🎮 Switch Holder

Adjustable switch holder for playing video games with feet in a bed. 

Role

Product Developer

Timeline

One week in March 2025 at the 2025 Boston AT Hackathon

Product development and manufacturing. Client delivery.

Skills
Tools and Materials

SolidWorks, laser cutter, Velcro, cast acrylic sheets, epoxy

Teammates: Davide Mirza (Mechanical Engineering), Dylan Prudente (Human Factors Engineering), Kristtyan Tran (Occupational Therapy)

The Problem

Our co-designer, a young boy with a degenerative muscle disorder, loves video games. He plays them every single day lying down in his bed. He can currently use his hands to interact with the buttons on an XBox controller, but he has trouble reaching the L1, L2, R1, and R2 buttons that are on the top of the controller. He connected those buttons to switches that he hits with his feet, but the switches had no means of staying upright when he kicked them.

Our team’s goal was to create a device that would hold four switches, one on either side of each foot, in place so that our co-designer could hit the L1, L2, R1, and R2 switches reliably and responsively.

The Product

Our switch holder is an extremely adaptable solution to our co-designer’s problem. Using Velcro, each switch-holding panel can 1) allow for staggered attachment of a switch and 2) allow for flexible distance between each panel, so that our co-designer’s feet, no matter how big they grow or how small the switches get, can comfortably access the switches.

An added bonus is that the product can disassemble into a very small unit, but can also be kept at their desired distances for less-than-seconds setup, which is crucial for an activity that he engages in every day.

Our product gives our co-designer means to engage in his favorite activity in the world. When he tested out the device, he couldn’t stop kicking the switches and admired how stable the device felt as compared to how they used to be balanced, when they would fall over as soon as he touched them. His mother sent us a video of him using our device to play his video games the very night of our product delivery.

The needs we wanted to fulfill:

  • can be used anywhere; not just in a bed

  • can be used in any bed —> cannot rely on the bed rails

  • must be stable and safe

  • can grow with co-designer as his needs change

    • his legs get longer —> device must move up and down his body

    • switches get smaller or his feet get bigger or his range of motion gets smaller —> switches must be able to move closer and further apart

  • must be cool and fun!

The Process

For this last bullet point, we engraved our co-designer’s name and a spiderweb (because he loves Spiderman, and was even wearing Spiderman socks on the day we delivered the product) onto the device. This final touch was his favorite part!

Making this switch holder was a true beast. I totaled over 25 hours working on this product. We began with ideation and a user interview, then we spent hours iterating to find the most suitable product.

Making this switch holder was truly the most rewarding experience, especially after seeing our co-designer’s reaction to the device. I refined my laser cutting and manufacturing skills and got to work with some of the most diligent and fun people I know. I learned so much no only about how to sprint through a project but how to communicate with co-designers; I took extra time to create a care package for the family with printed instructions and extra materials. Final touches such as a handwritten note and a hand-delivered product truly make the difference.