Vegetable Chopper for People with Hand Disability
My Inspiration: I met with a car accident on 12 November 2020. And I had to undergo physiotherapy for several months. I met some autistic and physically challenged people who came for therapy. While conversing with one of them, I realized though there are automatic slicers available in the market now, some specific vegetables and fruits are still chopped using the conventional knife and chopper pad. This makes it difficult for people with hand disabilities to perform it. This gave me the inspiration to explore the same.
Skills: Brainstorming, Designing and Programming in C.
My Role: Solo project as a side passion after office hours during the lockdown.
Tool for Design: I did not have access to any workshops near me during the lockdown. Moreover, I used the approach of trial and error where I could try my initial designs, get feedback and change them accordingly. The best suit for this was LEGO.
Design Approach for its Basic Mechanism:
The Prototype: I made the working model using Lego NXT parts and programming in C using RobotC software.
Interactions: Push sensor - Long press for on and off, single pushes to increment the power or intensity of the chopper
Color sensor - Detects red, blue, or yellow color pallet flagged by the user and decides whether to fine chop,
medium chop or large chop
Digital screen - Alternative way of selecting the above controls and displaying the settings
Flexible knife grip - Allows using most varieties of knife
Attachable push bar- Integrated with color sensor to push the vegetable or fruit depending on chopping size. Aids fully people facing disability in both hands.
