The Up/Down Chair

Longer Description

In the summer of 2016, Alex (a pseudonym) contacted me about designing a device to help him get up from the ground if he fell in an isolated area. Alex, who is 55, has limited mobility in his legs and lower back and walks with assisstive devices. He likes to bike and go hiking. A student and I designed Version 1 of the “Up-Chair.” Through co-design, we iteratively improved upon the design and sent Alex home with a chair to test.

In the fall of 2016, not only had Alex’s mobility improved, thus prompting him to venture into more remote locations, but a recent trip to the beach had also piqued his interest in sitting down on the ground in a social context. Thus, Version 2 of the “Up/Down Chair,” with improved function and aesthetics was born. We are currently working to make the design more robust and lighter weight.

The requirements for the Up/Down chair are that it:

• allows users to stand up from and sit down on the ground;

• is light-weight and portable;

• is easy to assemble, even by someone who has fallen;

• is aesthetically pleasing; and

• feels safe for users.

The current resembles a step-stool with stair (9 inches) and chair (18 inches) height seats. I would also personally like it to be inexpensive, low-tech, and something that a technically-inclined lay-person could manufacture.

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While this started as a “design-for-one” project, I believe that the Up/Down Chair has potential for much broader appeal. Certainly, other people who wish to walk independently and are at risk of falling, particularly people with lower-body weakness or low flexibility but high upper body strength, might use it – both older adults and younger people with disabilities.

While assessing whether this might be useful for older adults in yoga classes, the Yoga Chair project was born.