Theria

For many young people with neuromuscular disease, gaming can be a way to escape their reality of progressive loss of muscle function. However, gaming controllers often do not meet their needs when the disease progresses. This means they will not be able to grow in their gaming and become better. The goal was to create a controller that allows for playing throughout the entire progress of the disease. 

We created a gaming controller that can change it’s grip shape. Each grip is designed based on the capabilities of the stage of the disease. It uses touch sensors rather than buttons and the distance between the buttons is reduced, making pressing the buttons easier. This way, any stage of the disease can keep on gaming. I was responsible for researching the disease, developing the button mechanisms, prototyping the grip shapes, the assembly of the electronics POD and user testing.