Team 14: UrbanWheelchair [UPDATED]

Mechanical attachments. Assembled using the same screw size.
Wheels attached to the shaft. Requires no ball bearings.
Left: Linear actuator with larger hole drilled to fit the wheel shaft. Right: Original part
Parts used to attach the third set of wheels

Inspiration

In the United States, roughly 3.3 million people are wheelchair users. Modern laws promote increased independence for disabled citizens by providing a more accessible public environment. Despite these laws, problems can arise for wheelchair users due to deterioration or as unintended consequences of other choices.

How it Works

Throughout the past year, we have been consulting our advisors and wheelchair users to find a systematic approach to address wheelchair users’ challenges in maneuvering around urban environments. Based on their suggestions and our design, we have created an integrated system consisting of a power supply, a processing unit, an actuator and a detection unit. During daily use, the processing unit analyzes data collected by the detection unit to decide when to activate the actuator. After receiving proper control signals, the actuator will extend or retract to help the user conquer obstacles. The power supply provides power for every module of the whole system, allowing for continuous obstacle detection and proper responsive actuation. The user can choose between automatic or manual control of the system depending on his or her preference.

The main problem areas we want to consider consist of uneven terrain like that seen near tram tracks in the middle of the road. After observing a wheelchair user getting stuck in the tram tracks when trying to cross the street, our team was inspired to provide a simple but reliable solution to uneven terrain in the city environment for manual wheelchair users.

What's next for UrbanWheelchair

We plan to collect more user feedback for our current system and analyze possible areas for improvement. To better help our customers, the wheelchair users, we will continuously listen to their suggestions. Testing provided some early feedback. The motion of the actuator is not obvious to the user unless the attached wheels are already lifting the wheelchair. Some indicator of the actuator’s current status would be very useful to the user. We also would like to add a feature that would allow users to wirelessly open a building door as oppose to pressing a button. This would facilitate entrance into a building.