Ximeng Huang

Industrial Design, 2018

With the increases of adaptive activities and rock climbing itself as a sport, adaptive climbing has become one of the fastest growing adaptive sports these years. However, unlike prosthetic climbing, there are many limitations that prevent people with lower body paralysis from climbing through the use of their own bodies. The current methods used to para-climb tend to use one-size-fit-all solution to cover all kinds of disabilities, from physical to mental, which fails to be recognize different climber’s situations and heavily relies on trainers and adaptive climbing event. ASCEND is a system that made for climbers with lower body paralysis, which allows them to climb at the any regular climbing gym without extra help, and make adaptive climbing more accessible and motivating.

Growing up in Beijing, China, Ximeng Huang came to OSU to expand the interest in design that she has since she was a kid. She has carried this passion through various design internships and workshops across the four continents of the world. She believes design is not just about creating objects, it can not be separated from user experience and social impact. Beside design, she is a photographer, world traveller and outdoor enthusiast.