Bloomfield Hills Father, Son Create Robotic Dining Device

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — A Bloomfield Hills father and his engineer son have developed a robotic dining device, called Obi, that makes dining a more dignified occasion for people who have Lou Gehrig’s Disease and other physical challenges that require them to rely on others to feed them.

Jon Dekar and his father, Tom Dekar, spent six years developing Obi, for their company, DESῙN (pronounced “design”). Tom Dekar is a retired executive with Deloitte, one of the nation’s big four public accounting firms, and a Bloomfield Hills community leader. As a University of Dayton engineering student in 2006, Jon Dekar developed the first prototype for Obi after seeing the eating challenges of people with disabilities as varied as his aging grandfather and a 6-year-old girl with Arthrogryposis.

“We believe dining is one of life’s greatest pleasures that absolutely everyone should enjoy,” Jon Dekar said in a news release. “What our device stands for is equally as important as what it does. It represents our belief that living with physical challenges can be fulfilling and inspiring. Technology, and specifically robotics, combined with modern design, should facilitate that.

“Every day, millions of people must be fed by caregivers, and they find the experience to be conspicuous and frustrating,” he continued. “Feeding oneself is a basic human need, and there was no good solution available. I became inspired to change that.”

Obi is the first product from DESῙN, which father and son founded in 2010. They spent the next six years refining Obi’s design, securing investors, sourcing suppliers, testing prototypes with a diverse group of users and building relationships with key community stakeholders.

“This has been an incredible nine-year journey to go from my dorm room prototype to having Obi units manufactured and ready to sell,” Jon Dekar said, calling the release earlier this month of Obi “a milestone for our team” but also for the people with physical limitations.

During this journey, I’ve met so many amazing people who face incredible challenges with grace and strength,” he said. “It’s an honor and privilege to be able to help them reclaim something as fundamental as eating a meal together with friends and family.”

To date, consumer robots have mostly been toys and and entertainment devices, but the technology also has the potential to improve people’s lives.
“We saw an opportunity to do just that with Obi,” Jon Dekar said. “We have truly advanced the state of the art to create a practical solution that also offers the stylish design detail that today’s consumers expect from a modern device.”

Obi removes some of the self-consciousness of being fed by others, an act that highlights their physical challenges, the developers said.

“It’s just not an enjoyable experience to have someone feed you, either for the person who’s eating or the person doing the feeding,” said David Hare, a year-long Obi diner living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

“I can’t describe how much more fun meals are now, both for me and my wife, who has long helped me eat,” he said. “I know people are passionate about their cell phones and laptops, but it’s nothing compared to the excitement I feel about my Obi. Getting it was literally a life-changing experience.”

Other Obi users feel the same.

“Obi has benefited the whole family,” said Amanda Golembiewski, whose 3-year-old daughter, Grace, lives with Arthrogryposis. “The time I used to spend feeding Grace can now be spent taking care of all three of my kids.”

Obi’s key functionality is a robotic arm that selects virtually any properly sized food from one of four compartments. Obi then delivers the food to one of several thousand potential locations where the diner can eat from the spoon. That means Obi can accommodate nearly any age demographic and diner preferred position or orientation.
With Obi, diners have complete control over what they eat, and when they eat it — some for the first time in their lives.

“Finally, I can skip over my vegetables,” said Isaac Wilcox, a 15-year-old Obi diner living with a C4 spinal cord injury.

Supplied by a rechargeable battery, Obi holds enough energy to serve four to six meals on a single charge. Obi also fits within the confines of a dinner placemat, operates quietly and can be carried with ease like a laptop computer. The product has been awarded eight patents to date, covering a variety of innovations and capabilities. Obi is also a finalist in the 2016 International Design Excellence Awards. Designed and manufactured in the United States, Obi is FDA compliant and is certified by Underwriters Laboratories.

The name “Obi” is derived from the word “obeisance” which is a term for a gesture of respect or deference, such as a bow or curtsy. In recognition of this, the Obi device fluidly “bows” to its user when turned on.

An Obi device is available for purchase in the United States through DESῙN’s website.

Image credit: DESῙN