yuji

A prototype of a mobility aid designed for the less abled and elderly during a yoga practice.

BRIEF: The Stanford Center on Longevity is looking for design ideas which promote habits that improve quality of life across the age spectrum.

This was a collaborative project developed in 2017 with Martina Spinelli at San Francisco State University.

There was no better way to understand what our aging community may need than to talk to them ourselves. Here is a collection of a few interviews we carried out; we asked a little bit about themselves along with what their daily habits were, any difficulties they currently experienced, and what their goals were.

A summarization of our research.

A few of our concept sketches. The design of Yuji was initially inspired by walkers; we observed how they were used and dissected the design of a few existing walkers that would better befit users looking to practice yoga.

The prototype is made out of MDF and was cut via CNC Machine.

PROTOTYPE IN USE

A. User holds onto the bar for stability as she goes into a high lunge pose.

B. User transitions into the next pose; she relies on Yuji to keep her stable as she lowers down.

C. User is in child’s pose.

D. User transitions into the next pose; this time she utilizes the hand rails to help her get off the floor while maintaining her balance. The hand rails smoothly glide along up with the user but will lock in place when the user puts their weight onto it.

E. User halfway into their next pose.

F. User in a variation of the Warrior III pose while holding onto the hand rails which are locked in place.