PREFERABLE PROSTHETICS

PREFERABLE PROSTHETICS

PREFERABLE PROSTHETICS MASTER DESIGN RESEARCH PROJECT SEMESTER 3 PROJECT PROCESS JOURNAL Programme: MDes Design Innovation & Service Design Session: 2017/18 Duration: 13 weeks Supervisor: Elio Caccavale

Introduction This PPJ consists of content and reflections over the duration of Semester 3 - which is a self-initiated and self-directed research project centred around innovative practices. This final Masters project requires that we build the skills gained through the exercises and projects undertaken during Semester 1 and 2 to frame, plan and execute a research project on an area identified and defined by you. This project presents an opportunity to be carried out in association with a client/ institution/ organisation or set of stakeholders, as a “live� piece of work that allows the practical evidencing of the theoretical and skills acquired throughout the MDes programme.

Key Description is contextualised using a regular non-italic typeface Reflection In Action is contextualised using an italic typeface Reflection On Action is contextualised using an bolder italic typeface

*For additional detail and context, please refer to the Appendix alongside this PPJ

Process Researching the Right Thing

Initial Insight

Discover Research

Contents

Define Synthesis

Designing the Thing Right

Identified Issue

Develop Ideation

Deliver

Conceptualisation

Project Proposal

Brief Establishment Desk Research Stakeholder Assemblage User Engagement Fieldwork Insights Opportunity Exploration Design Development Concept Communication Summative Reflection Bibliography

2 12 28 39 56 65 70 74 88 89

Acknowledgement There are many people I would like to thank for their contribution to this project and learning at GSA: In particular, I am so grateful to the Finding Your Feet charity who helped me to ‘find my feet’ during this project and all the wonderful Trooper community who have participated in my research engagements.

Notably I would like to thank my research Participants for being so generous during their interviews.

Furthermore, I would especially like to thank my Semester 3 supervisor Elio Caccavale for his support and guidance throughout this project - it has been a privilege to be supervised by him.

As for my holistic GSA experience over the past 5 years, I would really like to thank all the other wonderful tutors throughout the undergraduate and postgraduate Innovation School who have contributed to my development as a designer and reflective practitioner; Dr Brian Dixon Dr Iain Reid Kirsty Ross Dr Janet Kelly Mil Stricevic & Dr Gordon Hush Lastly and by no means least, I would like to thank my loving Mum for supporting me through this journey which has been one of the most amazing yet arduous experiences in my life so far.

It is with the strength, confidence and resilience that these people have taught me that I approach the next chapter in my life and I am eternally grateful to everyone who has helped me along this path.

Thank you for everything,

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Brief Establishment To begin this MDes Design Research project, we were asked to devise a self-initiated brief.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but rather, the ones which are most adaptable to change.”

- paraphrased adaption of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species” statement

Thematic Inspiration As such, I drew inspiration from my BDes Dissertation which explored the ethical implications of transcendence towards speculative posthumanism. Given I had gained ‘Distinction’ grade for this submission and had been equally successful for follow-up projects - I believed this to be an appropriate theme for my MDes Research project. Progressing on from the theoretical knowledge attained, I began by exploring notions of human enhancement or ‘transhumanism’ more tangibly, which refers to transcending what it means to be human by means of technology.

With recent techno-scientific developments in areas such as biotechnology, we are on the cusp enhancement revolution. As such transcendence beyond the human is now more attainable and relevant than ever.

However, as humans we can struggle to imagine beyond the human entity. Hence this discourse is very speculative in its nature. Therefore, this subject matter is not as tangible or accessible to be appropriate for this research project.

So I started off by exploring possibilities for transhuman exploration and analysis.

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Contextualising Transhumanism To understand the concept of transhuman, firstly we must delve into what is a ‘human’. Humanity is a product of an unguided natural result of a 3.8-billion-year experiment of evolution. (Luskin, 2015) As such, evolution has been our only solution to the survival and progression of our species with Charles Darwin pioneering that species can adapt to changing environmental conditions through the ‘trial-and-error’ process. (Roden, 2015. p34) However, studies show that climate change is unfurling at such a rate that evolution cannot keep up - which is placing humanity at the precipitous of the Sixth Mass Extinction event, which will see an era of ‘biological annihilation’ as we cave way for the Anthropocene.

(Stone, 2016) Hence, due to existential threat, humanity has been desperate to overcome its biological boundaries given “it has taken us over a million years to progress from our ancestors Homoerectus to our species Homo-sapiens,” (Gould, 1995. p25) showing how unreliable nature can be and why we cannot depend on it when looking to the future.

As apprehensive mortal beings we generate a innate impatience for progression - Transhumanism proposes to humanity to gain control over it’s future by accelerating the painfully slow progression and biological limitations of natural selection and evolution by means of technology. (Levy, 1992. p9)

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“In the next century, we will be inventing radical new technologies - machine intelligence, perhaps nanotech, great advances in synthetic biology and other things we haven’t even thought of yet. And those new powers will unlock wonderful opportunities, but they might also bring with them certain risks. And we have no track record of surviving those risks. So if there are big existential risks, I think they are going to come from our own activities and mostly from our own inventiveness and creativity.”

Nick Bostrom, “A History of Transhumanist Thought” (2005)

A Paradigm Shift in Human Subjectivity

URL: http://futurism.com/the-next-stage-of-evolution-how-will-the-human-species-evolve/

“It has taken us over a million years to progress from our ancestors Homo erectus to our species Homo sapiens, can we afford a million more?”

Bryan Reynolds, “Transversal Subjects.” (2009) p.46

Diagram Comparison

URL: http://posthumanism.com/

“When a subject becomes a transversal agent, she actively permeates and makes permeable the parameters of her subjective territory and generates a continuously shifting series of conditions that challenge the underlying structures of her individuality and social identity. Yet this entropic reconfiguration can produce enhanced reflexive consciousness and agency by triggering new experiences and perspectives never before imaginable.”

Bryan Reynolds, “Transversal Subjects.” (2009) p.286

Although the prospect of transhumanism may present many beneficial qualities for human survival and autonomy but controversially it can also be considered a threatening concept due to the hostility the proposed transhuman could impose to the existing human race. (Wolfe, 2010. p21) As transhumanism focuses directly on improving the human; characteristically it is antagonistic to the traditionalist philosophical stance of humanism.

With this idea, Transhumanism can be considered a controversial philosophy as it “unsettles the very foundations of what we call ‘the human’,” (Wolfe, 2010. p69) as we know it through elaborating alternative ways of conceptualising the human as a subject. As such, rational fear is aroused whenever a new superior entity poses a threat to a species existence, as unadapted humans could view the transhuman upgrade process as their genocide. It can be argued that there is risk that a prevailing species could usher us into extinction with their supremacy. Juxtaposing this transitional phase alongside previous iterations of humankind; it could be considered that homo-sapiens were innately dangerous to their homo-erectus ancestors they respectively evolved from. (Clarke, 2008. p199) Hence, it could be argued that the creation of supreme beings would become hierarchical cartographies of power. However, with this in mind, transhumanity itself owes its very existence and perpetuation to the human archetype of their creators. (Reynolds, 2009. p286) But when does this fusion between natural and artificial become indeterminable, as well as ethically contentious?

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Seminal to this discourse is Hayles’ book “How We Became Posthuman” - where she identifies subjectivity being ‘historically specific’ with “changes to human subjectivity were never complete transformations or sharp breaks; without exception, they re-inscribed traditional ideas and assumptions even as they articulated something new.” (Hayles, 1999. p6) Hence, the transition to the transhuman will be instigated by us as, “people become posthuman because they think they are posthuman.”

(Hayles, 1999. p7) Hayles elaborates that technology has created new notions of identity and subjectivity that will delineate transhuman ontology. Thus, Hayles proclaims we are at the crossroads of our posthuman future but this “does not really mean the end of humanity. It signals instead the end of a certain conception of the human.” (Hayles, 1999. p286) Moreover, the rate at which technology is currently advancing will soon instigate an ontological paradigm shift in our human subjectivity and ethical consciousness of what is yet to come as we approach Ray Kurzweil’s ‘singularity’ by 2045.

As such, notions of enhancement can be negatively perceived by humans given the implications associated with transcendence.

“We are already are cyborgs in the sense that we experience, through the integration of our bodily perceptions and motions with computer architectures and topologies, this signals a changed sense of subjectivity.”

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Katherine Hayles, “How We Became Posthuman” (1999) p.12

Kurzweil’s Singularity: The Dawn of our Transhuman Future

URL: http://www.kurzweilai.net/futurism-the-dawn-of-the-singularity-a-visualtimeline-of-ray-kurzweils-predictions

“Posthumanist perspective rests on the assumption of the historical decline of Humanism but goes further in exploring alternative ways of conceptualising the human subject.”

Rosi Braidotti, “The Posthuman.” (2013) p.37

As such, notions of enhancement can be negatively perceived by humans given the implications associated with transcendence and the ramifications this could impose on humanity. Hence from preliminary secondary research undertaken, my research hypothesis reacts to humans negativity towards enhancing their human condition.

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The Human In Perspective Given that I hypothesised that humans react negatively towards notions of transcendence; I designed a research workshop for human participants to explore the human condition contextually towards transcendence in order to redesign the human which in turn could provocative positivity towards transcendence. This workshop was designed to allow humans to explore the experience of transcendence through a series of subjective and objective activities. By doing so, my research delegates explored our preconceived notions towards speculative enhanced humans through juxtaposition and rational reasoning. This allowed me to construct a ‘human’ spectrum in which I could demarcate how progressive we are towards technological advancement as a species.

“Human beings, and only human beings, are the ones who construct society and freely determine their own destiny” Bruno Latour, “‘We Have Never Been Modern” 1993 p.37

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More notably, we undertook more creative exercises that saw us ‘hack’ the human just as we would objectively through design, based on our subjective experiences as being humans. Surprisingly this task was well approached by my human participants as they identified several areas of human experience they would like to enhance and change. Although the hacking exercise was successful, my sample of human participants were still sceptical towards further values of transcendence. However, this initial exercise demonstrated that such perceptions towards enhancement can be facilitated and that design should play a role in realising and accepting our technologically enhanced human future. As such my research aims and objectives focuses around empowering humans to facilitate their own enhancement by constructing provocations towards enhanced forms and future human identities. Although this workshop was a success, I needed to focus on a particular aspect of the human to take forward. As such, my desired impact was too broad but I anticipated to specify a target user group who would benefit from human enhancement the most. Hence, I sought to look into notions of disability and ‘extreme users’ to frame a more appropriate context and subject focus for a phenomenological research enquiry for this project.

