Hipo by Allison from canada

Opportunity: Using playful rehabilitation as a source of meaningful social engagement and empowerment for seniors after physical trauma.

Its no secret we are getting old, there is no running, there is no hiding, in fact, you will be three seconds older by the end of this sentence. Be that as it may, every life is valuable, and so are the relationships they have cultivated; they are our fathers, mothers, grandmas, and friends. Sadly after a fall or similar physical trauma, many seniors feel the weight of what seems to be inevitable isolation, helplessness and the depression from the loss of mobility.Here is where I saw an opportunity to re-think how we continue these precious relationships in the face of physical limitations and memory loss. 'Hipo' is intended for seniors depressed following physical trauma and their care-giving family. The focus is to promote creative interactions that move past memory loss, cognitive degeneration or challenged mobility using their remaining skills.

One component of the challenge is the initial fall, many of which are completely preventable. Often healthy-bodied seniors fall because of inactivity. Without practice, the nerves carrying information to the brain lose fiber and nerve cells; a case of “use it or lose it".

The movements designed in Hippo strengthens the supportive muscles and joints for walking, with regular use, users can not only prevent further falls in the future, but can also safely regain their confidence in their body.

Hippo aims to promotes creative and playful engagements. Play can relieves power struggles between seniors and their caregivers. It provides a way for us to express our experiences and feelings through a natural, self-guided process. It can be an experimental space for us to understand ourselves and accept others.

Hippo invites us to re-think what it means to be empathetic, both in our hearts and in our legs. When a motion is more challenging, younger users can support their elders through the complex coordination, using their own weight. This keeps the games quick paced and engaging for a younger user while binding success to being observant, and considerate of elders.

The dream is users working to become one movement to enjoy the games. In the process, caregivers learn firsthand how strong the senior is and where there is need for attention. This helps families plan outings fitting to the senior's changing capabilities.

-additional fun facts-

The name Hipo is derived from ‘Hippocampus’, a part of the brain critical for memory storage and recall. Navigating through the mazes created in Hipo activates this and visual processing centers.

It can flat pack into a space of 3ft x 3ft, coming with a variety of parts, meant to create activities as diverse as it’s users needs and imagination. Currently, I've create variations of Hipo by hand in birch-wood ply and melamine. I've also explored various materials with CNC productions, I would be interested to advance it further in injection moulding to make it lighter and more collapsable for user accessibility.