Kaitlin Martinelli

Industrial Design, 2014

Autism is a developmental disability that can cause people to handle information in their brains differently. The purpose of Equi-Rhythm is to synthesize two types of therapy (equine-assisted and music therapy) to better benefit children on the Autism Spectrum.

The motion-sensing band is put on the horse’s leg in a location that will not inhibit movement or harm the animal. The pedometer-like mechanism inside the Equi-Rythm band records each unique movement that the child directs the horse to make. After the riding lesson is completed, the Sync button is pressed on the Equi-Rhythm band. The data is imported wirelessly from the lesson and is transferred to the Equi-Rhythm app. The app will trigger a corresponding sound every time motion is detected, thus creating a song that is entirely unique to the child’s riding lesson. The child can also alter the song by adding their own musical touches through the interface of the app.

Kaitlyn Martinelli is a graduating senior of the OSU Industrial Design program. She enjoys the innovative and functional approach to solving problems and always strives to have her designs be meaningful and beneficial to the user. She especially enjoys design research, service design and data translation.