Name: Benz Kew
School: School of Science and Technology, Singapore
Class: S2-02
Product: Telescopic Chair (T-Chair)
Brief Description:
Singapore’s baby-boomers are greying rapidly.
The common ailments for the elderly are joints, knees and back pains. They have problems with climbing a conventional ladder.
As most ladders are unstable, they have caused the elderly to fall and injure themselves.
My T-Chair conceptual design is for ease of access stability, good balancing and elderly-friendly. It provides good supports and balance, thus preventing them from falling. It helps the elderly to retrieve the items from the high storage cabinets, reaching the air-conditioning fan coils and ceiling fans for cleaning purposes, changing fused bulbs etc.
When not in use. the T-Chair (With back support) can also function as a normal comfortable chair to watch TV programmes or reading.
How it works:
To use the T-Chair (It must be placed against the back wall), just pull out the two 1-foot depth telescopic steps.
The elderly then walk up the 2 telescopic steps to the top seat and put the 2 hands on the 2 stable handle bars and stand up.
For reaching high levels, the elderly can place their hands on top of the 2 chair frames for better support, balance and grip.
After finishing their task, they will walk down the telescopic steps safely and simply push back the 2 telescopic steps to flush with the main riser.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION!
(I wish all the elderly good Health and Happiness!)
FRAGILE PROTOTYPE: Please do not use force and handle it with care, Thanks!
1. What are the difficulties that you have encountered during the process?
Some difficulties that I faced was that:
-Some parts of my product cannot be done when using cardboard without the help of technology.
-The size of my product.
-Trouble cutting curves on the cardboard using penknife.
-Very hard to stick and keep the parts firmly onto the product.
-Cardboard is a very fragile and not a waterproof material to build a prototype so we must take care of our product seriously.
2. How do you overcome the difficulties encountered?
I overcome these difficulties by:
-Removing parts that were not really necessary for my product.
-Comparing the size of actual product to the prototype and scaling it down.
-Used scissors to trim the edges after cutting the cardboard using the penknife.
-Applied glue and tape as much as possible to prevent the parts from falling.
-Take cautious care on the prototype.
3. What are the 2 key takeaways for this lesson?
1. I learnt that planning, making and designing for the prototype using card boards wasn't easy.
2. I realised that we must be careful when constructing the product-One mistake and the whole product is wasted unless you can improvise on the product to make it look nicer.
Multi-OpenerCONTENTS:
1. Picture of this product
2. Information about this product
3. Design considerations about this product
4. Difficulties faced by the elderly about this product
5. Improved designed of this product (Photo sketch)
6. Any doubts or queries please post them at the "Comments" corner
Information about this product:
1. Safety-Rubber non-slip mat, to prevent the elderly from falling down. It uses friction between the mat and the surface so it will be sturdy there.
2. Ease of use-Umbrellas, can be used as a walking stick and at the same time if it rains, she/he can use the umbrella to cover her/himself.
3. Comfort-Adjustable beds and lights(Whether to dim the lights down or get it brighter). This is to let the elderly see with proper lighting and good eyesight. The beds are to prevent backache as the elderly back is usually weak or has a slip disc.
4. Aesthetics-Words and the background of things could be just black and white as some people are colour blind and cannot differentiate colours properly.
5. Productivity/Performance-No sharp edges around the table, if the elderly knocks his/her head on it it will cause intensive or internal bleeding in the skull. Making it round and curvy with a huge space to do work is necessary.
Click on the picture to see it clearer. (Or click HERE)
From the table above, we can compare and observe that workplace 2 is much better than workplace 1. Some considerations are the body, whether it is 9o degrees angle of the knees, wrists and back straight when typing and no neck strain. It is to have a better learning environment to work or study.
Ergonomics is the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability. It is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. Ergonomics is employed to fulfill the two goals of health and productivity. It is relevant in the design of such things as safe furniture and easy-to-use interfaces to machines.
