Hello everyone! My name is Jenna Jadlot, an occupational therapy doctoral student at the University of Missouri. I am currently working on my capstone project, which focuses on GoBabyGo and developing best practices for build guides. My goal is to create a user-friendly template that practitioners like you can use when modifying ride-on cars. My hope with this project is once using the guides, practitioners will feel even more confident in their skills and want to provide more cars for children around the world! With that being said, I need your help! Could you please reply to this discussion post and share any build guides you currently use or have used in the past? I would greatly appreciate it if you could also include what you liked or didn’t like about those guides. Your feedback will help me understand what works well and what could be improved to create guides that best meet your needs!
Hi Jenna,
Could you clarify what you mean by a “user-friendly template practitioners can use”? I’m not entirely certain I understand the concept.
Here are a few thoughts:
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Different Car Types & Locations
Car types and chapter locations vary widely, affecting the hardware each team uses. -
Time-Consuming Guides
Writing build guides is often quite time-consuming, and many I’ve seen are still not very clear. -
IKEA-Style Instructions
I’d love to see something like IKEA’s wireframe instructions, guiding builders step by step. Of course, this would require a standardized “Car Build Kit” applicable to most builds.
I’m working toward this goal with the Go Baby Go Core Kit project:
Adaptive Electric Car Core Kit GoBabyGo Israel
My own guide is a work in progress. For reference, here’s a link—though I’m actively updating it:
Adapting Cars for Children with Disabilities: The GoBabyGo Core Build Kit
I recommend sorting the build guides by car type since this can be very helpful. Wiring modifications seem to be specific to certain cars. I’ll be sure to share ones that I work with.
On two occasions I have used a design similar to that at https://www.instructables.com/GoBabyGo-Make-a-Joystick-controlled-Ride-on-Car/ but actually this attachment:
GoBabyGo-Make-a-Joystick-controlled-Ride-on-Car.pdf (2.7 MB)
There were several modifications including a different joystick with different wiring:
120222 Jeep Joystick wiring.pdf (702.9 KB)
Here are the instructions that I have helped write:
https://www.instructables.com/GoBabyGo-Make-a-Joystick-controlled-Ride-on-Car/ (updated last month with fixes we’ve learned over the past few years.).
Mikey makes good points. I think one challenge is choosing the right balance between theoretical general advice and ikea style step by step instructions. I’ve worked on step by step instructions written for a specific model of car, but step by step instructions are useless to people who can’t get the same car and components (and cars can go out of stock and components can randomly change specifications with no warning). Instructions that give a generalized circuit diagram and some theoretical advice won’t be helpful to people who aren’t confident in their engineering skills.
The process I’ve followed when writing guides is to build a car while writing the guide (and taking photos), then revise the instructions while watching other people (with different amounts of engineering experience) following the instructions and building cars. Revising instructions has been more time consuming than the first draft. Mikey is right that making guides is time-consuming (and expensive). I’ve found it very hard to edit instructions without making a new car.
It’s good to see you here, cbell. You were the first to let me know that the vendor for the joystick changed what they were selling without changing the name, that the on/off switch was backwards in the instructions, and some other ambiguous instructions. Those issues have hopefully been fixed in the instructable as of last month, but those are good examples of how build guides take many rounds of feedback to become better.
I think it would really help to get guidance on how to manage multiple versions of instructions as we find issues, and make and test changes. Are there procedures in industry for managing changes in instruction manuals that we could learn about?
As an example, here’s a “general circuit diagram” that was meant to be useful for any car, but it’s clearly not a step by step guide. generalized circuit diagram - Google Drawings
I don’t necessarily have a guide, but rather a “best practice” I’d like to offer. I use GBG in my high school junior/senior engineering class. Our biggest difference from the guides is that we use 3d CAD and printing to create new steering wheels, mounts, etc. This cuts down on the amount of drilling, stray wiring, relays, etc. I’m happy to provide STEP files, but it’s really hard to pin down a guide because there is no standard “keying” for steering column shafts.
Here are some instructions we have used. Most of these will not be useful because the cars are no longer manufactured, but I include them to illustrate the topics covered. The one you may find useful is for the Bumper Car. We have found this car to be helpful for many children. However, they are offered in several variations, and each is different. If you use these instructions, be sure to pay attention to the wire color warnings in Part B. Several people have already commented on Step-by-Step vs. more general guidelines. Ours were regarded as too detailed and took too much time to read and understand, especially for experienced people.
