Fly Fishing Arm
Abstract
I am building a personally-relevant physical prosthetic device: a quick-attach arm for fly fishing. After contacting several user communities: the online Open Prosthetics Project, Northeast Passage at UNH, I found an active young man with whom I am building an arm designed to enable his favorite summer activity, fly fishing.
As Project Healing Waters shows, fly fishing is an activity that many returning veterans find therapeutic. Communal bonding, the serenity of nature, and a return to activities they enjoyed before their trauma, all help injured veterans find a sense of normalcy. However as Smith notes in The Prosthetic Impulse, care must be taken to avoid essentializing the masculine aspect of the sport and the amputee. Disabled individuals might not simply want a replacement of a missing or nonfunctional limb, but desire a device that super-empowers them beyond standard functionality. To this end, I am designing an arm that includes attachment points for the various gear required for fly fishing. Other more creative attachments might include a laser pointer for precise cast aiming, or a fish finding radar.
The fly-fishing prosthetic will be built with low cost, commercially available parts, with the plans released as open source. Currently most prosthetics are expensive and owned by insurance companies, limiting the ability of their users to customize them to individual needs. This project can empower the disabled individual to design their own prosthetic, retaking ownership of their body.
I made a short video documenting the design process, viewable here: FlyFishingArm-Video
You can build your own with parts and instructions here: FlyFishingArm-BuildYourOwn
Why Fly Fishing?
Fishing and other outdoor activities open a unique window for otherwise restrained individuals. Experiencing nature, alone or in small groups, can rejuvenate the soul, and allow the body and mind to heal. Wounded warriors coming home can find solace with others, even if they don’t directly talk about their experiences in combat. Just being out on the river can be therapy enough. Design Process
It is all too common for designers to approach a situation with a preconceived notion of the solution before fully understanding the problem at hand. Examples abound of engineers or artists proposing a "solution" to a user community which in fact it does not solve anything at all. This is dilemma is particularly evident in design for the disabled community, where the technology must interface directly and personally with the user.
A canonical example of how poor design process can lead to a poor product is the Deka Research iBot. Envisioned as a way for wheelchair users to explore the world freely, and even stand at eye level with friends and family. However, user testing with Northeast Passage revealed some fundamental issues with the design. Quadriplegic users who would most appreciate this ability did not have the physical dexterity needed to control the system. Paraplegic users who could control the system did not want their independence and sense of self subsumed by an unwieldy machine. This feedback was not heeded by the designers, and the product was not widely adopted by the community.
I advocate a more sensitive design process, where the user and designer collaborate toward a common goal. Empowering the end user to be their own designer is far more useful than simply buying an off the shelf product. The "do it yourself" and open source aesthetics have been so far underutilized in the field of prosthetics. By iterating with the user, designing with low cost and easily acquired components, and releasing the plans to the community, I intend to enable anyone with the need to build their own custom limbs.
Social Context
Individuals with disabilities can face enormous difficulties after a traumatic injury. The field of therapeutic recreation has developed to help people regain the experiences that give meaning to their life. From veterans returning home from war, to children with autism, many communities can benefit from the healing that being active outside can instill.
Project Healing Waters runs fly fishing workshops with veterans across the country, with amazing results. Here is one touching testimonial: [The Project] helped in getting my head together during my recovery at Walter Reed. It was the perfect outlet for me while I was trying to adjust to my injuries and was a great help in broadening my horizons, giving me the hope and confidence that, no matter what my disabilities, I could still achieve and enjoy the activities of the outdoors and accomplish what I wanted to.
While the particular user I am collaborating with is not a veteran, and is already an active young man, releasing the design may enable others to expand their experience and begin to heal.
Existing Solutions
 |  |
 |  |
Stills from The River Just Knows video Project Healing Waters
Existing designs are functional, but often jury-rigged and not reproducible. A better design that integrates the fishing rod directly with the prosthetic is possible. The integrated arm can also include necessary tools for fishing:
 |  |
 |  |
Design Process
Rough Sketch 
First Prototype 
Revising Design 
Second Prototype 