RISE
An oven without Rise, where the user must bend over and carry heavy loads in and out of a hot oven.
An oven with Rise, where the user can utilize the oven without the concerns presented above.
What is it?
Rise is an oven rack assembly designed into commercial ovens that lifts out and up within reach of the user’s arms. In fall 2019, I worked with a team of 20 to create Rise as part of 2.009, MIT’s mechanical engineering capstone class. The design intent of Rise is to prevent injuries that stem from lifting heavy loads out of an oven’s hot internal cavity.
How did you contribute?
Early on in the process, my focus was in product brainstorming, ideation, and rapid prototype creation. Later on, as our team focus shifted to developing Rise, I focused on thermal and mechanism testing, as well as presentation/demo preparation.
Throughout the semester, I had the team role of “Yoda,” mediating conflicts and monitoring the overall health of the team. I was also selected as one of three presenters for our final product launch (video below).
Biggest Takeaways?
More ideas are better ideas!
In some cases, “done” is better than “perfect.” All semester, we knew when the final prototype launch date was, and this rapid timeline forced us to make decisions even when we knew they weren’t perfect.
When reviewing feedback from many different groups of people, remember who your user is and biggest stakeholders are to distinguish between what is signal and what is noise.
PRODUCT LAUNCH VIDEO
Collaborators
Booker Schelhaas, Caela Gomes, Chiaki Kirby, Danielle Gleason, George Roudebush, Gustavo Torres, Jadorian Paul, Joaquin Giraldo-Laguna, John Robertson, Karla Martinez, Nathan Huffman, Rana Odabas, Sam Cantrell, Vianna Quenon, Wendy Bae, Amy Wang
Full extended position of Rise, with three oven rack locations.