Designing Stair Climbing Assistive Devices for the Elderly

Abstract

WHO estimates that the elderly population in developing countries will reach 75%, and in Indonesia it is projected to reach 19.9% by 2045. This increase in the elderly population raises various problems, one of the problems that arise is a decrease in mobility and independence of the elderly, which has an impact on their quality of life. One example of an activity that is a barrier, especially for the elderly, is the activity of going up and down stairs. This research focuses on designing stair climbing aids for the elderly that refer to ergonomic principles. By using the Ulrich design method and evaluating the position of the upper body using the RULA method. The design made in this study uses Autodesk Fusion 360 software and testing ergonomic aspects using Catia software. The results of the design found that design concept 2 is the selected concept with a safety factor value of 2.878, a stress value of 260.636 Mpa and is able to support a load of 272.14 Kg. The selected design also shows that the up and down stairs tool has a final RULA score of 3, so that it can reduce the chance of injury when using the tool. The total cost of making stairs up and down is obtained from the calculation of raw material costs and manufacturing costs. The raw material cost of making the stairs up and down is Rp. 468,000 while the manufacturing cost is Rp. 1,215,000, so the total cost for making the stairs up and down is Rp. 1,683,000.