2023-24 Design Projects

The 2023 - 2024 design team projects are currently underway and will be sharing updates as they progress throughout the year! Here are the prompts that the teams are working to design solutions for:

Wheelchair Umbrella

  • For individuals who use powered wheelchairs, the rain can cause a variety of problems.​

  • Standard umbrellas can be difficult to open / close and there are rarely convenient places to attach them to chairs.​

  • Umbrellas are also often too small to protect every part of the user and the electrical components of the powered chair.​

  • Husky ADAPT’s goal is to create a rain protection device that can be fully opened and retracted at the push of a button.​

Mouth Stylus Holder

  • Mouth Stylus: an assistive device that allows individuals with quadriplegia or tetraplegia to independently interact with tablets or other touchscreen devices​

  • The challenge is to create a self-stabilizing mouth stylus holder​

  • Must be universal; that is, it should be able to attach to a bedside table, bed, or power wheelchair​

  • Allows for independent access for individuals who utilize these styluses​

Desktop "Little Room"​

  • Partnership with a Pediatric Clinical Specialist​

  • Building a 3-sided structure for children with significant (visual) impairments that can be used as an activity space to improve movement and play​

  • The task is to create this physical space and design an experience for children who will be interacting with this "little room" ​

  • Examples of what can be put inside the "Little Room": switches, sensors, hanging objects, amplification of vocalizations, sensory play... lots of options for creative design within a well-defined task!

Sensory Enhanced Embroidered Books​

  • Find a way to create embroidered children's books​

  • These books should engage the different senses by incorporating audio and tactile feedback​

  • Will allow children with visual impairments to participate in important developmental processes​

  • One priority: create a reusable spine to reduce cost and need for electronics

Volume Controlled Sipping Cup​

  • Grading is a term used to describe the ability to measure the flow of liquid into one’s mouth while drinking.​

  • We have had a family in our community present us with a design challenge for their daughter who has a significant issue grading properly.​

  • We want to design a cup that controls the flow of water, only letting a certain amount out with each tip.​ It is important that this solution is not a sippy cup or reminiscent of one.​

Accessible Library Technology System​

  • Libraries follow ADA and have the bare minimum accessible tech accommodations ​

  • The project focuses on individual snap-on accessories for adaptive hardware​

  • System-based project with scope for identifying individual accessories to make tech in libraries more accessible ​

Design Archive

Interested in learning more about our previous design projects? Check out our archive here.