Bumper Car Modifications GABBY V2.pdf (4.8 MB)
SpongeBob Instructions.doc (3.5 MB)
Thomas.pdf (656.6 KB)
DWT Instructions V2 McQueen Printable.pdf (4.5 MB)
Maserati Modification Instructions.pdf (910.5 KB)
Lightning McQueen GBG Central Ohio.pdf (1.1 MB)
Toy Story Princess V2.doc (9.5 MB)
Hello,
To clarify the “user-friendly template,” my hope is that first time volunteers or people who are not as familiar with GoBabyGo, can follow along with the build instructions and still produce a quality car.
Thank you so much for all of your thoughts!
Thank you so much for these guides!
Hello,
You have made some great points between juggling specificity and longevity - something I am trying to manage with this project. I am not sure of any current procedures for managing the changes, but I can ask around and find out!
Thank you so much for your feedback!
Thank you so much for your advice! For this project I am trying to not use 3D printing as some groups might not have access to it, but I do enjoy all the benefits that 3D printing can bring to a build.
Hello,
Thank you so much for all of those resources! It is always so helpful to see the many different ways that a guide can be made.
If I can ever be of further help, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Hi Jenna, I hope that you are doing well!
First of all, I want to congratulate and thank you for taking on this project. One factor that has the potential to enable the scalability, and by consequence impact of GBG is the ability for its replication by a wide range of people is the creation of a guide template for the construction of GBG projects. I previously participated in three GBG projects, and directed two of them during my time at the University of Houston, so I hope that the next set of insights is helpful.
Volunteer Variability
Each group working on Go Baby Go, is different. Some groups will be primarily volunteers with no mechanical or electronics experience. Some groups may have people familiar in those fields, however they will be lacking the necessary insights into safety implementations and the extent of the condition of the recipient. The best recommendation to address this issue is to promote a multi disciplinary team with people who are familiar with design, practical building (mechanics/circuits), people with medical insights, and people who can efficiently manage resources and record their progress and results. Go Baby Go aims to have a physical solution at the end of the day, therefore it is important to recognize that even the construction or modification of a single vehicle is a technical project and should therefore be treated like one in order to ensure optimal results.
Diverse Conditions of Recipients
One issue that complicates the creation of a simple guide is the vast amount of conditions or symptoms that each project addresses. For example, if you have a recipient with acute axonal neuropathy presenting with quadriplegia, then the GBG solution that must be designed is completely different as one for a recipient with meningocele, and myelomeningocele grades of spina bifida which can present as practical paraplegia. Our group dealt with this situation as we worked on different projects each semester.
One way to ease navigating this issue is to sort available solutions into ranges of physical mobility or symptoms that they address. Additionally, it may be wise for the guide(s) to include difficulty and complexity level on each solution, and materials utilized.
Limitations of materials
An issue that could be commonly faced is that of material availability. From our experience designing new solutions at the UH-BMES (GBG was one of our projects) was to utilize standard components when designing. This is not only limited to PVC piping, and hardware like screws or buttons but also electronic components like microcontrollers, motor drivers, sensors, etc…
Although it is true that the solutions will not be commercial grade in terms of aesthetics and ultra optimized functionalities, this allowed us to complete our projects more easily. Primarily we could troubleshoot more easily, access widely available open source information about our components and their performance, and to improve the practical modularity of systems. Not to mention that because we utilized widely available components, it reduced the learning curve for new volunteers and improved the accessibility for potential project replicators. It would also be wise to include a materials list at the beginning of a specific product guide.
Guide Objective and Clarity
During my time we created some technical documentation but it was majorly in terms of progress updates with little focus on user experience. Meaning if you were not keeping up with the evolving documentation, it was not easy to follow. One thing that we tried to improve was creating easy to follow guides such as those found in the super famous and already mentioned IKEA furniture or the type of guides you get when you have to assemble a bike (includes components, clear step by step instructions, safety and best practices section, maintenance, etc…). There is a tradeoff with this simple format in a guide however, you must stick to a semi rigid or rigid design for each vehicle. This however may not be such a bad thing; As previously mentioned if generic components that are widely accessible are utilized, and you have multiple designs that address different levels of mobility or symptoms then most of your bases are covered and it makes it possible to have almost anyone build these systems.
