Walk ‘n Call

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Walk’n call

Interactive walking stick for Parkinson's disease

Authors: Sara Scapin; Francesco Baldassarra;

Marco Franceschini & Oleh Khyzhuk

The project was born from the request of a gentleman from Italy suffering from Parkinson's disease to improve his user-experience

with a walking stick.

The "hook" shape responds to different needs of the user:

- Clinging to surrounding objects to help you move (e.g. getting up);

- Offer a wider support surface which helps in uneven floors;

- Get a more natural walk;

- Stimulate the restart, the stick returns the force transmitted to it;

- Keep the stick vertical with the use of the foot.

The user will thus be able to answer phone calls in complete tranquility while walking and make an emergency call.

Thanks to the body of the cane the user will feel a flexible terminal that returns part of the force exerted in the act of standing up.

A known problem for Parkinson's sufferers is the “freezing”, or a walking disturbance, a sensation sole for which the feet remain glued to the floor like frozen. The stick helps with the "freezing" by giving timed vibrations to help restart the walk.