Group members: Zainab and Kiki
This week, we were focused on responding to Johanna’s feedback about balancing the oars because that was our biggest issue with the prototype. We thought about having some kind of suspension system, involving straps that latch onto the ends of the oars and then anchor onto a point on the user’s hip, so that they could be adjusted to be taut and then locked in so that the user would not have to hold or readjust them while moving. This we hoped would stabilize the oars vertically and also horizontally to minimize their tendency to sway and tilt.
We tested the suspension idea with the tester simply holding the ends of the two straps (each connected to one end of one oar), and found that it did help. Then we needed to decide how to implement this. We are thinking of using velcro loops with grippy material on the inside (once they are on, it’s important that they don’t slide back on forth on the oar) to attach the straps to the oars. There will be two straps, with two velcro loops facing outward so that it can hold two oars. The other ends of the straps will be connected to a belt that the user wears. They will go through a buckle, so they can be adjusted, but the buckle will be the kind that clamps so that once it is adjusted, it won’t shift while the user is moving and lose tautness.
We ordered a belt, which has arrived, and the clamps, which have not yet. We also began building a new final prototype, which will hopefully not only incorporate the suspension design, make use of the new foam, but also look better. For this final iteration we also screwed the pvc channels to the middle wooden block for more security, and are sewing a cloth cover for the foam as well as sewing the new velcro straps for holding the oars in the channels.
