Hello There,

RideOn! made amazing progress this week! On Monday, we got the chance to meet with a DMD patient and Dr. Lott, research professor in physical therapy, to gain their perspectives and inputs on tricycle’s design. Thanks to them, we we’re able to gain valuable information on the range of mobility someone with DMD will typically have. Furthermore, we were able gain their insights on what they like and dislike about existing designs. Needless to say but this demonstration has completely reshaped how we approach our design ideas.

Not wanting to waste time, on Wednesday, RideOn! met and divided into two groups:

• a mechanical team (MEs + BME)
• an electrical team (EEs + CPE)

Within these two teams we brainstormed ideas based off the insight we got from Monday. Each team created multiple main and alternative design ideas in order to explore different solutions but also to act as a backup in case one idea becomes unfeasible later down the road.

On Thursday, we met with our coach and liaisons (Dr. Cardenas, Dr. Stubbs, and Dr. Taivassalo respectively) to present our new design ideas and progress. In this meeting we gain valuable feedback on our concept generation. Such as for the adjustable hand crank and removable battery to circumvent weight constrictions.

Although we made tons of progress this week, we aren’t finished yet! We hope to continue into next week to expand ideas, unite the mechanical & electrical systems, and conduct more market research in the feasibility of our design ideas.

Well, until then, see you next week!