Eco-Sno Co-Design Project
Principal Investigator: Elizabeth DePoy (UMaine, School of Social Work and Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies)
Partners: Scott (James) Hoisington (UMF, Outdoor Recreation Business Administration), Vince Cacesse (UMaine, Department of Mechanical Engineering), Stephen Gilson (UMaine School of Social Work and Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies), Len Kaye (UMaine Center on Aging) & Ryan Beaumont (Mobility Technologies)
Abstract: This collaboration among University of Maine, University of Maine at Farmington, and external commercial partners, proposes an innovative co-design method to develop and test the Eco-Sno , an aesthetically designed, modular, adaptive fitness support device for the growing number of elders who need and/or want standing support equipment to participate in outdoor winter recreation, fitness, and safe walking on snow and ice. The seed grant activity will bring elders who could benefit from this innovation together with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from UMS and commercial partners, and students, to design and test the Eco-Sno concept and prototype. Using innovative design elements of two prior successful devices, and building on a previously developed prototype, Eco-Sno will be comprised of a lightweight shaft to which attachments can easily be fitted to promote stable walking on slippery terrain, and weight bearing and stability support in Nordic and Alpine skiing. This project is central to the emerging area of aging research at the University of Maine, two MEIF areas, and builds on and expands an already successful collaboration to actualize workforce and economic development in Maine. Based on this pilot and outcome, funding will be sought for fast-track commercialization of Eco-Sno and for a codesign laboratory to elevate Maine’s leadership in longevity product innovation.