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Prosthetic Potential When considering audiences and target users for transhumanism, I was directed towards the possibilities that prosthetic devices can enable towards human enhancement. As such, these users of prosthetic devices can be considered ‘transhuman trailblazers’ given their prosthetic adaptability beyond the conventional human. Hence, I sought to adjust my focus for this project towards prosthetics as this was more tangible and appropriate for this project than the more speculative discourse of transhumanism.

“We have to go beyond what nature intended, a future where technology and what it is to be human are blurred. A new nature that will give us new bodies and where disability is no more” - Hugh Herr, as part of the Guardian article “What if a bionic leg is so good that someone chooses to amputate?” (2015)

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Reflection When I approached writing my brief for this self-initiated project, I believed that continuing on the theme of transhumanism discourse to be the most appropriate direction given my tacit knowledge and theoretical experience of the subject. However, as I wanted to explore the practical implications of such a concept for this project., the theme in its current state was not as tangible or feasible as it should have been.

Hence, I feel that the field of ‘prosthetics’ was more appropriate to frame the potential transhumanism ideals of ‘human enhancement’. As such, I reconfigured my brief and research focus on this phenomena instead. Albeit, this initial change in direction was difficult for me to adjust following several iterative successful academic endeavours within the speculative realm of transhumanist thought, but the more I looked into this area, the more I could see how these themes intrinsically compliment each other.

Research Question Through design, can we embrace the personal and social dimensions of prosthetics beyond functional rehabilitation to reveal preferable opportunities and speculative identities towards our transhuman future?

?

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Research Objective

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To phenomenologically explore the personal and social perspectives of those who interact with a prosthetic device in order to look beyond what is perceived functional through human enhancement possibilities.

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Desk Research Before I continue, I wanted to explain my research context of prosthetics as devices that restores mechanical functionality of a missing limb through a physical appendage to the human body;

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“A prosthesis is an artificial device, either external or implanted, that substitutes for or supplements a missing or defective part of the body, to which prosthetics are intended to restore the functionality of the body.�

Ears Heart (Pacemaker)

Nerves

Eyes

Nose

Teeth

Spine

Skin Fingers

Ribs Arms Hands

Hips

Source: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Artificial-Limb.html

As such, I wanted to explore which body parts could be replaced by a prosthesis. From undergoing preliminary desk research, it was evident that nowadays hypothetically almost any aspect of the body could be artificially replaced or in some cases be enhanced by a prosthetic device.

With so many potential possibilities, I wanted to understand more about prosthetics in context to see how they have evolved through history and potential future applications for prosthesis.

Legs

Ankle

Knees

Feet

Toes

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Historical Context Before deciding on prosthetics as the focal point for this assessment, I did preliminary research by looking at existing timelines of prosthetics and was intrigued by how rich the history was. When considering the vast history of prosthetics, which dates back thousands of years to the Egyptians who used rudimentary limbs to give the individual a sense of wholeness rather than actual function. (Grills, 2012)As time progressed, major milestones within prosthetic progression occurred in the last few centuries that centred on functionality and mechanical mobility that mirrored that of the human counterpart as closely as possible. (Norton 2007, p. 2) From analysing the movements of progression within prosthetics, there has been a shift from its original purpose of establishing the wholeness of the human form towards practical function of these limb replacement devices. The last 150 years of history have been monumental for prosthetic development and as a result narrowing down just a handful of key dates was quite challenging. Nevertheless, the result is a compilation of dates that I feel were critical to the development of prosthetics across ancient history until the present day to inform my research notions going forward.

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218 to 201 BC Roman General Marcus Sergius wears artificial iron hand to hold his shield during the Punic War History of Prosthetics

500 to 1500 300 BC Artificial leg fashioned from bronze and wood excavated from a grave in Capua, Italy

950 to 710 BC Two artificial toes attributed to Ancient Egyptian noblewoman.

Currently the oldest known functional prosthetics

(The Dark Ages) Scientific development stagnates.

Prosthesis limited to hook hands and peg legs for most.

Mortality rate for amputees high due to infection

2012 Quadriplegic woman Jan Scheuerman manipulates a robotic arm through thought

2009 Muscle re-innervation (TMR) prosthesis invented. Able to control prosthesis by thought + sensory feedback

1564 Ambroise ParĂŠ publishes Dix livres de la chirurgie.

Prosthetics with articulated joints, adjustable harness and knee lock control all feature

2006 DARPA launches the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. Aims to advance upper-limb technology

1861 Hanger Orthopedic Group founded by the first amputee of the American Civil War as a local company specializing in prosthetics Rubber hand is invented. Could be slipped from the socket and replaced with various tools (ie. eating utensils)

1945 National Academy of Sciences establishes artificial limb program in response to WWII veteran amputees.

Rapid progress in prosthetics arise

1863 Dubois L Parmelee improves artificial limbs by utilizing suction to attach limbs to sockets. Also introduces the multi-articulated foot

1898 Giulano Vanghetti introduces upper-limb prostheses powered by muscle contractions

1980 CAT-CAM socket is invented.

Improves general patient rehabilitation as shown in clinical trials. Myoelectric prostheses gain popularity.

Offers benefits such as proportional control through the use of sensors

Source: https://evolutionaryprosthetics.wordpress.com/

Current Context Notably, today prosthetics can be seen as ‘enabling’ devices with Oscar Pistorius as a leading example of how prosthetics can enable him to not just compete in ablebodied competitions but notionally be better than human. However, although the functional aspects of prosthetics have seen much advancement recently, their sense of ‘wholeness’ to the individual has been lacking, for something as personal as a replacement body-part, there is only limited choice of prosthesis to express identity and individuality for such devices. As such, design can play a role in establishing more ‘preferable’ prosthetics moving forward - as seen here with Aimee Mullins bespoke Alexander McQueen legs. Therefore, there are many possibilities that prosthetic enhancement could enable moving forward. As such, my aims and objectives for this project were centred around surpassing conventional approaches to disability by looking beyond what is notionally possible within prosthetics to reveal new ‘cool’ possibilities that such devices can enhance our human experience - why be ordinary if you could be extraordinary? To contextualise this, I sought to look at some case studies of how design has already played a role in conveying prosthetic possibilities.

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Case Study #1

What if an adversity was an opportunity for progress?

Aimee Mullins, 2010 Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run -- competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. At Georgetown, where she double-majored in history and diplomacy, she became the first double amputee to compete in NCAA Division 1 track and field. After school, Mullins did some modelling -- including a legendary runway show for Alexander McQueen. Now record-breaker at the Paralympic Games in 1996, Aimee Mullins has built a career as a model, actor and advocate for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics.

She’s a passionate advocate for a new kind of thinking about prosthetics.

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“When I lost my legs, I had no idea what to expect. But if you ask me today, if I would ever want to change my situation, I would have to say no. Because my legs haven’t disabled me, if anything they’ve enabled me. They’ve forced me to rely on my imagination and to believe in the possibilities, and that’s why I believe that our imaginations can be used as tools for breaking through borders, because in our minds, we can do anything and we can be anything. It’s believing in those dreams, facing our fears head-on that allows us to live our lives beyond our limits.”

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor is it the most intelligent that survives; it is the one that is most adaptable to change. Conflict is the genesis of creation. From Darwin’s work, amongst others, we can recognize that the human ability to survive and flourish is driven by the struggle of the human spirit through conflict into transformation. So, again, transformation, adaptation, is our greatest human skill. And, perhaps, until we’re tested, we don’t know what we’re made of. Maybe that’s what adversity gives us: a sense of self, a sense of our own power. So, we can give ourselves a gift.”

“I think the greatest adversity that we’ve created for ourselves is this idea of normalcy. Now, who’s normal? There’s no normal. There’s common, there’s typical. There’s no normal. [...] If we can change this paradigm from one of achieving normalcy to one of possibility [...] By not treating the wholeness of a person, by not acknowledging their potency, we are creating another ill on top of whatever natural struggle they might have. So we need to see through the pathology and into the range of human capability.”

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_the_opportunity_of_adversity

Case Study #2

What if you had a Third Thumb? What more could you do?

Dani Clode, 2017 The Third Thumb project approaches prosthetic devices from the perspective of expanding human ability, rather than “fixing” a disability or “replacing” something missing. Notionally, this could expand our perceptions of what is considered ‘normal’ in the near future.

It instigates necessary conversation about the definition of ‘ability’. The origin of the word ‘prosthesis’ meant ’to add, put onto’; so not to fix or replace, but to extend. The Third Thumb is inspired by this word origin, exploring human augmentation and aiming to re-frame prosthetics as extensions of the body.

When we start to extend our abilities, and when we re-frame prosthetics as extensions, then we start to create a catalyst for society to consider human extension, framed in an approachable, accessible design movement.

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https://www.daniclodedesign.com/ thethirdthumb

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Case Study #3

What if you could ‘hear’ colours? A new sixth sense?

Neil Harbisson, 2012 Born with the inability to see colour, Neil Harbisson wears a prosthetic device — he calls it an “eyeborg” — that allows him to hear the spectrum, even those colours beyond the range of human sight. By working with Montandon, and later with Peter Kese, Harbisson helped design a lightweight eyepiece that he wears on his forehead that transposes the light frequencies of colour hues into sound frequencies. Harbisson’s artwork blurs the boundaries between sight and sound. Through his Sonochromatic antenna that allows him to not only hear colours in our visible light spectrum but also see beyond human limitations in Infrared and Ultraviolet light spectrum’s.

His unique experience of colour informs his artwork. As such, his prosthesis goes beyond conventional function as a means of expression and experiencing the world in a totally different way.

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“I’ve been hearing colour all the time for eight years, since 2004, so I find it completely normal now to hear colour all the time […] when I started to dream in colour is when I felt that the software and my brain had united, because in my dreams, it was my brain creating electronic sounds. It wasn’t the software, so that’s when I started to feel like a cyborg. It’s when I started to feel that the cybernetic device was no longer a device. It had become a part of my body, an extension of my senses, and after some time, it even became a part of my official image.”

“So I got to a point when I was able to perceive 360 colours, just like human vision. I was able to differentiate all the degrees of the colour wheel. But then, I just thought that this human vision wasn’t good enough.

