Final Project

Idea and motivation


I think one of the biggest chances of FabLabs are the possibility to build systems for people with impairments. They can with the tools of a Fablab learn to help themselfes and find solutions for their special challanges. That's why we, as a university, have initiated a funding project in which we want to communicate people with impairments to the technologies of the Fablab.

My final projecs should show the possibilities that FabLabs offer, so I decided to build a Prototype of a foot-control-system. It should work like a computer-mouse but controlled with a foot. So people without the chance to use their hands and arms completely could be empowered to use all devices that normaly need hands.
There should be a universial connection like USB to connect the system with diffrent devices like computer, robot-arms or maybe drones?!

First Sketch

final project sketch

Funtctions

The foot-mouse should be able to detect minimum 3 degrees of freedoms: In addition the foot-mouse schould be able to detect a "click" so there must be at minimum one button witch is controlled with the toes. for a ergonomic use of the foot-mouse the is a individual footbed and binding planed to fit with a individual foot. There must be also a possibility to move the feet without tracking the movements to extend the moving area. that´s necessary because the moving area of the feet will be limited by the frame. So it could be possible while working with a unlimited tool ( like the rotation of a robotarm) that you can´t use the complete range.
All the input signals should be transform in a controler to usefull data witch could be use with any other end device. In adition there could be some lights to give a short feedback to the user if the foot-mouse works corectly.

Using technologies

The final project contains various technologies so in the following a short list of the planned tools:

Part Tool/Technologie
Frame Laser cutting, 3D-Print, Vinyl-cutting, CNC-cutting
Footbed 3D-Scan, CNC-milling, moulding and casting
Footbinding 3D-Scan, 3D-print, composites
Button CAD-design, 3D-Print
Controler Electronics design, embedded programming

Downloads

Final Project Sketch download
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Dieses Werk ist lizenziert unter einer Creative Commons Namensnennung - Nicht-kommerziell - Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International Lizenz.