For this assignment we were tasked in creating something that would allow a young man ataxia to safely swim in a pool.

My first idea was a frame that would float and allow him to hang from in it the water safely. The above picture is my idea for the framework. It is designed to surround him safely and keep him from bumping into things. Additionally the front is left open for easy access.

This is a sketch of some of the additional features I would add to the frame. The top sketch is of a belt that would fasten around his torso, from which he could hang. It would tie to the top four corners of the frame. The next sketch is a concept I am hoping would keep the frame floating. I would attach pool noodles to the parts of the frame that protrude from the top. The last two sketches are two concepts I thought of to weigh the bottom of the frame down in the water in order to ensure that it remains upright.

This is my low fidelity prototype for the device. The green pipe cleaners are the frame, the red are the belt to strap him in, and the blue felt represents the pool noodles to keep the device floating.

My next idea was a sort of wetsuit into which I could install some air pockets or other buoyant substances to keep him upright in the water. In the above sketches I initially drew the wetsuit, and then pulled out certain parts of it to give them more detail. On the top right I zoom in on the shoulders in which I would install an air pocket to keep him upright. On the middle right I zoom in on his torso, on which I would install some air pockets as a ring around his trunk, underneath his arms, to keep him floating in the water. Lastly I zoom in on the neck region in the bottom left. I wanted to ensure that he had head support so that his head didn’t loll into the water, and so I imagined a sort of pillow like the ones that people wear on airplanes to support their heads while sleeping.

This is my low fidelity prototype for this design. The yellow play-dough represents the swim suit, as well as the head support. The green pipe cleaners represent the air pockets to keep him afloat and upright.

This was my next idea. My thoughts were to try to refine the wetsuit idea into a less cumbersome version. It is essentially a life jacket with a buoyant cushion on the back to support his head. I didn’t end up prototyping this idea because I didn’t feel as though this would be a safe enough design for the client.

My next idea was a pool tube. My thoughts were to ensure that the tube was tight enough that his shoulders couldn’t fit through, and so he wouldn’t be able to accidentally slip through. Additionally, the tightness would provide support for his head to keep it from falling into the water. I also would make it thinner than the average pool tube to allow for him to reach his hands and lower arms into the water. To make up for this loss of buoyancy, I put drew in two tubes.

This was my low fidelity prototype for this design. The pink pipe cleaners represent the client and the yellow ones are the pool tubes.

My next idea was a sort of floating chair. The top sketches are of the frame of the chair. It is essentially the same as the frame for my original design, however I have shortened the length of the vertical members. I also added a seat and a backrest made out of some sort of waterproof mesh. I also added a headrest to keep his head from falling back, and a couple of restraints, similar to a double car seat belt, that would keep him in place and not allow him to slip out of the chair. This design would also have the pool noodle idea from my initial design.

This is my low fidelity prototype of this design. The red pipe cleaners are the frame and the headrest. The red mesh is the seat and backrest, and the black pipe cleaners are the restraints.

This was my final idea. I initially thought about water wings that you give to young kids to help them stay afloat. On these, I added a strap to keep the wings together and not allow them to slip off of his arms. I also would give him a headrest similar to the one used in the wetsuit design to keep his head upright. The idea behind this design was to be minimalistic and keep from hindering him.

In this prototype, the blue construction paper and the foam ball represent the client and the green pipe cleaners are the head support and water wings.