Concept of ergonomics being applied here.
As you can see from the picture on your bottom left, there is an emergency helpline that connects to the outside of the lift lobby of a particular level. In case the elderly is troubled such as a fire in the apartment, she/he can pull the line and activate the signal so everybody living on the same level will be alerted and rescue will come on their way efficiently.
The toilet shown on the top left has two handlebars connected to the wall. If the person is physically disabled, he/she might have to push themselves up and stand properly. The floor is rough and it prevents elderly to fall and cause injuries. However, for those who are in the wheelchair, the wheelchair cannot go into the toilet as the passageway leading to the toilet is narrow.
The picture shown on the bottom left is a two hand walking equipment with support that makes the elderly feel sturdy and safe. However, it is heavy when the elderly lifts the stick. It may require some strength that the elderly cannot handle by him/herself.
The picture in the middle is a wheelchair that needs a caretaker to push it (As the back wheel is small). As you can see, there is a footrest built with the wheelchair and two handlebars to let the elderly hold the wheelchair securely. However, the material of the backrest is hard and solid, making the elderly feel uncomfortable.
On the top left, this is a collection of elderly mobility aids. A walking stick, two hand support equipment, a wheelchair and a wheelchair that support the elderly using wheels and not lifting the whole thing up. I think this mobility aids are essential for those who are physically disabled or handicapped.
This a typical kind of curb in public homes that the elderly may trip and fall if they are not careful. The curb's purpose is to prevent water from the bathroom (The darker side) from splashing or going into the kitchen (The brighter side).
As you can see, the entrance threshold has two curbs, one big and the other small. This makes the wheelchair bound elderly difficult to go out. Also, the door passageway is too small, making it just nice for the wheelchair to fit through. This makes the elderly hard to navigate his/her way around the opening. Compared to the elder friendly homes (Shown above), there is no entrance threshold, the floor is TOTALLY flat, allowing the elderly to navigate easily and safely.
This picture shows a road side pavement. The curbs and drains cannot be seen clearly because of the dull, grey look on them. The curb cannot be seen clearly as an elderly and they may slip and fall over onto the road, and accidents will happen. The drains are not covered, so they may accidentally step into them and fall, causing major injuries to the elderly.
For an elderly, one of the most common difficulties they face is walking. I have noticed that there are many curbs at home or in the public. If they are visually impaired or not careful enough, they may trip and injure themselves. Even with the aid of the wheelchairs, they need to push it up and down again which makes it very inconvenient and dangerous, although some curbs are used for a purpose, such as the curbs on the roads and in the bathroom-To prevent water from splashing out into other rooms. Particularly, the curbs are square-shaped, making it very unsuitable for elderly to safely walk. This problem makes the elderly feel uneasy and uncomfortable everywhere, feeling he or she may trip on something if he or she is alone.
Another problem is the wheelchair. The wheelchair MUST have a caretaker to help the elderly. The elderly are not able to push using their hands as their strength are weak, that cannot overcome their own weight. If the elderly overexert himself/herself, that person may faint due to overexertion. A electric wheelchair is recommended if the elderly wants to go alone.
The four key recommendations of the report are:
1. Housing for seniors
2. Accessibility for seniors
3. Caring for seniors
4. Opportunities for seniors
These four recommendations make Singapore a elder-friendly place as Singapore's population is ageing. These recommendations will make a huge difference to the elderly lives. They will sense that they are part of the community, lead dynamic lives, even though they are old and cannot do much to out society. The elderly need care and attention to them, so they feel safe, comfortable and happy to be living in Singapore. Hence, the elderly will have a positive attitude to the surroundings, lifestyles and the community. The facilities are designed for the elderly to prevent accidents such as tripping and falling on something, which can cause great trouble and money. These recommendations also provide many services for the elderly, ensuring that the seniors' lifestyles are maintained.
