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ApolloDisc: Disc Golf Adaptive Devices for Disabled Veterans
- Program: Center for Leadership Education
- Course: EN.660.346 Multidisciplinary Engineering Design
- Year: 2025
Project Description:
In collaboration with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization, our team was tasked with developing adaptive sports equipment to increase accessibility for veterans with disabilities. Following user interviews at DAV’s National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic, we identified disc golf as a sport with high potential for inclusive participation. We divided into two sub-teams to address distinct user needs. The motor impairment sub-team focused on players with partial quadriplegia, designing a disc launcher that enables controlled throwing without requiring upper trunk rotation. The visual impairment sub-team developed a wearable armband that uses directional haptic feedback to help players locate the basket and retrieve discs independently. Together, these solutions promote greater independence, inclusion, and enjoyment in adaptive sports.
Project Photo:
ApolloDisc is a multidisciplinary team tasked with designing adaptive disc golf system for veterans with motor and visual impairments. Featuring a disc launcher and a haptic armband, their products enhance accessibility and independence in sports through collaborative engineering with the DAV and Johns Hopkins University.
- John Kleindienst, National Voluntary Services Director at DAV
- Oscar Olguin, Assistant National Voluntary Services Director at DAV
- Patrick Gray, Recreational Therapist & Professional Disc Golfer/Instructor
- Jeff Shattuck