Carrier Lift to Enhance Daily Activities

Market potential exists for the development of low technology products to assist older adults in cocommon household tasks. A number of retailers have expressed interest in distributing/retailing suchproblem exists in transport tasks such as doing laundry. We will design and manufacture a carrier/lilimitations found in current products. The device will be lightweight, mobile and raise/lower the lothat older adults can continue to perform daily household tasks independently. Self-reports by the ecapabilities to perform laundry and similar activities of daily living will be collected among RetirArthritis Foundation self-help seekers to select subjects for human factors testing. Task demand profor subjects' doing the laundry in their own environment using five prototypes variations and a commbasket as a control. Older adults' preferences in product characteristics will be determined. Resultdetermine product function and design criteria will be specified in Phase I and used in Phase II forand use-testing.