Iron Sporting Goods · 2022
Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product
by Minkyu Seo
- A' Design Award 2022 in Sporting Goods
- CLIENT: Minkyu Seo
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 26,304
- Verification code DF54DBC35F · Verify this award
Colors
About Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product
Wobbleshroom is a balance training device made to strengthen the ankles and help prevent injuries. The form is inspired by the wobble board and recalls a mushroom. Stepping on the upper plate activates the device, which plays music notes and vibrates selected corners to guide the user to tilt in that direction. One set lasts three minutes. The top is made of soft polyurethane foam for grip and cushioning, and the body is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. The device measures 55 by 38 centimeters and weighs 5 kilograms.
About the A' Design Award
Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Wobbleshroom is a prehabilitative device designed to prevent future ankle injuries by bringing Neuromuscular Training and Whole Body Vibration into our everyday life. The device utilizes sound and vibration to guide the user in which direction to move – always ensuring a safe, fun, and effective exercise routine that does not feel burdensome.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 55cm x 38cm, 5kg
- Tags
- Healthcare, Recreation, Gamification, Exercise, Fun
- Production Technology
- To improve grips to prevent a user from falling off while being on top of the device, the top of the Wobbleshroom is designed with soft PU foam. It is soft, cushiony, and provides enough rigidity, serving as a perfect material to address my need. The rest of the body is mostly designed with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.
- Design Challenge
- Challenge was to lower the bar of rehabilitative exercise so that it is readily accessible for all users in a safe, joyful way, ultimately with a goal of the product blending into the user's daily life without feeling like a chore. To make the breakthrough, I have interviewed the users and the experts in the field - including doctors from John Hopkins University, based on data collected on various functional mockups.
- Research
- The research initially began with ankle injuries. Though some may view them as minor incidents, they are highly likely to develop into permanently unstable ankles if improperly treated. After finding out that the primary way to prevent ankle injuries is by improving peroneal muscles, I set out ways to discover possible fitting exercise routines used by professional athletes. It was there that I came across neuromuscular training and whole-body vibration. Prior is an exercise often used by athletes, and later is a technique developed by NASA for astronauts to stimulate leg muscles and improve balance.
- Inspiration
- The main inspiration came from the wobble board, a widely used tool to improve one's core strength during rehabilitative exercise.
Additional inspiration came from interviews with experts - including a doctor at Johns Hopkins University. - Project Duration
- The project finished December of 2021 in California.
- Operation Flow
- The simple act of stepping on the Wobbleshroom activates the device. It would start to play music notes and vibrate specific corners of the upper plate (mushroom hat), guiding users to tilt their bodies accordingly. A single set completes after 3 minutes, which is just the safe amount of exercise one is expected to do a day.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Minkyu Seo
- Image Credits
- N/A
