwater but keeps his head above water
• Easy to help Liam into and out of it (and easy to get into the pool)
• Easy to maneuver
• Keeps Liam in an upright or semi-reclined position
• Prevents Liam from falling forward/sideways/backward
• Durable and easy to store

I came up with several ideas and sketch them out as you can see below:

 

 

As you can see from the sketches, I wanted something that wouldn’t restrict Liam too much, that was comfortable, that would be easy to use, and that would still kept him safe and prevented injury from hitting the pool walls. I was partial to the designs that used a harness and a neck support that were separate from the main structure because I felt that would offer Liam comfort and still have a rigid protective structure.

In order to choose which sketches to prototype, I eliminated any designs that seemed like they would completely change the set up of the pool (the zip line, the crane, the half pool hammock, the bungee) because I felt they were too restrictive, too costly, and were difficult to store. Next I eliminated anything that seemed too unsupportive of his neck or trunk. And lastly I removed anything that just seemed impractical and difficult to use or get into and that left me with my favorite 5 designs:

1. The ramp entry chair

This chair is designed for easy entry into the pool and ease of helping Liam into the chair. It also provides lots of back and neck support.

Here’s a close up of the sketch:

And here’s the low fidelity prototype:

 

The floatation stabilization bar is shown with foam balls out to either side and all the elements of the chair that would be made out of floaties are made out of purple pipe cleaners.

This design is especially convenient because someone could help Liam into it on dry land and then take him and the chair into the pool all at once, but it does greatly restrict his movement.

2. The underwater hammock

This design is meant to provide Liam with a greater range of motion while also giving him good support.

Here’s a close up of the hammock sketch:

Here’s a close up of the harness sketch:

Here’s the low fidelity prototype:

The white felt off to each side represents floatation devices and the green string represents the clip in tethers that would go from the hammock to the harness. For the harness and neck support I went with very general representations for the prototype because I felt making them too specific might confuse the overall idea. While I do like this idea, the problem is that it might keep Liam too far reclined. His ideal position was vertical or semi reclined, and while the neck floatation device would keep his head above the the surface and his feet could rest below the surface, it might still be a little too dangerous and it might not submerge his body enough.

3. The vertical “hammock”

This idea is very similar to the hammock idea, however it would keep Liam vertical and it might provide him better protection against collisions with the pool walls.

Here’s a close up of the sketch:

Here’s the low fidelity prototype:

The orange felt represents the floaties, the green string represents the clip in tethers, the blue felt represents the harness is represented by the blue felt, and the hinged entry is shown by the safety pin. I like that this design keeps him vertical and protected from collisions, but is does restrict his movement to a pretty small square.

4. The pool noodle chair

This design was made with easy entry in mind. Basically it starts off flat in the water with a mesh chair backing and someone can help Liam into the neck support and leg separators and then it has 2 tethers on either side that can be clipped together which will make it a half cylinder shape.

The Sketch:

The prototype:

The green strings are the tethers and the clips, the red pipe cleaners are the flexible pool noodles, and the pink play dough pieces are the neck stabilizers. Those should ideally be easily clipped in and out to make helping Liam into the chair even easier.

5. The upright, open square chair

For my last design choice I went with the open square chair because it provides a lot of stability and support but seems less restrictive because it has an open side. Also the open side would make it easier to help Liam into.

Sketch close up:

Prototype:

 

The blue play dough is the chair (including the leg separator), the pink play dough is the safety buckle, and the black pipe cleaners on the end of the straws close to the open square are the hand rests. This design would feel more open while still providing good stabilization and support and good protection from wall collisions.