Group 4 – WheelEase

Team Members

Gabriel Barnes, Brandon Bulnes, Juliette Dalessandro, Christian Garza, Aidan Henriksen, Isaiah King, Andrew Pham, Jessie Shutzberg

Abstract

There has been a drastic difference in the quality of life between people with disabilities and people without. This problem is exacerbated by the daily use of manual wheelchairs as disabled people may require them all throughout their life. As they get older and weaker, however, these wheelchairs become much more difficult to operate, making it hard for them to travel. This is in addition to the fact that manual wheelchairs make it difficult for quadriplegics and other people with mental or physical limitations to use them as well. Motorized wheelchairs offer a strong and popular alternative; however their high price points make it almost commercially unavailable as seen in the case of hospitals and airports. Motorized wheelchairs currently represent a luxury purchase in more-developed countries, the high price ranges put them out of the picture for most consumers in the wheelchair market. Thus, the only viable solution that can be used to solve the multitude of issues in quality of life for disabled people is a semi-autonomous wheelchair conversion kit set at an affordable price. For better application in more-developed and less-developed countries, the conversion kit would attach to a standard hospital wheelchair and motorize the main wheels, providing consumers with the motorized wheelchair experience. In addition to mobilizing the wheelchair, the wheelchair would then be configured to take controls from the included joystick or voice commands to target a consumer audience that is often overlooked by the manual wheelchair industry. To increase the ease of using the wheelchair even further, the wheelchair is equipped with AI-assisted cruise control and can learn the daily transportation habits of the user to cater them to a truly personal experience. Make life real easier, WheelEase.

Pitch Video

3D Interactive Product Model

The following is an interactive 3D model of the product design. You can view and rotate the product assembly in different orientations and views, including an exploded view to see the various parts that make up the assembly.