There’s many, many more colours around us that we cannot perceive, but that electronic eyes can perceive. So I decided to continue extending my colour senses, and I added infrared and I added ultraviolet to the colorto-sound scale, so now I can hear colours that the human eye cannot perceive.”

“We should all think that knowledge comes from our senses, so if we extend our senses, we will consequently extend our knowledge. I think life will be much more exciting when we stop creating applications for mobile phones and we start creating applications for our own body. I think this will be a big, big change that we will see during this century.

So I do encourage you all to think about which senses you’d like to extend. I would encourage you to become a cyborg. You won’t be alone.”

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/neil_harbisson_i_listen_to_color

Case Study #4

What if you could connect with others in new ways?

Dunne & Raby, 1997 Dunne & Raby is a London-based design studio established 1994, that uses design as a medium to stimulate discussion and debate amongst designers, industry and the public about the social, cultural and ethical implications of current and emerging technologies. Its practice is centred on Critical Design, a critical theory approach to design. In their book “Hertzian Tales”, Dunne & Raby’s ‘Thief of Affections’ shows a more poetic perspective to prosthetics by allowing new forms of interactions and connections between people.

This is imagined through the receiver on the right, which can ‘steal’ the heartbeat of nearby cardiac pacemakers through radio frequencies that these devices transmit. As such, this projects speculates new poetic interactions that prosthetics could enhance/augment.

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URL: http://www.dunneandraby.co.uk/ content/projects/67/0

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Case Study #5

Miniature human brains

What will humans look like in 100 years?

Bionic eyes beyond 20-20 vision

3D printed ears

Electronic noses

Juan Enriquez, 2016 Juan Enriquez is a futurist that thinks and writes about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will bring in business, technology, politics and society. As a broad thinker who studies the intersections of these fields, Enriquez has a talent for bridging disciplines to build a coherent look ahead. He is the managing director of Excel Venture Management, a life sciences VC firm. He recently published (with Steve Gullans) “Evolving Ourselves: How Unnatural Selection and Nonrandom Mutation Are Shaping Life on Earth.� The book describes a world where humans increasingly shape their environment, themselves and other species. Enriquez is a member of the board of Synthetic Genomics, which recently look into artificial enhancements such as prosthetics for the future.

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Increased strength

Digital Fingertips

Artificial pancreas

Programmable hearts

Mind-controlled bionic legs

Supersensitive electronic skin

“Prosthetics are something for somebody who is “disabled” and they become something that somebody who is “normal” might want to actually have, because what this prosthetic does, which is really interesting, is not only does it help you hear, you can focus your hearing, so it can hear the conversation going on over there. You can have superhearing. You can have hearing in 360 degrees. You can have white noise. You can record, and oh, by the way, they also put a phone into this. So this functions as your hearing aid and also as your phone. And at that point, somebody might actually want to have a prosthetic voluntarily.”

“Because we’re beginning to get all the tools together to evolve ourselves, we really have to ask, is it really ethical and do we want to evolve human beings? [...] As you adapt these things, the interesting thing about prosthetics is they’ve been coming inside the body. And then they’ve evolved further to become not just nice to have but essential to have. So when you’re talking about a heart pacemaker as a prosthetic, you’re talking about something that isn’t just, “I’m missing my leg,” it’s, “if I don’t have this, I can die.” And at that point, a prosthetic becomes a symbiotic relationship with the human body.”

“So instead of making a prediction about the future to begin with, let’s take what’s happening in the present with people like Tony Atala, who is redesigning 30-some-odd organs. And maybe the ultimate prosthetic isn’t having something external, titanium. Maybe the ultimate prosthetic is take your own gene code, remake your own body parts, because that’s a whole lot more effective than any kind of a prosthetic.”

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_what_will_humans_look_like_in_100_years

Future Trajectories In the long-term, a notional movement will begin to take place where prosthetics that go above and beyond the human form and potential will be made available, but only to the privileged few. (Burrows, 2012. p100) This has been foreshadowed throughout history within this industry and this trend is set to continue until technologies such as 3D printing become more mainstream.

As such the potential for abuse is high in this respect and as a result regulations will have to be made in as far as how super-enhanced an individual is allowed to become through prosthetics. As such, through recent technological advancement, prosthetics of the future can be seen as enhancement beyond its human limb counterpart towards transhumanism.

NEXT NOW Prosthetics offer an ‘powered’ energy output and input

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3D scanners and printers make individualised limbs for amputees

Reflection PROSTHETIC INDICATORS

FAR Transhumanism is realised, ‘upgrading’ your body will become the norm to gain new abilities and function beyond the human

NEAR

Prosthetics go the way of plastic surgery with unlicensed and licensed clinics offering ‘voluntary prosthesis’ for consumers

Prosthetic development will split into two fields: functional-realistic and super-enhanced

During the desk research phase, I found myself struggling to adapt to a new field at first. However, the more I looked into prosthetics, the more similarities and coincidences I discovered towards transhumanism.

Notably the historical progression of prosthetics was driven by technological advancement akin to transhumanism and a person’s sense of identity is transformed. Although this stage was important in establishing my projects direction and focus. I feel I needed to approach further stages through field research methods as I found delving into this discourse difficult to acclimatise to given my background as a designer. For a field as specialist as this, I felt I needed to approach experts to gain a more hollistic understanding of this context. Only when I believe I have comprehended this field sufficiently would I endeavour to approach prosthetic users, as such it is important to understand a context before responding.

Stakeholder Assemblage Following the desk research phase, I sought to reach out to stakeholders within the field.

As such, I had to identify ‘amputees’ as the main focus of a prosthesis user.

Stakeholder Key Public Sector

STAKEHOLDER MAP

Private Sector Third Sector

BACKSTAGE

Scottish Government FRONTSTAGE

NHS Scotland

Community

Family

Physiotherapists

Friends

*

USER

Rehabilitation Centres Educational Training

An ‘amputee’ is a person who has had a limb removed from the body by trauma, medical illness or surgery; such as an arm or a leg.

Amputee Charities

Prosthetists

Counselling

Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/amputation/

Funding

Amputees

Prosthetic Clinics Bespoke Prosthetic Practitioners

Donations

Trustees & Sponsors From identifying key stakeholders, I undertook primary field research to assemble stakeholder knowledge around prosthetic practise and context within the amputee community and network.

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Engagement #1

‘National Centre of Prosthetics & Orthotics’ tour To understand more about Prosthetics, I visited the National Centre of Prosthetics and Orthotics were prosthetists train for the profession. The University of Strathclyde is one of only two approved Universities in the UK to offer training and the only course in Scotland for aspiring prosthetists as such this is a very specialist discipline. I arranged for a facility tour by Laura Murray, a tutor within the department. From interviewing Laura, I managed to gain more insight into prosthetics as well as amputations in context. Notionally, prosthetics are becoming more ‘active’ compared to its ‘passive’ counterparts. From being given a tour of the facilities, I gained knowledge of the process to fitting and adjusting prosthesis. Notably, in the storage room there were thousands of ‘spare’ prosthesis following replacements. On my visit, I wasn’t allowed to interact with the students and amputees who were undergoing fittings and physiotherapy.

That being said, I was directed towards the ‘Finding Your Feet’ charity who organise local meetups for amputees.

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The ‘BSc Prosthetics and Orthotics degree’ at the University of Strathclyde is exclusively one of the only two ways to join the profession of prosthetics and orthotics in the UK

The Centre allows live training with real amputees. As such, the department can see over 100 amputees in a week for prosthetic fitting and adjustment

KEY KNOWLEDGE: While ‘Prosthetics’ is concerned with the replacement of a patient’s limb following amputation. ‘Orthotics’ creates devices that support a patient’s limb from deformity or need for amputation.

Prosthetics can be categorised in two functional groups: upper and lower limb types.

Amputees on average can require their prosthesis adjusted once per year and replaced every 2-3 years but can be more frequent in cases

Of the roughly 1500 lower limb amputations every year (SPARG), causes of amputation vary but often stem from a peripheral vascular disease or diabetes.

The majority of amputation cases are lower limb with approximately 5-15% percent of all persons with diabetes will undergo some type of lower limb amputation.

Upper limb amputation declining with improved safety standards with an estimated 70 percent of upper limb amputations are as a result of serious injuries with the majority involving the thumb and fingers.

Not all amputees are suitable for prosthetics due to their ’socket’ compatibility for limb fitting

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Engagement #2

‘Prosthetic Greaves’ discussion with Jeroen Blom The Prosthetic Greaves project aimed to deliver a beautiful crafted aesthetic for lower limb prosthesis. For something as personal as a replacement bodypart, there is only limited choice for aesthetics that have the same richness as other accessories we chose to surround ourselves with. Researchers and designers at the Glasgow School of Art’s Innovation School worked closely together with artisans and prosthesis users to create a space for co-designing a range of high quality decorative prosthesis covers. From skyping with Jeroen Blom, a lead researcher on this project, I gained insight into the projects conception and learned more about the methodology. Through adopting co-design approaches, artisans and prosthesis users to create their common ground and design elements of the greave that reflects the identity of both. Design templates and components to create a limb shape and fitting the greave to the prosthesis were provided to the artisans, so the focus could be fully on the creative process and the design output of the ‘Greaves’.

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‘Prosthetic Grea in the Glasgow S Building betwee 2017 as one of th from the new In

Jeroen was one of the researchers at the Glasgow School of Art who worked very closely with amputees for this project, his reflections were valuable for when I approach this public

During this project, co-design m were used to create a collabor design space for researchers, ar and amputees alike, as such output reflected the amputee b

KEY KNOWLEDGE: ‘Greaves’ are prosthesis covers after the traditional piece of decorative armour worn on the shin.

