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Team Member Names:  Ian Cheatum, Nickolas DeBruyn, Mali Glaister, Monica Hoskins,  Zīle Humeyumptewa

Faculty Advisor:  Donna Bodeau

QL+ Program Manager:  Court Allen

This team was challenged to redesign a fishing mechanism for River Deep Alliance.  Their current mechanism had been ineffective for them when working with traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients.  Currently, no efficient commercial fishing equipment solutions suitable for quadriplegic, paraplegic, and also fully able-bodied users exist.

The team worked to solve this problem by having a design that can be controlled orally and manually.  The team worked to utilize the general design of the original prototype provided by Craig Hospital and added some additional features requested by the client.  In addition to incorporating user feedback gained on River Deep Alliance fishing outings, the team followed three main constraints: universality, location, and reproducibility.

The Assistive Fishing System is composed of three main subsystems. The mechanical subsystem uses an 80/20 frame to support a casting pulley system and a belt-driven reeling system to power the prototype.  The housing subsystem provides watertight control and input boxes to protect the electrical components for user and system safety.  Finally, the electrical subsystem employs Arduino code to control a four-input joystick and two-input Sip ‘n’ Puff (SNP) to accommodate various levels of mobility.

The team added various design innovations to the final prototype.  The Assistive Fishing System can be controlled orally, through the SNP, and manually, through a joystick.  The joystick has a casting control and three different reeling speeds. The design is completely waterproof and can be used in a variety of locations, including a dock, riverbed, or boat.  As many stock parts as possible were used which, along with a lightweight 80/20 frame, allows for reproducibility.