\n<\/p>\n
What are crutches for? To help an injured or disabled person get from Point A to Point B?<\/p>\n
Like most mobility devices, crutches are often designed and viewed in a matter-of-fact medical framework. There is a problem to be fixed; the device is the solution.<\/p>\n
Performances by Axis Dance Company<\/a> routinely explode that idea. For Axis \u2014 an Oakland, Calif., ensemble of both disabled and non-disabled dancers \u2014 a crutch brims with creative possibilities: It might be a partnering support, a third leg, an elongated arm.<\/p>\n But what happens when that expansive way of thinking is applied to the design of the device itself? What kinds of movement might be possible if, for example, a crutch could extend and retract?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s not a hypothetical. Telescoping crutches play a central role in Axis\u2019 \u201cKinematic\/Kinesthetic,\u201d<\/a> premiering Thursday at the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. The work is a collaboration between the interdisciplinary artist Ben Levine<\/a>; the choreographer and Axis artistic director Nadia Adame; and engineering students from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland. It features two imaginative mobility technologies developed for the project \u2014 the telescoping crutches, and a hexapod robot that gives its user six legs rather than two \u2014 as well as a hands-free Omeo wheelchair<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Levine, who is disabled, hopes \u201cKinematic\/Kinesthetic\u201d will enlarge our understanding of the relationship between bodies and machines. Dancers are deeply attuned to their physical selves; people with disabilities often interact extensively with technology. Involving these knowledgeable bodies in the development of assistive devices can reshape ideas about the devices \u2014 and potentially generate new ways of moving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen we were creating this technology, we were thinking about the possibilities and not the limitations,\u201d Levine said. \u201cAnd this is a perfect metaphor for disability dance: When we think about our bodies, we think about their possibilities and not their limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n Levine, who has made technology-focused dance and theater for 15 years, traces the roots of his tech fascination to his disability. Growing up, he would sleep wearing electrodes to stimulate the muscles on the right side of his body, which is weaker. \u201cI think in some abstract way that really did turn me into a technologist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For \u201cKinematic\/Kinesthetic,\u201d he wanted to go big. Early plans featured an elongated robotic arm and a motorized shoulder joint. The initial design for the telescoping crutch incorporated a hydraulic backpack, to shoot the user into the air as the crutch extended.<\/p>\n Adame and a team of technical advisers and students helped narrow and refine the list of ideas. Jack Murphy, now a mechanical engineer, worked on the crutch design last year as a student at the University of Maryland. He described the experience as both revelatory and distinctly challenging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cA lot of engineering projects will start with, \u2018We want this 12-foot-long column that can support two tons of weight and will only deflect 13 degrees,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBut when the prompt is, \u2018We want to help someone dance,\u2019 there\u2019s a lot more room to play around.\u201d His team ended up jettisoning the hydraulics idea and developing an elegant scissor-style mechanism for the crutch, partly inspired by the gates used to block off the aisles at the Home Depot stores.<\/p>\n The design process continued in Axis\u2019s rehearsal studios, where the dancers tried out prototypes of the crutches and hexapod legs and made suggestions. Levine was delighted to see that the dancers\u2019 first instinct was to take everything apart. \u201cThat resonated with me so much, because as a technologist I\u2019m also always looking for, \u2018How do I hack this device?\u2019\u201d Levine said. Adame noted that she and the dancers also sent feedback to the creators of the Omeo wheelchair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n