State ONE way on how to make the public housing more user friendly referring to the CAI report:
They will allow the elderly to have accessible lifts, walkways and transport pick-up points which are user-friendly.
State TWO ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable:
They are the evolving education system, the forerunners of industrialization, combatants of structural unemployment and the main contributors of Singapore’s economic expansion and progression. The seniors thus will be healthier, better educated and richer that make the quality of elderly care affordable.
After reading the CAI report, what do you are the THREE things that you can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges:
I can visit the old folks' home to care and help them to overcome their needs twice a month, giving them food. I also can contribute by donating money to the needy, whether it is the old or the disabled, helping them to have a better future ahead. We could launch a SST campaign to help the needy, by donating as much money we can to help them.
1. What are the 3 key takeaways from today’s visit?
Ans: I have learnt about the NEWater treatment process well and understood what the guide was talking about.
Ans: The process called Reverse Osmosis is the most important process and that made Singapore water exceeded the expectation by the World Health Organization and countries are seeking for us how to get clean water supply for all of it population.
Ans: I have learnt much about in-potable water and NEWater actually indirectly helps us by using the industrial taps and NEWater provides the industries/factories deionized water without minerals that is essential for some industries or factories. Now they have completed Phase 2 in 2008 because the industries/factories are seeking out more water supply demand.
2. Name 2 concepts that you have learnt today during the visit.
Ans: NEWater is getting more "Hi-Tech" because the evolved from Ultra filtration to Micro filtration, and the thin membranes in the strains are much smaller which is about 0.001 micron so that only certain substances including water molecules can pass through them. I now know that water must be pushed out every eight hours to prevent dirt, dust, undesired particles getting stuck in the holes of the membranes.
Ans: The "tools" for these processes to work are imported from Japan or United States of America. I suppose that they have the same kind of equipments we have here to get clean water but in a different form of process.
3. What is the 1 interesting thing that you have learnt today?
Ans: The ultra-violet rays are cheap to kill germs or bacteria and ensure all the viruses or bacteria are killed at the NEWater Plant but it leaves the dead viruses or bacteria there therefore unsafe to drink.
4. What are the things that you can do to help with water conservation in Singapore?
Ans: I can help by reusing the rice water to give nutrients to the plants, not needing the tap water for them. I can take a shower and not a long bath. I must remind people not to leave the tap running whenever I see them doing the action and not to shower too much just because of a dry spell in Singapore.
Abilash had nothing to do at all and was sitting on a chair staring at his beautiful face......
He later he took a formal picture from his face to see how he looked like now and the future.
Sorry the video is tilted to the right.......
He found his childhood photo and compared to his photo now and he found out that he was more matured now! He danced with joy!
Isometric projection:
-It is the direction of viewing is such that the three axes of space appear equally foreshortened, of which the displayed angles among them and also the scale of foreshortening are universally known. However in creating a final, isometric instrument drawing, in most cases a full-size scale, i.e., without using a foreshortening factor, is employed to good effect because the resultant distortion is difficult to perceive.
Oblique projection:
-It is the parallel projection rays are not perpendicular to the viewing plane as with orthographic projection, but strike the projection plane at an angle other than ninety degrees.
Orthographic Projection:
-is derived from the principles of descriptive geometry and is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object. It is a parallel projection (the lines of projection are parallel both in reality and in the projection plane). It is the projection type of choice for working drawings.
Source: Adapted from: Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_projection
Media==> It is to broaden the special effects by adding audio, video files, lighting and 3D-effects using the
computer.
Technology==> It is the most essential thing that help us a lot to add to the special effects and bond the
other three words together as they are inter-connected with each other to make
everything a great success.
2. What are the attitude that an ADMT student should have?
Ans: An ADMT student should have a passion about ADMT and participate in group work
actively in class.
3. What are you aspiration as an ADMT student?
Ans:My aspiration is to help others create something that is helpful for the elderly using ADMT
and make life easier for everybody.