The common prosthetic design choices for lower limb prosthesis are either a foam limb-shaped cover, or a bare pole prosthesis.

aves’ was exhibited School of Art’s Reid en 14-29th October he first exhibitions nnovation School

Although advances in functionality has been realised within prosthetics, aesthetic quality has been neglected in the process Research showed a large group of people prefer a different aesthetic than those options, yet there is only limited choice for aesthetics Co-Design was utilised for this project to allow the artisans and prosthesis users to create their common ground and design elements of the greave that reflects the identity of both stakeholders

methods rative rtisans h the better URL: http://www.gsa.ac.uk/ life/gsa-events/events/p/ prosthetic-greaves/

Jeroen was keen for me to explore notions of prosthetic identity and relationships further through a service design proposition

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Engagement #3

‘Design Meets Disability’ author Graham Pullin From establishing an amputee focus for this project, I began researching notions of design for disability. A leading practitioner within this field, Graham Pullin is the author of the renowned “Design Meets Disability” which is a manifesto for how design should better cater for people with disabilities. It argues that when designers embrace disability, everybody benefits from a Universal Design perspective. I managed to meet Graham at his office in Dundee to gain insight into his practise of designing prosthetics as well as influencing disability accessibility within design. Graham was kind enough to share his latest project with me ‘Hands of X’ which explores radical material choices in prosthetic hands within a dedicated in-shop service for amputees in Glasgow’s East End. This was inspiring given Hands of X is to explore a more nuanced choice of materials, chosen by the wearer to make their prosthesis more personal to the amputee. He also directed towards the ‘Finding Your Feet’ charity from previous engagements with its founder Corinne Hutton for Hands of X.

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Graham Pullin is the course director of Digital Interaction Design at DJCAD within the University of Dundee. He was previously an interaction designer and studio lead at IDEO.

Throughout his design and academic career, Graham has interacted with some of the most extraordinary disabilities and imagines new possibilities through his book

URL: http://handsofx.co.uk/

KEY KNOWLEDGE: People are disabled by the society they live in, not directly by their impairment Nomenclature towards ‘disabled’ people can be contentious given their is no umbrella term appropriate for all conventions of disabilities ‘Trickle-down’ effect whereby advances in mainstream find there way to products for disabled people, could there be a ‘trickle-up’ effect too?

Eyeglasses have been transformed from medical necessity to fashion accessory. Why shouldn’t design sensibilities also be applied to hearing aids and prosthetic limbs?

There is more products on the market for animals than what their is for disabled people, even when the ‘purple pound’ is reckoned to be worth around £249bn to the economy By allowing amputees to be involved in the design process of their prosthesis, they can feel more attached to the device with a greater sense of belonging and personal identity Like ‘Hands of X’ there are opportunities to approach disability differently from a service proposal for ‘extreme’ consumers

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Engagement #4

‘Finding Your Feet’ Amputee Charity Partnership Following my engagements, I contacted the amputee charity ‘Finding Your Feet’ to ask for engagement within my project. From conversations with Nicola Booth, CEO of the charity. I was invited for a series of interviews with various members of the charities management to discuss my project in depth. My proposal was quite opportune given the charity would like to explore the possibilities of prosthetics further. During our briefings, we established that this project should make prosthetics ‘cool’ for amputees as well as approach the issue of social isolation within the amputee community. Although these engagements were successful. I wanted to deviate away from the aesthetic focus of the kind of prosthesis they were requesting and reframe my proposal towards something more holistic and meaningful for amputees. Given that my previous engagements led me to this opportunity, I feel that working alongside Finding Your Feet to be the most appropriate stakeholder with due to their accessibility to a variety of amputee users as well as aligning values towards my project aim.

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The Finding Your Feet charity is for those affected by amputation or limb difference set up by quadruple amputee Corinne Hutton after losing her hands and feet to Sepsis in 2013

Offering peer support for those coping with their disabilities and finding motivation, strength and determination despite the challenges, founder Corinne approaches new amputees to share her story of how she came to ‘find her feet’, seen here inspiring thousands at TedX Glasgow 2014, one year post amputation

KEY KNOWLEDGE: Finding Your Feet support families affected by amputation or limb difference, through a range of sporting initiatives and social inclusion projects.

Isolation is a huge problem for many amputees with quality of life and even life expectancy is greatly reduced without social inclusion As many as 30% of vascular amputees not surviving to one year post amputation, as such they refer to their amputees as ‘Troopers’

The charity runs over 50 activity clubs per month in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Leeds free of charge as well as social engagement opportunities for the amputee community

The most popular engagements are ‘Ampu-teas’ session where our ‘Troopers’ meet up for a coffee and chat every fortnight to promote social interaction among the amputee community Alongside the Ampu-teas sessions, Finding Your Feet offer an online support forum which offers peer support for amputees around the UK and beyond

URL: https://www.facebook. com/findingyourfeetcharity/ photos/

The charity has big ambitions for how to improve the lives of the amputee community and are ambitious about the future of prosthetics

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Knowledge Map

Knowledge Map NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS

Amputee Prosthetic Users

INTERPERSONAL

EDUCATIONAL

ORGANISA

ATIONAL

Reflection

WestMARC West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre

SMART

Southeast Mobility and Rehabilitation Technology

GOVERNMENTAL

While assembling stakeholders for this stage. I found that stakeholders were interested in my projects objective and that it aligned well with movements within the area of prosthetics. In particular, I was impressed by Graham Pullin’s ‘Hands of X’ project for the approach it takes towards disability. However, from the other knowledge I attained throughout these engagements, I believe there is much more that can be done to make a meaningful impact towards the amputee community.

From discovering ‘Finding Your Feet’, I thought that this project was perfectly aligned towards them and very opportune. That being said, I feel I needed to go beyond just aesthetic possibilities for prosthetics and explore the ‘social dimension’ of these devices.

I was shocked to hear about how much social isolation can affect amputees and looked forward to exploring this notion further during user engagements at FYF.

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User Engagement After establishing my stakeholders for this project and gained more knowledge about prosthetics. I began user engagement with Finding Your Feet. Given I had never met an amputee before, I chose to undertake a Grounded Theory approach to my engagement with the FYF community.

‘Ampu-tea’ Sessions Given that social isolation is a key focus for Finding Your Feet, with amputees quality of life and even life expectancy directly affected by this. As such, the charity host regular ‘Ampu-tea’ sessions for amputees across Scotland to get together for social inclusion. The participants to these engagements are called ‘Troopers’ given amputees have courageously faced harshness and unpleasant conditions, but also as they A ‘Trooper’ tend not to complain about their conditions in is an amputee the company of other amputees. As such I was eager to meet the Troopers during the Ampuwho exhibits teas session. Initially, I was taken aback with how bold positivity many amputees were present but found quickly that the tone of these sessions was very friendly perseverance, and light-hearted. Troopers vary from all age fortitude and groups and backgrounds with everyone willing to tenacity towards share their story openly. Hence, engaging with the Trooper collective was an inspirational experience their adversity given their attitude and tenacity towards being an Source: www.findingyourfeet.net/ amputee. These sessions very much felt like being part of a close community or FYF family.

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Around 30-40 Trooper’s regularly come from all over Scotland to attend these ‘Ampu-teas’ coffee and chat sessions fortnightly at the Finding Your Feet office in Skypark, Glasgow

‘Prosthetic Possibilities’ was an engagement workshop designed for a focus group of Troopers to develop a positive mindset around prosthetic capabilities and future possibilities

Trailblazing ‘Trooper’ Engagement Workshop Following the Ampu-tea session, CEO Nicola arranged a focus group of trailblazing Troopers to undertake an engagement workshop with me. These Troopers were selected due to their particularly positive outlook towards their prosthesis, as such they could be deemed as ‘trailblazing’. Notably, my sample was comprised of younger and more mature Troopers alongside an even gender balance to provide holistic perspectives.

‘Prosthetic Possibilities’ For my engagement workshop, I wanted to help facilitate positivity towards the possibilities that prosthetics can enable. As such, I developed a series of provocation cards to stimulate thought provoking discussions around possible ‘What If...’ opportunities that these devices can inspire. From my grounded theory approach, these possibilities were very speculative and broad to entice conversations about prosthetic realities and tangible experiences. As such, I was eager to see how my sample would react towards this discourse.

Fortunately, all 6 participants engaged well to the provocation cards I designed. Moreover, the conversations we engaged in during the workshop were trailblazing and innovative towards prosthetics and all participants who engaged had developed a more positive mindset towards prosthetics.

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Engagement Findings With the engagement workshops objective to inspire Troopers to speculate prosthetic possibilities through provocating amputee realities and limits, I managed to gain insights into my samples shared experiences as prosthetic users: Notions of prosthesis aesthetic were very important for amputees, they claim how the device looks was symbiotic to how they feel as it represents their identity

While most males often tend to show off their prosthesis, female amputees prefer to cover or hide their prosthesis due to their device not being ‘feminine’ enough

Moreover, females were more self-conscious about the appearance of the prosthesis - specifically around the ‘join’ with their stump as this can often be bulky and unflattering

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All of my participant sample were willing to exploring notions of ‘smart’ or enhanced prosthesis with additional capabilities

A common discussion was the ‘fit’ of their prosthetic, with many amputees claiming their sockets do not fit their stump as much as it could or should - this affects their relationship to the device In particular, possibilities around a ‘dynamic’ or ‘interchangeable’ prosthesis was popular as these devices reflect their human identity which has changed and evolved dramatically since amputation Also notions of stump sensing was much appraised given the complications that prosthetics can instigate from intense pressure, heat and friction - as such body monitoring capabilities was highly requested from a pre-emptive care perspective

Looking back, I think the FYF engagement workshop I designed for my Trooper sample was successful given the converse we speculated about potential prosthetic possibilities. As such, these provocations allowed opportunities to discuss realities more in depth and even conceptualise some early (rough) concepts together. Hence, I believe that engaging with amputees allowed greater knowledge and understanding towards prosthesis. However, although this collaborative workshop provided an opportunity to discuss prosthetics openly, I feel I needed to delve deeper to understand the personal and social dimensions that these devices inspire for amputees.

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Participant Interviews Following my user engagement workshop, I set up interviews with a sample of participants. For my sample, I procured research delegates across the amputee spectrum to gain a holistic outlook of the phenomenological experience being an amputee.

AMPUTEE SPECTRUM SINGULAR AMPUTEE COMMON

DOUBLE AMPUTEE

QUADRUPLE AMPUTEE RARE

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KEY QUOTES: “I’m maybe different to some others as when my leg is on show, it’s on show by looking like a prosthetic and to show it off, be proud of what it is and that’s what it looks like. But if I am wearing skinny jeans then I want it to look like a leg - I walk well and people can not know, when it is covered nobody should know it’s there - but when it’s out then everyone should notice its there”

“But at the same time, I am still a fema want to express myself, so does the pr necessarily need to look like tha Interview #1

Participant ‘A’ - 31 Years Old - From Brora in the Highlands - Moved to Glasgow’s Westend 9 years ago - Works part time with youth clubs at FYF - Also works PT as a shop assistant at John Lewis - Had her foot amputated ‘below the knee’ 4 years ago following Sarcoma soft tissue cancer diagnosis

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“When I am out and about, most people haven’t seen a prosthetic leg. You think if every single amputee has there leg out all the time, it would be more normal.”

