This project was done in conjunction with Bayer Material Science in order to develop new product opportunities for an adhesive technology called Gecko Tape. Gecko tape uses intermolecular forces to stick to other objects. This project was completed in conjunction with Amanda Henderson and Alex Woolfson. Together we focused on aging well in the home.

We conducted interviews with doctors and employees from hospitals and assisted living facilities in Pittsburgh to determine why elderly people were forced to leave their homes. We found the most common reason was falling. In trying to isolate a common cause, we produced this diagram. From this we learned that it is almost impossible to tackle the issue of falling as a whole, so rather we decided to focus on eliminating behavior that could put people at a higher risk.

We created a fictional company in order to promote greater unity within our products. Within this brand, we each created several products.

The first product STAG created was a trashcan. When taking out the trash in a conventional fashion there are many different types of strain the body will endure. This trashcan is designed to limit this burden.

When full, the trashcan will raise itself up onto its ball, which acts as a wheel to assist locomotion. Once the user comes to take out the trash, the trashcan will “walk” along with them to their destination.

Once the outdoor trash receptacle has been reached, the user presses the foot pedal and the trash bags will raise towards them. This eliminates the need for the user to bend down and lift up the bags. Gecko tape is molded into the handles so all the user has to do to secure the bag is press the handles together.

While people of all ages have a tendency to get in and out of chairs incorrectly, for the elderly this is more likely to lead to injury. This seating device is designed to gently guide the user into position to stand up correctly.

The proper position for standing up from a chair is to slide the body forward before standing. This chair encourages the user to slide forward. When in the fully seated position the arms, which are cantelevered pieces of spring steel, flex when pressure is applied. This does not occur if pressure is applied when in the appropriate position for standing.

Initial concept sketches.