Projects
DeVILS Project: Parkinson's Mobility Exoskeleton
Proposal Presentation
Problem Summary and Solution
Parkinson's patients experience balance instability that forces them to use their hands for support when standing, eliminating their ability to perform tasks requiring hand use such as mechanical work, hobbies, and daily activities, while existing mobility aids fail to free the hands and are often rejected due to stigma. The proposed solution is a lower body balance support exoskeleton constructed from carbon fiber and titanium Grade 5, featuring base plates under the feet for weight distribution, leg bracing assemblies to prevent lateral sway, locking joints for extended stationary standing, and a waist ring connecting both leg assemblies into a unified support structure. Users don the exoskeleton similarly to strapping on leg braces, with the device concealing beneath regular clothing via a belt attachment system to preserve dignity and reduce the stigma that prevents many Parkinson's patients from accepting traditional mobility aids. Once secured, the user can walk to their desired location, lock the joints for stationary standing, and use both hands freely for tasks like model building, mechanical tinkering, or any activity requiring sustained hand use while upright. While the presentation effectively communicates the core problem and solution, additional rendered animations or detailed component callouts would strengthen the audience's understanding of how the device functions in real world use. A potential customer, particularly a Parkinson's patient or their caregiver, would likely react positively as the design directly addresses both the physical challenge of balance and the psychological barriers of stigma and dignity that current solutions completely ignore.
Experience applying the entrepreneurial mindset to my design
This solution originated from a personal connection to the problem, as I personally experience involuntary hand opening, which initially led me to explore devices for preventing dropped objects before customer interviews completely redirected my focus to the more fundamental problem of standing balance instability in Parkinson's patients. The solution came far more from customer focused findings than my own ideas, as interviews with my grandfather Warren, a 75-year-old retired mechanic with Parkinson's disease, and my grandmother Jeanette, whose husband passed away from Parkinson's complications, revealed that balance while standing was the critical unmet need, and Warren specifically inspired the hands-free design requirement by expressing his desire to continue building models and tinkering at his workbench. The market for this product is highly scalable, as approximately one million Americans currently live with Parkinson's disease with 90,000 new diagnoses annually, and the broader population of elderly individuals with balance impairment extends the potential customer base significantly beyond Parkinson's patients alone. Technologically this design advances affordable exoskeleton development into an underserved medical space, societally it restores independence and dignity to patients who would otherwise lose meaningful activities that define their identity, environmentally the durable carbon fiber and titanium construction minimizes replacement waste through longevity, and financially it creates value by offering a solution at $2,000-$3,500 at production scale compared to existing exoskeletons exceeding $100,000, while opening a realistic pathway for Medicare reimbursement eligibility.
Experience using the design process
The engineering design process proved extremely valuable in developing this solution, guiding me through structured stages of problem definition, research, brainstorming, and evaluation that prevented me from jumping straight to a solution before fully understanding the problem. The process was particularly useful in exploring multiple solution options, as I developed and evaluated four distinct concepts including a motorized tail support system, an overhead track harness, a workbench mounted support arm, and the final exoskeleton design, with the decision matrix providing an objective framework for selecting the strongest solution rather than defaulting to my first idea. The design did change significantly from my initial vision, as I originally conceived a simple hand tremor prevention device before customer interviews completely redirected the problem definition toward standing balance support, and the exoskeleton itself evolved through CAD modeling as I discovered structural and ergonomic considerations that were invisible during the initial sketching phase. What surprised me most about engineering through this process was how much of the work happens before any designing begins, as I expected engineering to be primarily about creating solutions but discovered that deeply understanding the problem, the customer, and the existing market is what separates a design that works technically from one that actually creates value for real people.
How I envision using the design process in the future
The engineering design process has fundamentally changed how I approach problem solving, and I can immediately see applications in my current work as a videographer and drone operator for a construction company, where inefficiencies in site documentation, client communication, and safety reporting represent real unmet needs that could benefit from structured problem definition and customer focused design thinking. This process absolutely sparked excitement for solving everyday problems, as I am already pursuing multiple technical ventures including drone-based photogrammetry software, server infrastructure for cloud computing, and web development services, and having a structured framework for validating problems through customer interviews before investing time and resources into solutions will fundamentally improve how I approach each of these projects. What excites me most is applying the entrepreneurial mindset to my existing businesses, specifically identifying whether the problems I am solving are the real problems my customers experience or simply the problems I assumed they had, which is a distinction this project made very clear through the dramatic shift from my initial hand tremor hypothesis to the actual standing balance problem. Engineering has always been part of how I think about the world through building guitar pedals, constructing server racks, and developing technical software systems, but this process gave me a formal framework that I believe will make me significantly more effective at identifying genuine opportunities and creating solutions that deliver real value rather than technically impressive ones that solve the wrong problem.