Table of content

Introduction

Tim and Kim, an amazing couple, have been chosen as clients for this year's IMPACT Initiative Project. Our team will be working closely with them to design a solution that can improve their daily lives in Project 4. Initially, we identified cooking as a challenge for the couple, as Tim is visually impaired and Kim has multiple sclerosis. Our team decided to focus on helping Tim with cutting food, which is an important step in cooking but can be hazardous due to the use of knives. Our goal is to develop a solution that will allow Tim to cut food safely and independently.

Design Procedure

Conceptual Design

In the initial stages of the design process, the device's primary functions were identified as cutting food, ensuring user safety while handling the blade, and collecting the cut food. Our team then used a paper trimmer as an analogy, as it also has a fixed blade for safe cutting, and this formed the basis of our initial sketches.

Iterating Ideas

Based on feedback from science students and faculty mentors, our design needs a braille or an ultrasonic sensor with the output of audile cue to make client safer to use. Then, two concepts have been made as shown. Concept 2 adopted the braille design but not all the clients have knowledge of that aspect, so our teams decided to use concept 1, which has ultrasonic sensor with audile cue and a slider to push the food.

Concept 1

Concept 2

Prototype of Concept 1

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Figure of One Degree

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Final Proposed Design

We have gone through several iterations of our design, but we have ultimately settled on one that we refer to as the "One Degree". The One Degree is a cutting board that features a slot for a medium to small-sized knife, which can only move one degree. The board is set at a 10-degree angle to allow gravity to hold the food in place. To use it, place a medium to small-sized vegetable against the wall of the board and slide it along using the built-in slider. Our measurement system ensures accurate cuts, and a hole in the board allows cut food to fall away without the need to move it from the board.