When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 there was wide devastation from houses, personal belongings, pets, and loss of life. This project addressed what we can do to help those after the natural disaster occurs.
In this group project we had to research what is in place to help victims from how FEMA reaction time to when housing is available. Personas were created to describe the user needs: shelter, water, and communication.
A shelter that is collapsible was developed with bamboo construction for its light weight and durability, aluminum frame, recycled rubber bottom, and solar fabric to store energy to power cell phones or a laptop. This was designed to be used for 3 weeks and can sleep 4 people in the 8' x 12' x 8' structure.
Developing the system to transport the shelter was helped with c-17 airplanes and flatbed trucks.
