Portable Obstacle Course
By Stewart, Shadle; Berman, Jared; McGeorge, Nicolette; Hill, Allison; Mian, Samir; DeBartolo, Elizabeth; NSF 2008 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pp. 72-73Publication Date: 2011
Description of an obstacle course for use with post stroke patients at a physical therapy clinic. Designed by engineering students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York, the multiple surface obstacle course consists of typical items found in or around a home environment. The 16 foot course includes 8 surface pieces with materials including light and dark hardwood, low and high carpet, gym mat, and simulated concrete, ice, and gravel. All surface pieces contain embedded circuitry that includes through-put boards, micro switches, and wiring in preparation for future use with a microcontroller and printer to automatically print the course layout for the therapist’s records. The obstacle course is fully functional without the automated tracking system and can be used for patient training sessions. Each surface has mounting points where obstacles can be placed. Included with the system is 19 obstacles: rugs, curbs, a heater vent, a threshold, shoes, pillows, bundles of cables, stuffed toys, and a stack of books. Each obstacle is equipped with a peg that fits into one of five holes on any given surface piece. When an obstacle peg is inserted into a hole, it depresses a micro switch that records the presence of an obstacle at that location. The obstacle course includes a storage system consisting of a cart holding the surface pieces and a storage bin to contain the obstacles. Total project cost was 1,730 dollars.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
Link to text: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/2008/Chapter%207,%20Rochester%20Institute%20of%20Technology.pdf
ISBN: 1-931280-15-0
