Where to put the walking aid when a free hand is needed? An everyday challenge for people who depend on it. The interdisciplinary start-up "Steets", made up of three students from Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Paderborn University of Applied Sciences, has developed a convincing solution. They want to revolutionize the market from mid-2023.
Phil Janßen is studying design at Fachhochschule Dortmund. His commercial "Blinded by the Darkness"(Opens in a new tab) has just been nominated for the prestigious First Steps Award 2022, one of the most important awards for young talent in the German film industry. None of this has much to do with the healthcare industry. Nevertheless, the UAS student is now in the business of orthopaedic aids.
A start-up from three disciplines
Together with industrial engineer and biomedical technician Thorben Engel and business economist Philipp Battisti, he founded "Steets". Together, the three have designed a support module for European walking aids, which is attached to the lower part of the forearm crutch and connected to the handle. This means they can be safely set down anywhere with a flick of the wrist. This not only increases the user's ability to act independently, but also reduces the risk of reinjury from a fallen walking aid.
Phil Janßen, design student at Fachhochschule DortmundI first saw the problem with my grandmother and later with my girlfriend.
"There hasn't been a solution yet," says Phil Janßen. "I first saw the problem with my grandmother and later with my girlfriend when she was temporarily dependent on walking aids." The design student, who is studying sound and film as well as product design at Fachhochschule Dortmund, was bitten by the inventor bug. "I've always wanted to optimize something," says Phil Janßen. Together with his school friend Thorben Engel and Philipp Battisti, he developed his first ideas in the kitchen at home - with an apple and kebab skewers.
3.5 million people need walking aids
"We have now developed the only mobile solution for walking aids that is suitable for everyday use and are working with SMEs and investors on the final prototype," reports Thorben Engel. "When folded away, our additional module neither changes the gait nor restricts the use of the walking aid. And it is safe and intuitive at the same time."
Philipp Battisti adds: "As every walking aid can be extended with the module, 3.5 million people in Germany alone can benefit from it. That's how many people are dependent on walking aids at least temporarily every year." Tests in clinics have been very popular and a German manufacturer has already expressed interest.
"I didn't think that Steets would take off so quickly," says Phil Janßen, who is also completing his Master's degree. The add-on module for walking aids should be ready for the market by mid-2023. A patent has already been applied for. "The start-up service at the UAS helped us a lot with our market and patent research," says Phil Janßen, praising the support services for start-ups. Most recently, Steets was also able to impress at greenhous.ruhr, the start-up competition organized by Fachhochschule Dortmund and the Economic Development Agency.
Erdme Brüning, Start-up Service at Fachhochschule DortmundFachhochschule Dortmund has a very good contact point, SQuArE, to support potential founders in developing their ideas.
"Steets shows how important interdisciplinary collaboration is to get something new off the ground," says Erdme Brüning(Opens in a new tab) , start-up mentor at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Each of the three founders brings important specialist knowledge to the start-up in order to make it a success. "Fachhochschule Dortmund now has a contact point, SQuArE(Opens in a new tab) on Lindemannstraße, to support potential founders in developing their ideas - with technical equipment and counseling," adds Erdme Brüning. These facilities are also used for networking and interdisciplinary exchange. Students and experts from different disciplines come together here.
The start-up center at Lindemannstraße 79, directly opposite the Faculty of Design, offers co-working rooms, a workshop and a PC pool. The workshop is equipped with workstations for additive manufacturing (3D printing), electrical engineering, microcontrollers, the possibility of mechanical and woodworking, a laser cutter and a sewing and embroidery machine, among other things. Christina Schönberger(Opens in a new tab) coordinates the activities at SQuArE.
High-tech at SQuArE: creative space for ideas(Opens in a new tab)
The FabLab(Opens in a new tab) on the Sonnenstraße campus also offers students, employees and guests of Fachhochschule Dortmund support in implementing their own ideas and projects. This MakerSpace is an open workshop with the aim of giving students and private individuals access to modern manufacturing processes for individual items. There are no limits to creativity - whether individualized products or spare parts that are no longer available - anything is possible.
A second team from Fachhochschule Dortmund also came out on top at greenhouse.ruhr. "Speicher100" aims to create a place in Dortmund's rapidly changing harbor district to offer space to social projects and artists - from studios to co-working spaces. "Speicher100" is to become a place where sustainable ideas can be implemented. The start-up operates as an association and is located - as the name suggests - at Speicherstraße 100.
It is originally an old granary building dating back to 1907, which is already home to non-profit associations such as Maschinerie, Dings, Atelier Amore and the refugee aid association Grenzenlose Wärme, which was founded by students at Fachhochschule Dortmund. The project aims to secure the warehouse for at least 30 years.
