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Tackl Board: Adaptive Cooking

Research Open House 2022

Selin Miskavi, BID ’22
Ignacio Urbina Polo
Interviewees: Beril Miskavi, Colleen, Elyse Newland, Nilufer Gazioglu, Emre Sen
School of Design, Industrial Design

Tackl Board is a cutting board with attachments for kitchen use and considers cooks with less mobility or strength in one hand.

A view from above of the light pink cutting board with two attachments resting on top.
The Tackl Board, a biomimicry project, is an adaptable cutting board with attachments.

Many individuals experience conditions that affect their grip strength: arthritis, paralysis, and limb differences. Even a broken hand can affect the experience of cooking.

A light pink cutting board with two attachments: one in green, one in orange.
close-up image of orange attachment, a tent-like structure.

To create the Tackl Board and its attachments, I was inspired by the structures on the flexible tentacles of a giant squid that have razor-sharp teeth and hooks. The squid’s tentacles have tiny suction cups and amazingly catch prey. A similar principle is used for cutting vegetables and fruits to help with the ease of gripping.

Blue attachment grips a cucumber, slices of the cucumber are on either side of the attachment, as well as a knife resting on the cutting board.
A digital rendering of a green clamp that is holding a potato still.