The Bobby Car Fixpert project is a real life changer for Hodaya

A support system built specifically for the five-and-a-half-year-old Hodaya who suffers from cerebral palsy and visual impairment has completely changed her ability to play independently in kindergarten.

Through the Fixpert Program, Sagiv Simon, Eli Nizri (third-year students in the Department of Industrial Design), and Alina Gaidies (an exchange student at the Faculty of Design) decided to help Hodaya move around independently in the kindergarten's yard using the Bobby car. The Bobby car is an iconic ride-on toy with a steering wheel which is specially designed for children's hands. The car can be manoeuvred easily through crooked corners without bumping, and the ride-on toy is relatively easy to move. Hodaya, however, was limited by her inability to sit steadily and move herself on her Bobby car without support.

Her story touched the hearts of the three design students, and they decided to find a solution that would allow her to move without the support of her caregiver and take a more active part in outdoor games. After numerous meetings with Hodaya and the kindergarten staff, the ultimate solution of two foldable padded "arms" that close around her waist and support her from all directions was formulated.

The support system, made of bent iron pipes wrapped in a softened sponge, is covered by yellow polyester fabric . The system has hinges for easy and simple opening and closing. The seat’s cushion is made of sponge and fabric to allow for maximal movement.

Sagiv Simon talks about the first meeting with Hodaya and the kindergarten children, and the noble purpose he sees in choosing industrial design studies: "We were prepped in advance for the meeting with Hodaya and the other children of" Gan Liman", a kindergarten in the city of in Ramla where our project was actually carried out. 

I came to HIT very focused on my studies and knew in advance that this (Industrial Design) was what I wanted to major in. As a result of an accident while I was in the Scouts, I suffered a severe broken leg and had to undergo complex surgery. I was hospitalized for a year and needed a long rehabilitation period that included being confined to a wheelchair. This experience enhanced my desire to study design in order to provide solutions to help people with disabilities.”

In the Fixperts course, which is supervised by Prof. Gad Charney and Dana Yichye Shwachman from the Faculty of Design, the students identify a "fixpartner", and in an ongoing dialogue with him / her, develop a working product that solves the problem or produces considerable functional relief.

The course is unique both because it involves working one-on-one with a person with special needs, usually with a physical disability, and because the final product must be one that really works. In fact, in contrast to standard design work for a wide audience not facing physical limitations, the end-product of the Fixperts project is given to the "fixpartner" at the end of the design process for their further use.

In addition, the projects are designed with an "open source" approach and allow everyone to access the files, which makes it possible to redesign the same solution for someone else worldwide.

As part of the Fixperts course, collaboration between Israeli students and international students takes place thanks to HIT's exchange student program which enables HIT's students to study in a partner institution abroad and International students to study here.

Posted: 20/07/2022