Prototype Images

Entire Vacuum System

Balloon after vacuum has been applied

Video of prototype working

-Annie

Prototype

We made our prototype yesterday.  We took a water toy and used it to create a vacuum inside a ballon that was filled with polystyrene beads from pillow.  The technique helped us understand the kinds of seal and strength of vacuum needed to create a jamming technique that would last long enough and be accurate enough to use as negative mold.
-Megan

Steven Keating's Lab

Limb socket made by another group using the same principles

Limb Socket from another angle

Compact vacuum system

Steven Keating

Today, we met with Steven Keating.  He works in the Media Lab on jamming.  Jamming is the process by which liquid, mobile substances become solids.  He talked with us about jamming and some of the work he's done on testing the internal particles and the elastomer in which is contained.  He ran tests on how structural the internal components are compared to weight. Coffee grounds and glass beads show the best properties for their weight.  Small, light hard particles with roughness work best. We learned about the vacuum, which he gets from food packaging devices.  Vacuum which are stronger than this vacuum tend to get larger very quickly for the increase in pressure and this kind of jamming does not show significantly increased performance with .1 psi difference.  He also talked about durability verses accuracy in your mold.  The thinner the elastomer is the more accurate your molds will be, but it makes the shell more fragile.  He showed us some of the other applications for jamming, such as a chair or vice.
-Annie

Target Trip

Yesterday, we went to Target to look around for material and system ideas.  We took pictures of 15 items that might be used in the design of our project.  We also concentrated on context shifting, hybridization, and other design strategies.
Ice packs were context shifting; our idea was to find a material that was liguid at a temperature above room temperature and became solid at body temperature.
Bop-it was context shifting: It's a toy that would be used as a control mechanism.  The "spin-it" has an oblong groove around which the bop-it can sense its placement because of the change in diameter.
The Lego Alien Conquest is hybridization; the plastic shell could be combined with a elastic (silicon) shell and used as the case, or housing for the other components.
The Doodle Pro is also context shifting; the Doodle Pro uses magnetics to darken areas, and this same property could be used to mark knees or other bones on the negative and positive molds.
-Megan

Target Products

Jump Rope

to be used as tubing for connecting vacuum to shell

Floam

This material can be molded into any shape, and it will maintain this shape, but it can be molded again into a different shape over and over again

Balloons

Can be filled with material and then have vacuum applied so that it holds the shape (acts as the shell)

Legos

This Alien Conquest Product contain modular pieces that can be build into a variety of shapes

Spin Controls

They can be adjusted to an infinite number of positions, which could be used to adjust the vacuum.

Bop It

This toy is see through which allows the consumer to see how it works, this would allow people to repair broken components

Spin It 

The groove for this control is oblong so the sensor can tell its orientation.

Bike Pump

Creates a leaky vacuum for a small amount of time while pumping air.

Ice Pack

Material Changes from liquid to solid with a change in temperature, the jamming process is another way to change state

Toy Lizard

Flexible membrane filled with particles, and the membrane is not a uniform shape and thickness.

Pillow

Filled with small polystyrene beads, but is contained in fabric which is not air tight.

Silicon Toy

Elastic Casing filled with air, and it can be molded to fit any shape

Spandex Shorts

Stretchy, durable material that can mold the the shape of a leg, but it is not air tight (could be mixed with latex to strengthen it)

Interactive Puppy

Easy to understand buttons direct where to touch to do certain activities and heart sensor tells when the heart is beating, and could be modified to light up when pressure is at a certain value.

Glow Dome

This toy has multiple grooves  to hold different sized shells, which could be used to fit different sized limbs

Doodle Pro

This toy uses magnets and magnetic particles to draw pictures which could be used to mark where the limbs and other important things are on the mold

-Annie

Revised Proposal

Today we revised our proposals and setup a timeline for future progress and deadlines.
We also heard back from Steven Keating about meeting up next week.  He designed a small silicon cray which acts similarly to how we may implement our vac-cast design.

-Megan

Created Blog/Twitter

Today we made our blog!!!! We went to the media lab on Wednesday to see Ken's lab and played with vacuums and silicon and different "sand-like" materials.  It was very interesting to see the different projects people have worked on with vacuums.  One project was a silicon ballon filled with sand that you could mold into any shape and turn the vacuum on, and it would hold its shape.  Steven Keating made the silicon cray.  Ken showed us a simpler version downstairs that used a plastic garbage bag, a portable vacuum and a small bean bag. It did worked in a similar way to the silicon cray, where it could be molded, the vacuum removed the air and then it held its shape.  
We made our twitter account yesterday,  DLabProsthesis.


-Annie