“With people’s perceptions, you can feel really exposed and the fact that others can look at it can make you more socially isolated.”

ale and I rosthetic at.”

“It can be a massive mental struggle and I think unless you have really good friends around you, people tend to not want to be around people who are constantly negative as it can be quite draining. However, unless amputees have a support group then it can be difficult to get positive in that situation.”

“I am not sure whether I my amputation was a ‘gift’ but it has brought opportunity that otherwise wouldn’t have come my way. It has changed the direction of my life in a positive way. I guess it just becomes part of you and you adjust...”

*Full Interview transcript available to read within the project Appendix document

KEY TAKEAWAYS: ‘A’s Highland upbringing means she has a very strong social dependence coming from a place that was all about people and community connections Given her amputation was due to Sarcoma cancer, her attitude towards her leg amputation was positive as it enabled her to carry on with her life and even embrace new opportunities By calling her leg by the name ‘Meg’, she has helped humanise her prosthetic through characterisation beyond an object or device - this improves their relationship and confidence to show off Meg ‘A’ was very self conscious of the ‘join’ between her prosthesis and her leg as it restricted the clothing she could wear due to the bulkiness of the socket Fortunately ‘A’ has had a strong support network around her, who have been there throughout her journey, as such affects of social isolation have been minimal

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KEY QUOTES: “Getting back out into the world again. I didn’t want to face the world as I was… I couldn’t face looking at myself in the mirror, so it was hard for me to get out into the world where other people could see what I saw in the mirror. So that’s why I struggled, from the vision of myself point of view. I just felt very fragile.”

“It was tough for me to put my hand o let them help me. Or reach for their ha It wasn’t for a long time that I acce could use the help. I began to really a as time went on. And now, I don’t thin who I am today without FY Interview #2

Participant ‘B’

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- 25 Years Old - From Southside, Glasgow - Parents from Pakistan, raised by brothers - Joined the Finding Your Feet team recently following volunteering with the charity - Had both legs amputated ‘above the knee’ following a drinking accident on train tracks 4 years ago

KEY TAKEAWAYS: “I am still adjusting but I am definitely a lot more comfortable than 2-3 years ago. I couldn’t really face myself in the mirror. It’s been quite a long process to acceptance.”

out and let me and I suppose. epted that I appreciate it nk I would be YF.”

“My old self was lost, confused and in mental pain all the time. The way that I dealt with that was through numbing myself through alcohol and I didn’t want to deal with the reality of life.

Whereas now, I am a lot more of a positive person, I look forward to the future instead of fearing it. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I have a bit more direction now than I did before.”

“I often refer to it as a ‘blessing in disguise’ because I was going down a really bad path – I could be gone. So the blessing in disguise is that I am here and I can make a change to my person and my life now that I have been given a second chance. But a lot of others would have a different perspective, so I appreciated life now.” *Full Interview transcript available to read within the project Appendix document

‘B’ has found his journey following his accident difficult and really struggled initially to come to terms with being a double amputee - even looking in a mirror was hard for him As such he became very socially isolated and hid himself away from the world at first, but FYF encouraged him to come along to the Ampu-tea sessions to interact with others and gain peer perspective From losing his legs during the incident, ‘B’ is left with many other physical and psychological scars that remind him how lucky he is to be alive following his accident Through the support he has received from FYF he is becoming more content with himself and his personal image, even more so from when he was an able-bodied person He has now recently joined the FYF team to help support other amputees and give back to the charity by raising awareness of alcohol and railway abuse

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KEY QUOTES:

“Although being a quadruple amputee would limit me, I wanted to fight back - I wanted to be able. I got myself out of hospital for my son’s first day at school, which made me a mum again, that very day. I wanted to be able not disabled, and perhaps could spread that message and be able to turn you adversity into something much more positive.”

“I thought perhaps being positive might rub off i people, and I could perhaps teach people to not the defeat. I wanted to be able not disabled, and I could spread that message and be able to tur adversity into something much more positiv Interview #3

Participant ‘C’

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- 48 Years Old - From Renfrewshire - Mother to Rory who is nearly 10 Years Old - Founder & Face of the ‘Finding Your Feet’ Charity - Following a life threatening battle with Sepsis five years ago where both her hands were amputated along with both her feet ‘below the knee’

t I t

sI ur

“In a nutshell, I want prosthetics to ‘wow’ and not be seen as sympathetic items, or signs of disabilities. I want them to be a sign of strength and power – to empower us. For everybody who has gone through all their fights to say ‘that’s my scar, look how cool I am’ and show them!

in some t accept perhaps rn your ve.”

“If you are trying to make them look real – mostly they do not look real, so people do a wee ‘double take’ and then ultimately it is like something is not quite right or you are hiding something. Isn’t it much cooler to be out there with something that people say ‘wow’ to? Instead of the sympathy look. Or you know wouldn’t that be great? Why cant we be the coolest people out there? With prosthetic legs that look much better than real legs.”

“A lot of the Troopers we come across – they just vanish, and you don’t hear from them; that’s when you realise they are hiding. Hiding under their duvet and they cant face people.

Its actually the worst thing you can do. I know that’s the answer to social isolation, so I have to drag people out – that’s my job to drag people out - it can save lives.” *Full Interview transcript available to read within the project Appendix document

KEY TAKEAWAYS: ‘C’ is a very family oriented person and being a mum to Rory is her world and reason for being - their relationship has been a key motivation throughout her recovery post amputations Being a quadruple amputee, ‘C’ is very receptive to her physical limitations but has combated this through psychological positivity - like when she is banned from saying “I can’t...”

Her son Rory has known his mother longer with prosthetics than without and this has changed his perception of prosthesis, it is a common social phenomena to him By setting up the Finding Your Feet charity, ‘C’ aspired to help amputees who were feeling the affects of social isolation - as a particularly resilient individual she hopes to inspire other amputees to find inner strength She is very optimistic about the future of prosthetics and the abilities that they can enable - notionally due to her impairments ‘C’ is eager for limb prosthesis to become better than its human counterparts

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Cultural Probe After each interview, I issued an autoethnographic activity for each participant as a form of cultural probe. This would allow me to capture insights beyond conversations and contextualise their experience as an amputee. Here we have Participant ‘A’s visual storyboard:

“I love what ‘Sports’ Meg lets me achieve, but the socket is very large and is rather masculine.”

“Meg requires a lot of preparation to get me ready, there is so many layers to support and keep flush”

“Meg is always there for me, even by my bedside when I wake up in the morning... we are very close!”

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“Want to cross my legs but with all the layers the shape at the back of the knee... Meg restricts me!”

“Out in the sun but me and Meg are struggling with the heat... she is boiling hot to the touch!”

“With these jeans, I have wrapped Meg with a velcro foam pole insert but this lumpiness is the result” “After a long day, it feels great to take Meg off and put my foot up - it is so relaxing to free my stump”

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Overall, I was pleased with the responses from my participants as each visual told a story. As such, I believe this method was effective for me to gain an understanding into these amputees day-to-day lives and see the richness of their relationships with prosthetics and others.

“When taking Rory to school, I am proud that prosthetics can enable me to hold his hand on the way”

“For someone who could barely look themselves in the mirror... I take the odd selfie now and then”

“I often get people doing a double take with these legs... even I stare at them they are that realistic”

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Reflection Throughout my user engagement, I am pleased with the richness of the understanding I managed to obtain through my research methods.

During the Ampu-teas, I found myself immersed within Trooper culture and the workshop enabled me to communicate my project towards participants. Moreover the interviews I conducted were very revealing as they offered an in-depth look into these peoples lives and motivations. Furthermore, the Cultural Probe allowed me to gain behind-the-scenes access to their daily lives and interactions.

As such I thought my research methods were appropriate for the sensitivities of this context. Hence, I feel that going forward I should continue a phenomenological methodology towards these participants. That being said, although I found this research rich, I foresaw challenges ahead given the scale of research conducted.

In hindsight, it may have been beneficial to narrow my focus again.

Fieldwork Insights From analysing my user engagement, I had gained a lot of fieldwork insights. However, I found it difficult to collate and articulate these insights together given the phenomenological methodology I took to user engagement

Contextualisation As such, I sought to contextualise all my research together through ‘A Day in the Life’ process. This would allow me to analyse all participants data on a cohesive framework to find correlated insights.

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START OF THE DAY

A Day in the Life of Participant ‘A’

I N SI GH T

ME AND ‘IT’...

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Amputees have a unique relationship with their prosthesis.

What if there was a way to make this connection more personalised?

I N SI GH T

BAREPOLE IS BARE

Prosthetics often appear and feel bare in comparison to other limbs. What if you can fill out the pole for best optimisation of the surrounding space?

END OF THE DAY

I NS IG H T

TO HIDE OR SHOW?

Amputees either choose to show or hide their prosthesis but it is hard to hide a fake leg.

What if there was a way to signal that someone was an amputee?

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A Day in the Life of Participant ‘B’

IN SIG H T

START OF THE DAY

SOCIAL ISOLATION

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Given that amputees can become socially isolated, it is very important to encourage interaction. What if prosthesis could facilitate this?

END OF THE DAY

I N SI GH T

LACK OF ‘WHOLENESS’

Losing a limb can be like losing a part of your ‘whole’ self. What if there was better support to facilitate amputee transitions after amputation?

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A Day in the Life of Participant ‘C’ IN SIG H T

START OF THE DAY

PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS

I N SI GH T

FAKE IS FAKE

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Although amputees can aspire to look like ‘normal’, their prosthetic will never replace their real limb.

What if amputees were more empowered?

Every amputee is different but notionally we think of a stereotype. What if there was a way to better communicate personal experience?

END OF THE DAY

I N SI GH T

LESS HUMAN = LESS ‘ABLED’

Amputees innately are less abled but that doesn’t mean that they ‘can’t’. What if more mainstream products were more accessible for disabled people?

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Following the individual contextualisation of each participant, I decided to affinitise all the insights together through mapping each insight according to its personal/social stance alongside form vs. function to gauge the insights in context.

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Affinitising

Reflection

From clustering together the insights and mapping them on this framework, I could affinitise together design directions to ideate opportunities from.

