Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Wobbleshroom is a prehabilitative device designed to prevent future ankle injuries by bringing Neuromuscular Training and Whole Body Vibration into our everyday life. The device utilizes sound and vibration to guide the user in which direction to move – always ensuring a safe, fun, and effective exercise routine that does not feel burdensome.

Dimensions & Packaging

55cm x 38cm, 5kg

Tags

Healthcare, Recreation, Gamification, Exercise, Fun

Production Technology

To improve grips to prevent a user from falling off while being on top of the device, the top of the Wobbleshroom is designed with soft PU foam. It is soft, cushiony, and provides enough rigidity, serving as a perfect material to address my need. The rest of the body is mostly designed with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.

Design Challenge

Challenge was to lower the bar of rehabilitative exercise so that it is readily accessible for all users in a safe, joyful way, ultimately with a goal of the product blending into the user's daily life without feeling like a chore. To make the breakthrough, I have interviewed the users and the experts in the field - including doctors from John Hopkins University, based on data collected on various functional mockups.

Project Duration

The project finished December of 2021 in California.

Operation Flow

The simple act of stepping on the Wobbleshroom activates the device. It would start to play music notes and vibrate specific corners of the upper plate (mushroom hat), guiding users to tilt their bodies accordingly. A single set completes after 3 minutes, which is just the safe amount of exercise one is expected to do a day.

Research

The research initially began with ankle injuries. Though some may view them as minor incidents, they are highly likely to develop into permanently unstable ankles if improperly treated. After finding out that the primary way to prevent ankle injuries is by improving peroneal muscles, I set out ways to discover possible fitting exercise routines used by professional athletes. It was there that I came across neuromuscular training and whole-body vibration. Prior is an exercise often used by athletes, and later is a technique developed by NASA for astronauts to stimulate leg muscles and improve balance.

Inspiration

The main inspiration came from the wobble board, a widely used tool to improve one's core strength during rehabilitative exercise.

Additional inspiration came from interviews with experts - including a doctor at Johns Hopkins University.

Image Credits

N/A

Patents

Copyrights belong to Minkyu Seo

Colors of Wobbleshroom Ankle Rehabilitative Product