My team, the RunnerPro just finished our design proposal. Our proposal turned out pretty well, I think we could have made it better for example our sketches could have been a little more detailed but other then that it turned out pretty good.
When we first started this design proposal we were on top of it. We had lots done in the first class days that were offered. We had a lot of information and we were gaining great ideas for some potential designs for our device. I mainly found it challenging when we were sketching, mainly because I couldn’t think of any materials which is a big part of designing.
We decided to create a device where it’s durable and can wash it if it gets nasty or dirty, but we also want to include a hinge (the idea came from the interview) the coaches recommended a hinge they have said that have a hinge will help the knee. To include a hinge and also make it a washable brace, I decided to include a hinge that is attachable to the device. We also decided to not use any Velcro because it was known that the Velcro irritates the skin and we are trying to make people wear a knee brace where they will feel comfortable and have an effective, working knee brace.
Right now we are focusing on runners and their knees. We interviewed our coaches, Brown and Cosgrove because we thought that will have a better understanding about what a knee device should include and what it should not include. We also mainly chose to interview them because they have experienced knee injuries themselves so that will benefit my team to create a device that is really effective to runners.
A couple of weeks ago we finished our Joint Model. During the Joint Model building we found it frustrating that we couldn’t find a hinge to make our Knee Joint move like one. Since we couldn’t find a hinge like figure we decided use rubber bands as an alternate which worked out good but it wasn’t as effective as if we would have used a hinge.
Overall we hope to gain more information about materials. The materials is the key of our device without good materials our device won’t be that effective to runners or anyone for that matter. Using the correct materials will really help to make our creation (device) a more comfortable, durable, well adjusted and effective to all runners in need of a knee brace.
StarPathDesign 
Vivi, I found your blog post really interesting to read and I enjoyed that it sounded really personal. Having interviewed the coaches seem like one of the best things to do since they do have many years of experience and have dealt with many severities of knee injuries. I also liked how you included that you did research on the materials and had the pros and cons to them, like how velcro irritates the skin. Good job on the blog post! – Vania N.