FORM

PERSONAL PUBLIC

FUNCTION

As such, from considering my research findings alongside these insights, I managed to conceptualise design opportunities to explore and experiment with.

Although I found contextualising my rich user engagement research helpful, I believe I should have narrowed down my enquiry further as undertaking all 3 participants phenomenologically has been a challenge. As such, I feel that I could have gone deeper within the ‘Day in the Life of...’ scenarios as there are many more moments that could have been explored within each of their lives. In particular, I feel that I could have delved deeper within ‘C’s contextualisation as her circumstances as a quadruple amputee are very rare and her relationship with her son could have been further probed. Hence, the insights delivered are rather broad and generalised as they derived from the shared experiences of my 3 very unique research delegates.

However, this more pragmatic approach allows opportunities for a wider audience and market compared to the initial enquiry.

Therefore, my opportunities will cater for universal amputees.

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Opportunity Identification From defining my insights from primary and secondary research, I began to ideate design opportunities from the directions identified. Following engagement with users, some of these opportunities arose in conversation with Trooper amputees and FYF stakeholder consultations.

Interchangeable Aesthetic Covers Notionally the relationship between form and function presents interesting opportunities. From the lack of personalisation around bare role prosthesis, the possibility of interchangeable covers that better reflect the amputee in situ was a popular option. Following on from the prosthetic ‘fairing’, a more modular design could allow for aesthetic to be interchangeable. As such, prosthesis could be better coordinated for an outfit and therefore be more preferable to show rather than hide. This can be compared to current tattoo culture but this offers advantages of dynamicism that ‘able’ bodied people are limited to.

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FORM

FUNCTION

‘Smart’ Module Functionality Also explored was utilising the space between the role and the cover as an opportunity to integrate technology within their prosthetic.

Due to the nuanced requirements and preferences, adaptable ‘smart’ modules could allow endless possibilities for the function of prosthetics moving forward.

Throughout engagements, we were looking at adapting the prosthetic to sense moisture and temperature, even the idea of integrating an aircon for optimisation and comfort.

As such, modules allow for greater diversified abilities beyond ‘real’ human legs - showing a preference towards artificial enhancements.

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PERSONAL

Digitally Augmented Relationships Moreover, I wanted to explore amputees relationships with prosthetics further through personal and public perspectives.

As such, I looked into notions of augmenting their relationship to their prosthetic through digital technology that could add a new dimension towards these inanimate objects. Through a prosthesis ‘companion’ app, amputees can interact with their device from new perspectives using augmented reality and artificial intelligence. This could help facilitate empathy and understanding between amputees and their prosthetic device through personification and animation of their artificial limb. Notionally, this can allow others richer relations with an amputees prosthesis too.

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PUBLIC

Social Networking Connections Furthermore, I wanted to establish a way to connect prosthetics together as a tool for social networking.

Given how much isolation affects amputees, prosthetics could play a role in establishing a support network and ensure amputees that they are not alone in their struggles.

Through exploring the ‘social dimension’ of such devices, I would aspire to speculate how prosthetics can enable social interactions beyond what is conventional within communications and socialising.

As such the interplay between personal and public relations is very important for the amputee community. With communication becoming ever more digital, could prosthesis encourage physical connections and discovery?

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User Feedback From identifying opportunities to explore, I decided to pitch these possibilities towards the Trooper amputees at an Ampu-tea session, here was their feedback:

“I would love the opportunity to ‘switch’ leg styles on the go!”

Gain Point Pain Point

“I love this concept, having an aircon in my leg would be a dream in this weather!”

“This could mean that I could have many legs; a Sporty leg, Posh leg... even a Scary leg! Spice up my life...”

“I like how these make the leg more fashion accessorisable and a conversation starter!”

“How would this attach? Magnets maybe too weak to stay put.”

“I think this is a really sweet idea, I feel I could have a better relationship with my leg” “I am not fond of using apps but agree that humanising the prosthetic could be interesting” “We could celebrate my leg’s birthday and have photo albums of how I have grown with my prosthetic... a great reflective tool!”

“Would be great if this could connect with prosthetists and counsellors as a way of logging issues with the prosthetic”

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“There is endless possibilities with these modules... I wish I had two prosthesis so I could have more functionality” “I like the idea but how would the modules be powered?”

“I could see this as the future! With technology becoming more wearable, prosthetic legs make us more adaptable” “I think this is important to explore but worried about privacy concerns” “Most amputees you wouldn’t know until you really got to know them, so this is quite relevant as it can be socially supportive” “If some amputees are shy, it would be great if there prosthetic could initiate interaction” “It is important for us to have a support network and not feel alone, this could help us reach out to those less able and encourage amputees to get out and about”

Reflection Overall, I believe the opportunities identified to be pragmatic towards the insights defined following my Trooper user engagement. I feel my approach holistically encompasses many of the issues discovered during knowledge assemblage - even if somewhat literally.

However, during critique received through the Interim Reviews, I feel that the credibility of some opportunities were undermined for not being ‘meaningful’ enough towards my user. As such, I feel that going back to the Amputeas for user feedback essential for progression. The responses gained from this engagement were wholely encouraging with the majority of feedback positive from Troopers, particularly from my key participants. Painpoints arose mainly due to lack of detail in the design. Hence to develop my proposal further, I believe I should consider my communication approach to reflect the value that these opportunities could provide.

Design Development Following the user feedback I received on my design opportunities, I developed my propositions further based on their responses and suggestions: Case Study

Nokia ‘Faceplates’

3D scanned and printed fairing for bespoke fit for prosthesis

Different customisable aesthetic ‘faces’ available

‘Clip-on’ design makes it easily interchangeable

Interchangeable Aesthetic Covers Notionally, this concept was highly requested from idea of a prosthetic ‘fairing’ but these were heavy and cumbersome.

As such, I took inspiration from the late Nokia ‘Faceplates’ to enable a clip system for the outside surface to customise with different faces. This way, amputees could interchange their face plates rather than changing the whole ‘fairing’ as such the fairing could have Opportunity for many faces and personalities foot and pole to that reflect the amputee better be a future power than a standard barepole. source for modules

‘Smart’ Module Functionality From the feedback I received, this was the most interesting concept. As such, I saught inspiration from Motorola’s ‘Mod’ initiative that features a standardised design Possibility to extend for modular extensions to to the socket for the phones features. From more capability launching this initiative 2 years ago, several companies have developed custom Mods beyond Motorola’s range.

Hence, an ‘Open Source’ design for prosthetic modules could allow amputees opportunities Module dimensions to extend their abilities. standardised to Furthermore, from adopting make swappable the magnetised ‘Mod’ port; power, data as well as physical alignment can be shared for ‘smart’ prosthesis modules.

Case Study

Magnetically attached to provide alignment and power Groves to help standardised modules grip

Moto ‘Mods’ Hasselblad Monochrome Camera Pico Projector JBL BoomSound Speaker Battery Pack

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Digitally Augmented Relationships Notably, aspects of the personal and social dimension were less requested. As such I wanted to develop these proposals further. From the symbiotic relationships we have developed with personal technology, I wanted to further explore how we can improve relationships to wearables.

By looking into the popular Fitbit app, it was evident that communication of data was key to users motivation.

Moreover, social connections were important to success.

As such, I designed this app to react to an amputee’s experience through their prosthesis.

Customise and bring your prosthetic alive using built-in AR feature

View sensory statistics and AI analysis data

Adjust ‘modules’ remotely to your preference

Explore further module extensions and abilities

Case Study

FitBit Wearables Connect to a community or others to share progress

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Control over your privacy and how you would like to be discovered

Case Study

Pokemon Go Log your mood and emotional wellbeing as a reflection tool

Connect with other amputees nearby or in need to encourage interaction

Proactively suggest social events and meetups to combat isolation

Collate friends together to form your support network

Earn rewards for engagement and support within the amputee community

Social Networking Connections Furthermore, I wanted to explore how prosthesis could connect to one another ethically without breaching privacy data. As such, I looked into ways of social gamification like Pokemon Go to see how creation of an avatar allows privacy when exploring the outside. Moreover, through this app, people are encouraged to get out and about, meetup at Pokestops and socialise through common interest/ goals. Hence, I explored how prosthesis could act as a character towards new networking connections and how these character profiles could enable amputees to gather and socialise more frequently and proactively.

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Service Synthesis

Adaptive ‘Smart’ Module Functionality

To collate all these design propositions together, I sought to synthesise all aspects of these proposals into a holistic service initiative for the amputee community.

Amputee Community

Custom Designed Aesthetic Covers

Social Network Interaction

Digitally Augmented Relationships 73

As such, the main ambition for this service initiative would be to make prosthetics more ‘preferable’ for amputees. By combining all aspects of the design development and intellectual curiosity through knowledge assemblage, this service responses appropriately to my user.

Reflection Overall, I believe the design development phase to be lacking.

Due to illness, I couldn’t experiment enough with my concepts. Ideally, I would have developed these propositions alongside my amputee sample or possibly just towards one person in particular. This would have resulted in a more cohesive proposal as currently the aspects of the service seem rather nebulous.

That being said, there is value in this proposal and the creation of a service like this would be of interest to the amputee community as currently there is nothing that offers such a holistic package. Inspired by the consumer experience of ‘Hands of X’ and movements such as ‘Prosthetic Greaves’, there is a market for more preferable prosthetics that goes beyond just aesthetic but how an amputee ‘feels’ - as such this can be traced back to the earliest prosthesis which was used to give a sense of ‘wholeness’. Hence, I believe better communication would be beneficial.

Concept Communication Collating all my design development together led me towards my final concept ‘Preferable Prosthetics’:

An inclusive service initiative for amputees to explore the personal and social dimensions of prosthetics to speculate the identities and capabilities of our future as enhanced humans.

PREFERABLE PROSTHETICS

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Who?

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ov e pr the os k th ne es e is Ab

gh pr the os k th ne es e is

Th ro u

ow pr the os k th ne es e is

Be l

pr S os ym th e es ’s is

Barepole Prosthesis

In Scotland, there are around 1500 lower limb amputations every year, with amputees commonly utilising either a foam limb-shaped cover or a bare pole prosthesis. However, for something as personal as a replacement bodypart, there is only limited choice for form and functionality of these devices that have the same richness as other accessories we choose to reflect our identity and individuality. Through a transhumanist perspective, losing a limb should not limit a person’s opportunities but extend them further than what is ordinarily possible.