Supplementary Open Source Educational Materials and Resources
Additionally, providing open source materials for education and training help reduce the complexity of your guide. For example, if volunteers need to use a micro controller like an arduino nano, or must learn to troubleshoot a motor controller like BTS7960, then having links to GitHub repositories, or open access information sheets is very helpful to the builder. In addition, if volunteers are dealing with a more complex project that perhaps requires the programming of a new control system with safety features and integration with external inputs (like proximity sensor data) then including a link to a GitHub repository with the software ready to be loaded into the microcontroller(s) or computing unit(s) makes the project easy to execute for almost any person regardless of technical experience.
Guide Formats
A guides platform such as an app, website, or a physical copy can affect the way volunteers interact with the guide itself. For example, it may be more convenient, and inexpensive to apply sort features (like car type, or symptom) to narrow down on vehicle build guides compared to a physical guide (although it is still possible). Similarly, with the issue of language accessibility or ability to link open source materials, digital formats may prove to be a superior option for maximizing the accessibility and practicality of the guide.
You may also consider providing two different guides, one for simple construction (IKEA style) and another, perhaps a subsection, which talks about more abstracted design principles and considerations for GBG applications. Overall, I would highly recommend collaboration and promotion with/of open source resources as they have the potential to simplify much of your guide and distribute it widely.
These are some of the major considerations that I recommend for your capstone project, however they are not the only considerations available. I tried to avoid redundancy from previous replies in the thread. Overall, If I were to recommend the best approach for creating a guide for Go Baby Go, I’d focus on keeping it simple, accessible, and adaptable. Encourage multi-disciplinary teams, organize solutions by recipient needs and other categorizations, and rely on standard, widely available materials to make the process easier for volunteers of all backgrounds. I’d also recommend creating clear, step-by-step guides with visuals, backed by open-source resources and offered in digital formats for maximum reach. Again given the nature of this project, and the proven potential of open source platforms and projects - I’d leverage existing open source platforms as much as possible. I hope that this was helpful, I have also asked my fellow project leaders from UH-BMES to interact with the thread.
All the best,
Rogelio Castilla
Biomedical Engineer
Thanks for all the work to make resources available to all and update the website! WSU GoBabyGo maintains several guides on instructables.com. At this time there are some drafts on the site that only builders signed into our account can see but in theory those will be accessible at some point as well like the ones seen at this link.
https://www.instructables.com/search/?q=GoBabyGo&projects=all
Hello
Thank you for including me. Unfortunately with COVID and for other reasons my employer decided to stop the program at my facility. So it has been a few years since I have looked for instructions. I think the hardest part for me was finding directions for the cars we had purchased and also finding the parts needed. I love the idea of the kit, especially if only doing 1 car at a time.
I primarily work with the Costaway Convertible, bumper cars, and a jeep. I had been working with two RadioFlyer cars—the Grow with Me and Grow Kart—but they were recently discontinued. Unfortunately, the McQueen and SpongeBob cars are no longer in production either.
After reading through some of the forum posts, I completely agree with the challenges people are facing. It’s so difficult to create guides when cars are constantly being discontinued, and new models are always popping up. Even cars you’ve ordered for a while can change unexpectedly, forcing you to update the guides. It’s a very time-consuming process!
When it comes to build guides, here are a few things I’ve learned through working with different chapters and sharing resources:
- The more pictures and concise details you can provide, the better.
- Including images of the supplies and tools needed for each step is really helpful.
- I’ve seen chapters use videos for step-by-step instructions, which could complement the printed guides well.
- Incorporating check-in points throughout the guide is essential. These give build leaders an opportunity to ensure steps are done correctly.
- The audience is a big factor in how guides should be structured. Whether you’re working with experienced tool users, engineers, robotics teams, therapists, or scout troops, the complexity of the instructions should vary. There may need to be tiered guides based on simplicity and the target group. For example, adapting the Costaway Convertible is fairly simple, with no soldering or heavy wiring required, so anyone can handle it. However, the bumper cars are much more complex, so I typically reserve those for engineering students or robotics clubs.
I also agree with what others have shared on the forum—creating a guide and then taking it to a build for real-time feedback is incredibly valuable. Watching where people struggle and adjusting the guide based on their questions or challenges is a great way to improve the process.
Hope this helps! I’m happy to assist in any other way.
Bethany Sloane
Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Rogelio,
Thank you so much for all of your advice/feedback! Like you mentioned regarding volunteer variability, my hope with these guides/templates is that people with little to no experience with GoBabyGo will be able to follow along with the guides and complete modifications with minimal help. Along with this, we too are hoping to only include more general components for materials needed for modifications. I appreciate all of your ideas and will definitely see how I can include them in my project!