An Ergo Taylor Frame for Visually Impaired Students: Human-Centric Redesign
摘要
In the Indian context, a lack of STEM education is observed among visually impaired students, which was identified during multiple field visits and through literature reviews. The authors studied the existing limitations while learning simple mathematical operations using Taylor slate by partially sighted/visually impaired students. The existing slate had ergonomic issues related to weight, identifying rows, inserting pegs, sorting, and storing. Thus, a new design is proposed to overcome the ergonomic constraints of the existing Taylor’s slate. The proposed Taylor slate was 3D printed, resulting in a lightweight design, and it had provisions to separate the pegs, improve the identification of rows, improve the grasping, and lower the insertion time. The redesigned Taylor slate showed better performance when compared with the existing frame structure. Holding, inserting, and grasping pegs is a crucial aspect of ergonomics, as it directly impacts visually impaired students’ comfort, safety, and efficiency.