Racq Pacq Plan of Attaq
By: Lauren Carrannanto, Joanne Duy, Leila Idrissi, Yoshiki Kawase, Samhita Kotapati, Alex Netzley, Tyler Washington, Nicholas Yang
Problem
Over the past few months, we have been working on an amazing project that will revolutionize accessibility in adaptive tennis. In the world of adaptive tennis, there are a number of players with limited grip strength, which makes it increasingly difficult for them to hold the tennis racket for long periods of time (e.g. the length of a tennis match). Currently, to combat this issue, adaptive tennis players with limited grip strength are using Pre-wrap, athletic tape, and duct tape to have the ability to grip the tennis racket during a match (see image below).
As someone with limited hand grip strength, our community partner requires a way to secure the tennis racket to his hand. He needs to accurately and precisely manipulate the grip without needing to hold the racket using an internal grip. The device should allow for the racket to be completely in his palm and enable him to push the rim and the wheel of his wheelchair to move around while holding the racket.
Steps We’ve Taken to Address the Problem
Throughout the past month, we have done market research, brainstorming and ideation, attended one of our community partner’s practices, and received feedback. This week, we will begin prototyping. Although working remotely undoubtedly has its challenges, our team has adjusted by staying very organized and communicating often. We are on the road to greatness!
Current Idea
Our plan is to use a dri fit multipurpose glove with grippy material on the palm the base of our design to make prep time almost nothing. On the bottom side of the hand, we will heat-form some plastic plates, attach foam to them, and attach them to the glove. This will provide a rigid but comfortable surface with a high coefficient of friction to enable the player to move the wheelchair comfortably and efficiently. To secure the hand to the racket, we are still choosing between using velcro and reusable zip ties (called ratchet straps, shown in below images). To keep the hand from sliding up and down during play, we will attach cable cuffs (pictured below) to be locked in above and below the hand. We are also in the process of developing a one-size-fits-all stopper to increase the surface area of the butt of the tennis racket so players have a larger surface area to hit the wheelchair with when it comes to stopping abruptly.
What We’ve Learned from Design Review 1
The biggest feedback we got back from DR1 was to keep going! Our community partner loved the direction we were heading in and just told us to keep working on it. In addition, our community partner expressed his concern about the racket sliding up and down in his hand during play, which led to the implementation of cable clips in our design. He also mentioned that he didn’t feel the need for every finger to be adjustable in positioning, just a few key ones. So, moving forward, we will still have individual finger slots, but we will be sewing some of the fingers together and attaching the velcro or reusable zip ties to a group of fingers instead of just one.
Goals for DR2
Our biggest goal is to have a working prototype for each of the components to show at the next design review. Since we are working in different locations due to COVID, we will have one prototype for the cable cuff and stopper, one prototype for the mechanism used to attach the hand to the racket, one prototype for adjustments/advancements that can be made to the glove, and another prototype demonstrating ways the elements can be attached to the glove.
