Joyeeta Rahman's Design Portfolio 

The main purpose of project four is to propose and develop a solution that addresses the need of a member of the McMaster community. The client that we have chosen to work with is Ryan who is currently a fourth-year political science student at McMaster University. Ryan has suffered from a stroke in the past which has restricted his mobility especially in both upper and lower limbs making him a quadriplegic. As a result, it becomes both challenging and inconvenient for Ryan to travel within campus since he is dependent on someone to help him carry simple objects like an umbrella, a cup or even his phone. Therefore, our team has designed a device known as One Man Arm(y) which is essentially a mechanical arm that would give Ryan a sense of independence.

Taking Ryan’s limited range of motion into account, we have decided to develop a mechanical arm that has the ability to move linearly in both forward and backward direction. One Man Arm(y) is capable of carrying and rotating various objects at different attachments. This would allow the client to move, carry, and orient the objects autonomously according to his convenience by just pressing some form of trigger mechanism. The arm is designed to be portable and detachable at the same time making it easy to set up. The main focus of the device is to provide Ryan with the independence he wants, convenience, and improving the quality of his day-to-day life.