Application of Natural Fiber Composites in Lightweight and Environmental Design of Walking Aids for the Elderly

Abstract

With the acceleration of China's social aging process, changes have been triggered in the elderly product market and industrial structure. At present, China's elderly industry is in the emerging stage, facing problems such as gaps in industrial structure and imbalance between market supply and demand. This paper takes the elderly aged 70-80, who are in the assisted living stage with mild or moderate disabilities, as the target group, and conducts design research on multi-functional intelligent walking aids for the elderly. The purpose is to design a pressure-free walking aid product that meets ergonomic standards, is safe and stable, has relatively complete functions, and conforms to the intelligent elderly care concept in the current mobile Internet era, so as to better meet the elderly's needs for home and travel activities. This paper adopts methods such as literature survey, case analysis, and comparative research ^[1].This paper focuses on the material design and optimization of walking aids for the elderly, and deeply explores the application of natural fiber composites in the lightweight and environmental design of walking aids for the elderly. By analyzing the performance characteristics of natural fiber composites and combining the functional requirements and usage scenarios of walking aids for the elderly, it studies the application methods and technical paths of natural fiber composites in the structural design, processing technology, and surface treatment of walking aids, so as to realize the lightweight, pressure-free, and environmental protection characteristics of walking aids for the elderly. It also understands the domestic and foreign research status of walking aids for the elderly, as well as the development status of China's elderly industry and the domestic natural fiber composite product market; by summarizing and analyzing the existing walking aid products for the elderly on the market, it identifies the existing pain points and main problems.Experimental and test results show that the use of natural fiber composites can effectively reduce the weight of walking aids while meeting the mechanical performance requirements, and has good environmental advantages. From the five dimensions of safety, stability, functionality, environmental protection, comfort, and aesthetics ^[4], it provides new ideas and directions for the innovative design of walking aids for the elderly.