Widevision 2024 | Western Sydney University

Ryan Thomas Banks is a passionate Industrial Design Honours student from Penrith, NSW, currently studying at Western Sydney University. With 11 months of industry experience, Ryan brings a hands-on approach and a versatile skill set spanning Product Design, Graphic Design, and Web Design. He excels in creating holistic user experiences, fuelled by his dedication to problem-solving and teamwork. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys Formula 1, bouldering, and tabletop RPGs, expressing his imagination as a game master, crafting immersive experiences for his group. Skilled in CAD and graphic design, he aspires to make his mark in two distinct fields: designing for Tabletop RPGs to enrich player experiences and collaborating with a Formula 1 team, such as McLaren or Aston Martin, to innovate products and systems that elevate team performance and engagement.

As we get older, our bodies start to break down. It can be delayed, but is never truly avoidable. Eventually doing the things we do every day starts to get harder, backs hurt, knees ache, and hands get weaker. We're starting to lose our grip on things. This project explores the impact hand arthritis has on the completion of laundry tasks, by older people (aged 65+). The initial scope of this project was to use compliant mechanisms to develop a gripper. Compliant mechanisms are an alternative to rigid body mechanisms. They use the material’s ability to naturally deform and have many other inherit benefits such as, fewer parts, lower production cost, less friction, and minimal assembly. C.C. (Clothes Claw) is the result of combining the need to maintain independence in older age, in your and use alternative and evolving design methodologies. C.C. uses built up elastic energy to make the action of moving wet washing at the bottom of the washing machine easier by offsetting the amount of energy needed to squeeze the gripper handle. Ergonomics have been considered; from the strongest grip sizes, to switch the pinch motion when grabbing washing, to the squeeze of a handle. This grip is more beneficial thanks to the reduced pressure on inflamed joints and larger muscle group involved. C.C. has the potential to serve as a model for future assistive devices that promote independence among an aging population, not only in household tasks, but throughout the rest of daily life. Focusing on human centered design and using compliant mechanisms, C.C. challenges traditional approaches to assistive technology design, emphasising the comfort, ease of use, and affordability. C.C. demonstrates how thoughtful design can maintain quality of life and autonomy. This project aims to empower older people, demonstrating even as physical limitations arise, they can continue to independently manage their daily routines with confidence and dignity.

Ryan Banks

C.C. - Clothes Claw

Acknowledgement of Country