August 2018 – December 2018
Collaborators: Rush Leigh, Conor Wesolowski, Shravanan Ravi
We began our project by defining our problem through multiple iterations. We found that a leading cause for poor posture in students is over-weighted backpacks that force the body to lean forward and the head to tilt down. Once we had a problem we were able to identify our user requirements and prioritize them. In the brainstorming phase, we started with a divergent mindset without a particular solution in mind. We then converged our ideas into a handful of solutions and began a prototyping phase that consisted of subjective and objective metrics. We iterated upon our designs and used SolidWorks to create a 3D rendering of our final attachment: a buckle that has 4 strap slots to create an X shaped support across the chest. This allows for the bag to be evenly distributed across the back and chest minimizing the force pushing the user forward and down. We then 3-D printed our final prototype and performed user testing to determine the efficacy of our device. We created a logo and manufacturing overview to determine if our device could profit in the market. We concluded that we would not be moving forward with our design, but we still were able to take valuable knowledge of the design process and new product innovation experience.
