We made a multifunctional walking frame for elderly people. After a long period of observation, our group realized that about one-third of the elderly have mobility problems. Meanwhile, there are problems with modern auxiliary tools in Hong Kong. It’s necessary to design a new auxiliary tool to help them walk safely.
To start with the basics, the walking frame designed has four supporting points in total, so it is safer than the modern walking sticks with only one supporting point. The elderly won’t stumble and fall easily as they can hold on to the frame.
Secondly, our frame has two wheels under the two supporting points in front, which is the most special part of our product. We found two problems with modern walking frames. Some of them have no wheels while the others have four wheels under every supporting point. If the frame has no wheels, the elderly have to lift the entire frame up when they walk, which is very hard for them, especially when they’re already old and weak. It can also be too slow. On the other hand, those with four wheels may go too fast on a slippery floor. It’s very dangerous. When there are two wheels, the elderly don’t have to lift the whole frame up when turning around and walking on a slope. At the same time, the 2 supporting points could still carry the weight of the elderly. These make the frame safer for use and can save elderly people’s energy. For the two supporting points behind, we put rubber. They act like brakes. When the elderly were about to fall, the rubber stops the frame immediately and ensures their safety.
Thirdly, we used plastic water pipes as the main material of the frame. Since our product is just a prototype and we students don’t have much time and money, we used plastic water pipes to replace steel. Plastic water pipes is light enough. It helps save the energy of elderly people because they do not have to lift the entire frame but only the two supporting points at the backup.
Lastly, we installed a phone stand, a fan, and an S-hook on the frame. It’d be very inconvenient for the elderly with mobility problems to go out if they need to carry many things out. We thought about that and so we decided to make our product multifunctional.
If time allows, we can make a program that is able to detect the position of the elderly and determine whether the elderly fall down by using the camera on the phone. The phone sends messages to the elderly’s family members and blares automatically if the elderly falls.
Numerous elderly people are suffering from mobility problems. We hope our product provides a safe and convenient auxiliary walking tool for them. We believe that it is much safer and better than modern tools.