As such, this initiative is for Finding Your Feet Troopers to become ‘Transhuman Trailblazers’.

What?

This initiative encourages ‘Preferable Prosthetics’ that allow amputees extraordinary opportunities for personality expression alongside enhanced relationships with their prosthetic adaptions.

As such, this service brings together more stakeholders to inspire preferability.

PREFERABLE PROSTHETICS

BACKSTAGE

FRONTSTAGE Designers

Charity

LINE OF INTERACTION

WestMARC

Products

Practitioners

Amputee Community

West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre

Public

System

LINE OF VISIBILITY

PurplePound Market

Private

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When?

en t sm es As s et ic th

n ss Se

ul

ig

n

ns

-D es

Co

Co

ne r

De s

ig

ne r

ig De s

Cr ea te e pu Am

io

n ta t

m m tiv e

Co

in te d Pr 3D gn er si De

77

io

on s

Co ve r

ALTERNATIVE NOW

Pr os

Pr os

th

Ph ys

NOW

et is

io th

er ap y

tR ec as

Se

tin

g

ss

io

n

As such, this service initiative allows more stakeholders to be involved with amputees to allow these extraordinary opportunities to be established. Hence, this means that changing or adapting your prosthesis to better reflect you would be as common as buying new clothes or accessories. Therefore this service allows prosthetics to be more preferable to amputees.

Where?

Given the experimental nature of this service, I imagined it to function like the Hands of X ‘Pop-Up Shop’ experience, where the hub for the service will be the Preferable Prosthetics ‘Studio’ that will be subsidised by the Finding Your Feet charity. As such, this gives amputees an accessible destination to explore the possibilities of their prosthesis and engage with one another to establish co-designed outcomes as well as facilitate experiences beyond functional rehabilitation for this community.

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POSSIBLE

CONE OF POSSIBILITY Dunne & Raby, “Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming” (2016)

PLAUSIBLE

PREFERABLE PROBABLE PRESENT

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Why? Given that social isolation is a significant problem for the amputee community, with as many as 30% of vascular amputees not surviving to one-year post amputation, ‘Preferable Prosthetics’ considers how prosthesis can encourage inclusive social interaction and enhanced interpersonal connectivity. Therefore, I believe through designing these devices beyond conventional functions of rehabilitation, amputees can feel empowered and positive about being prosthetic users. Moreover, I would like to inspire the mindset that amputees could be trailblazers towards our ‘transhuman’ future through the possibilities enabled by their prosthetic adaptability. As such, prosthetics can offer unique and empowering possibilities to speculate the capabilities of our future as enhanced humans.

How? Through collaboration between Finding Your Feet and other stakeholders, the charity are willing to subsidise an initiative that explores the personal and social dimensions of these prosthetics. From transforming Trooper’s perspectives around the possibilities of being ‘Transhuman Trailblazers’ - I would hope to disseminate the transformative value of these results and accumulate a network to inspire others within the amputee community to reach out towards this service, As such I aspire to influence preferable futures for amputees.

Third/Charitable Sector

Private Sector PREFERABLE PROSTHETICS

Public Sector

WestMARC

West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre

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User Journeys Communicating how this service proposal would benefit and be of value to my users.

USER #1

PARTICIPANT ‘A’

Approach

‘A’ found out about the Preferable Prosthetics initiative online

A designer introduces all 3 amputees to the Preferable Prosthetics Studio

‘A’ arrives at the Studio and explores around to see the outcomes

Singular Amputee

PARTICIPANT ‘B’ USER #2

Discover

Double Amputee

‘B’ was advised from a colleague about the Preferable Prosthetics initiative ‘B’ asks for support as he is shy and uncertain about what might happen

USER #3

PARTICIPANT ‘C’

Quadruple Amputee

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‘C’ takes ‘A’ along to the Studio to show him what he is missing out on

‘C’ has been advising her amputee network to explore their prosthetic potential at the initiative

Engage

Interact ‘A’ agrees to have her leg scanned to see what can be done

‘A’ feels more positive about being an amputee as she looks forward to receiving the 3D printed covers

‘A’ is taken through all the possibilities that could be done to her leg - Meg.

‘A’ would love to she Meg get transformed too

‘B’ watches ‘A’ and ‘C’ designing a new prosthetic cover and gets ideas for how he would design his own...

‘B’ is hesitant to have his legs scanned yet, so watches ‘A’ go instead

‘B’ watches the process of ‘A’s leg Meg getting analysed

‘C’ assures them that the charity fund the facilitates and to just have fun creating

‘C’ encourages the others to try out the scanning machines and be creative

Leave

‘B’ is more confident in exploring prosthetic possibilities after seeing what could be done with ‘A’

‘C’ is pleased that she took ‘B’ along to see the Studio and thinks about other amputees who would benefit from such exploration

‘C’ offers advice to ‘A’ for deciding on her new leg aesthetic, she shows ‘A’ her preferred legs as an example

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Service Blueprint Through devising user journeys, I then created a service blueprint to communicate the system.

Discover

Journey Stage

External Interaction

Journey Stage

External Touchpoints

External Journey Stage Touchpoints

User Actions

User Actions External Journey Stage Touchpoints User Actions Journey Stage External Frontstage Touchpoints User Actions External Line Frontstage Touchpoints

of Interaction

Frontstage

User Actions Backstage Frontstage User Actions Backstage

Backstage

Frontstage Internal Line of Interaction Backstage Visibility Frontstage Internal Interaction

Approach

Discover

Discover Preferable Prosthetics Website Preferable Prosthetics Website

Preferable Prosthetics Contact/Enquiry

Find and Explore Make an Enquiry the Website Request Preferable Prosthetics Preferable Prosthetics Website Contact/Enquiry Discover Find and Explore Make an Enquiry the Website Request

Preferable Prosthetics Studio

Reception Area Preferable Prosthetics Studio

Approach

Preferable Prosthetics Email/Phone Contact/Enquiry Communications Make an Enquiry Request Preferable Prosthetics Email/Phone Contact/Enquiry Communications

Preferable Prosthetics Transportation Studio to the Studio Travel to the Studio Preferable Prosthetics Transportation Studio to the Studio

Find and Explore the Website& Marketing Communication Advertisement & Accessibility Brand Awareness Find and Explore the Website& Marketing Communication Accessibility

Make an Enquiry Request Administration Email/Phone Procedure Communications Make an Enquiry Request Administration Procedure

Travel to the Studio Planned Transportation Appointment to the to Studio Travel the Studio Planned Appointment

Advertisement & Brand Awareness Accessible Marketing Marketing & Plan/Strategy Advertisement & Communication Brand Awareness Accessibility Accessible Marketing Plan/Strategy

Email/Phone Communications Appointment Administration Administration Email/Phone Procedure Communications Appointment Administration

Transportation to the Studio Consultation Preparation Planned Transportation Appointment to the Studio Consultation Preparation

Administration Procedure

Planned Appointment

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Consultation

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Consultation

Register for Service Registration/Consent Reception Area Preferable Prosthetics Initiative Forms Studio Receptionist

Communication Understand the Service Proposal Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Consultation

Communication Respond to the ServiceProsthetics Proposal Preferable Studio Designer Consultation

Reception Area Registration/Consent Forms

Communication

Communication

Register for Service Administration Initiative Receptionist Policy Register for Service Registration/Consent Administration Initiative Forms

Understand the Service Proposal Consultation Practise/Training Consultation Understand the Communication Service Proposal Consultation Practise/Training

Respond to the Service Proposal Consultation Practise/Training Consultation Respond to the Communication Service Proposal Consultation Practise/Training

Policy Receptionist Registration/Consent Administration Administration Forms Processing Receptionist Policy Registration/Consent Administration Forms Processing

Administration

Consultation Preparation Planned Appointment

Policy

Internal Interaction

Accessible Marketing Plan/Strategy

Appointment Administration

Consultation Preparation

Administration Processing

Internal Interaction

Accessible Marketing Plan/Strategy

Appointment Administration

Consultation Preparation

Administration Processing

Internal Interaction

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Preferable Prosthetics Designer Preferable Prosthetics Designer

Explore the Opportunity Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Explore the Opportunity

Agree to the Proposed Outcome Preferable Prosthetics Designer Agree to the Proposed Outcome

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Establish a

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Propose a

Project Brief Define the Issue/Problem Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Establish a

Solution Explore the Opportunity Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Propose a

Project Brief

Solution

Preferable Prosthetics Devise an Designer Implementation Agree to the Strategy ProposedProsthetics Outcome Preferable Devise an Designer Implementation Strategy

Consultation Human Resources Communication Consultation Talent Management Practise/Training Consultation Human Resources Communication Talent Management

Consultation Practise/Training Human Resources Consultation Talent Management Practise/Training

Consultation Communication Human Resources Consultation Talent Management Practise/Training Consultation Communication Human Resources Talent Management

Consultation Practise/Training Human Resources Consultation Talent Management Practise/Training

Define the Consultation Issue/Problem Practise/Training

Preferable Prosthetics Designer 3D Scanning Preferable Prosthetics Facilities Designer 3D Scanning Facilities

Explore the Consultation Opportunity Practise/Training Propose a Policy Explore the Solution Consultation Opportunity Practise/Training

Policy

Policy

Talent Management Consultation Practise/Training Policy Human Resources Consultation Practise/Training Talent Management Policy

Interact

Allow Prosthesis Preferable Prosthetics to be 3D Scanned Designer 3D Scanning Allow Prosthesis Facilities to be 3D Scanned

Interact

Leave Preferable Prosthetics Designer

Preferable Prosthetics Studio

3D Modeling Preferable Prosthetics Facilities Designer

Reception Area Preferable Prosthetics Studio

3D Modeling Facilities

Reception Area

Selection of Preferable Prosthetics Prosthetic fairing Designer adaptions

Agree next Consultation Preferable Prosthetics appointment Studio

Selection of 3D Modeling Prosthetic fairing Facilities adaptions

Agree next Reception Area Consultation appointment

Interact

Establish a Policy Define the Project Brief Consultation Issue/Problem Practise/Training

Establish a Human ProjectResources Brief Consultation Practise/Training Talent Management Establish a Human Resources Policy Project Brief

Leave

Interact Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Engage

Preferable Prosthetics Receptionist Studio

Appointment Administration Administration Procedure

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Engage

Define the Issue/Problem Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Engage Define the Issue/Problem

Approach

Preferable Prosthetics Advertisement Website & Brand Awareness Find and Explore the Website Preferable Prosthetics Advertisement Website & Brand Awareness

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Respond to the Service Proposal Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Respond to the Service Proposal

Policy Administration Administration Processing

Internal Interaction Backstage

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Understand the Service Proposal Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer Understand the Service Proposal

Marketing & Communication Accessibility Accessible Marketing Marketing & Plan/Strategy Communication Accessibility

Backstage

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Reception Area

Travel to the Register for Service Preferable Prosthetics Studio Initiative Preferable Prosthetics Studio Studio Approach Travel to the Register for ReceptionService Area Studio Initiative

Discover

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Designer

Leave

Interact

Engage Preferable Prosthetics Studio

Preferable Prosthetics Studio

Interact

Engage

Approach Preferable Prosthetics Contact/Enquiry

Discover

Engage

Approach

Propose a Human Resources Solution Consultation Practise/Training Talent Management Propose a Human Resources Policy Solution Talent Management Consultation Practise/Training Policy Human Resources Consultation Practise/Training Talent Management Policy

Agree to the Consultation Proposed Outcome Practise/Training Devise an Implementation Policy Agree to the Consultation Strategy Proposed Outcome Practise/Training Policy Devise an Implementation Human Resources Consultation Strategy Practise/Training Talent Management Devise an Implementation Human Resources Policy Strategy Talent Management Consultation Practise/Training Policy Human Resources Consultation Practise/Training Talent Management Policy

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources

Talent Management

Talent Management

Talent Management

Talent Management

Talent Management

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources

Talent Management

Talent Management

Talent Management

Talent Management

Talent Management

Preferable Prosthetics Designer

Accurate scanning 3D Scanninglimb of Prosthetic Allow Prosthesis Preferable Prosthetics Facilities to be 3D Scanned Designer Accurate scanning Scanning of 3D Prosthetic limb Facilities

Preferable Prosthetics Studio

Leave

Preferable Prosthetics Studio

Test Bespoke Prosthetic Preferable Prosthetics Product Studio Leave Test Bespoke Prosthetic Product

Leave Preferable Prosthetics Designer Design of a 3D Modeling Bespoke Prosthetic Selection of Preferable Prosthetics Facilities Product Prosthetic fairing Designer adaptions Design of a 3D Modeling Bespoke Prosthetic Facilities Product

Preferable Prosthetics Studio Creation of Bespoke Prosthetic Agree next Reception Area Product Preferable Prosthetics Consultation Studio appointment Creation of Bespoke Prosthetic Reception Area Product

Preferable Prosthetics Capturing Studio Responses Test & User Feedback Bespoke Prosthetic Preferable Prosthetics Product Capturing Studio Responses & User Feedback

Allow Prosthesis Uploading of to be 3D Scanned Prosthesis Accurate scanning Scanning data Prosthesis ofAllow Prosthetic limb of toUploading be 3D Scanned Prosthesis Scanning data

Selection of Prosthetic Fundingfairing by adaptions& Sponsors Design of a Investors Selection of Bespoke Prosthetic Prosthetic fairing Product Funding by adaptions& Sponsors Investors

Agree next Consultation Funding by appointment Sponsorsof& Creation Investors Bespoke AgreeProsthetic next Product Consultation Funding by appointment Sponsors & Investors

Test Bespoke Prosthetic Advertisement & Product Brand Awareness Capturing Responses Test & User Feedback Bespoke Prosthetic Advertisement & Product Brand Awareness

Accurate scanning of Prosthetic limb 3D Scanning Uploading of Interpretation Prosthesis Accurate scanning Scanning data of Prosthetic limb 3D Scanning

Design of a Bespoke Prosthetic 3DProduct Modelling Funding by Design Sponsors Design of&a Investors Bespoke Prosthetic 3D Product Modelling Design

Creation of Bespoke Prosthetic Marketing Productby& Funding PR Preparation Sponsors & Creation of Investors Bespoke Prosthetic Marketing Product & PR Preparation

Capturing Responses & Marketing & User Feedback PR Dissemination Advertisement & Capturing Brand Awareness Responses & Marketing & User Feedback PR Dissemination

3D Scanning Uploading of Interpretation Prosthesis Scanning data

Funding by Sponsors & Investors 3D Modelling Funding by Design Sponsors & Investors

Funding by Sponsors & Investors Marketing & Funding by PR Preparation Sponsors & Investors

3D Scanning Interpretation

3D Modelling Design

Marketing & PR Preparation

Marketing & PR Dissemination

3D Scanning Interpretation

3D Modelling Design

Marketing & PR Preparation

Marketing & PR Dissemination

Interpretation

Uploading of Prosthesis Scanning data

Advertisement & Brand Awareness Marketing & PR Dissemination Advertisement & Brand Awareness

Storyboard Scenario Contextualising this proposal further, I devised a scenario that illustrates Preferable Prosthetics appeal to one of the most challenging users:

VICKY Recently underwent a below the knee amputation following meningitis

1

From undergoing amputation over two weeks ago, Vicky has been quickly cast into her prosthetic leg but is struggling to overcome the loss and relating to this replacement device. Hence, she wears trousers instead of the school dress code skirt.

2

At a physiotherapy appointment, Vicky is told about the Preferable Prosthetics initiative and wanted to find out more about what they can do for her situation. She shows her Mum a pamphlet and arrange an appointment to explore the service initiative’s offering.

6

One week later, Vicky and her Mum come back to the studio to explore the bespoke 3D printed prototype and fairing face that Scott had designed for Vicky.

3

Vicky attends the Preferable Prosthetics studio and is greeted by one of the lead designers Scott, he gives Vicky and her Mum a tour of the facilitates and shows examples of previous work. Vicky and her Mum are amazed at all the possibilities that prosthesis can be.

4

Inspired by what she sees, Vicky asks for Scott to design her a prosthesis.

As a big My Little Pony fan, through a collaborative engagement they come up with a unicorn inspired leg cover. The co-design process allows amputees to convey preference for their prosthesis to make a bespoke and unqiue product .

5

Scott then 3D scans her prosthetic device to custom create a ‘fairing’ that will be encased around the barepole and enable Vicky to swap ‘faces’ of her leg. Once the scanning is complete and the design agreed upon, Scott begins to 3D print the bespoke fairing and components

7

One week later, Vicky and her Mum come back to the studio to explore the 3D printed prototype and bespoke fairing face that Scott had designed for Vicky. She was so happy with the result and her Mum was relived to see her smile again.

8

The next day at school, Vicky proudly showed off her new Unicorn leg wearing the dress code skirt. She had gone from being shy and ashamed to proud of how ‘cool’ her leg was.

The other kids perceptions were less on disability and more centred on possibility that her prosthesis enables for adaptability.

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Fairing ‘Faceplate’ Possibilities >

Realisation From communicating the proposal, I began to realise the physical and digital touchpoints of this service initiative that aims to make amputees prosthetics more preferable.

Barepole Prosthesis

Front Fairing Prosthesis Cover

Pylon Adaptable Modules

Physical By refining the ‘fairing’ design further, I explored potential for aesthetic and functional adaptability through interchangeable ‘faces’ and ‘modules’. Unfortunately, I did not manage to prototype this in 3D for this project but would like to test this in the future.

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Interchangeable Fairing ‘Faceplate’

Back Fairing Prosthesis Cover

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Digital From imagining the app and how it connects to the prosthesis, I explored possibilities for digital relationships and social connection opportunities.

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Summative Reflection Overall, I found this Masters Design Research project intellectually stimulating and challengingly appropriate for the culmination of my studies within the Innovation School at GSA. Although, I initially wanted to continue my on-going interest into the philosophical theory of transhumanism - I believe this would have been too speculative in nature to undertake valuable field research. As such, I feel that focusing on prosthetics was a more tangible and accessible way to frame this project. In the beginning, I was hesitant to explore such a topic but gradually found myself immersing myself within new intellectual curiosity towards these devices and the users who own them. Hence, I found my engagement with experts and amputees to be very rich and phenomenological. From being one of the first projects that I had formally undertaken such a methodology, I became overwhelmed with the depth of knowledge assemblage and struggled to condense it within the project timeframe.

Moreover, from undertaking projects around disability before, I found myself emotionally entangled in certain aspects of my research which made it difficult to progress at times. As such, when it came to the design phase, I resorted to a more pragmatic approach to my research target. Therefore, I believe I missed

opportunities to undertake co-design methods that would have alleviated my uncertainty around my directions by allowing users and stakeholders to collaborate towards an outcome. That being said, I do feel that my concept although very ambitious and aspiring would be valuable towards the amputee community as it reacts to the possibility of going ‘beyond the human.’ Given that prosthetic development has seen much advancement recently, notionally this could be plausible in the near future.

As such, I truly believe that amputees could be ‘transhuman trailblazers’ within an alternative now of ‘preferable prosthetics’ that would influence futures where we would consider upgrading our conventionally ‘able’ bodies to become adaptable too. Hence, I believe it is imperative that we establish a more preferable service for prosthesis that allows amputees extraordinary opportunities for personality expression alongside enhanced relationships with prosthetic adaptions. Moving forward, I didn’t manage to explore these opportunities to my expectations but am eager to prototype and test further with my users until my objective is achieved.

Through exploring the personal and social dimensions of these devices, I aspire to influence preferable futures for amputees.

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Wolfe, C. (2010) “What is Posthumanism?” Edited by Cary Wolfe, ‘posthumanities.’ Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,

Latour, B. (1993) ‘We Have Never Been Modern’. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Yelavich, S. et al. (2014) ‘Design as Future-Making.’ Bloomsbury Academic Levy, S. (1992) “Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation” London: Penguin

Appendix

Luskin, C. (2015) “What’s the matter with evolution?” URL: https://world.wng.org/2015/04/ part_1_whats_the_matter_with_evolution [accessed 29 June 2018] Human Enhancement - Prosthetics (2014) URL: https://enhancedprosthetics.wordpress.com [accessed 28 June 2018] Mullins, A. (2010) ‘ The Opportunity of Adversity - TED talk’ URL: https://www.ted.com/talks/ aimee_mullins_the_opportunity_of_adversity [accessed 7 June 2018] National Centre for Prosthetics & Orthotics (2018) URL: https://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/prostheticsorthotics/ [accessed 1 July 2018]

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