During this design project we had the opportunity to help a client with multiple sclerosis, Nadina, with her mobility issues. Since Nadina has poor fine motor motor movement on her right hand, she is unable to fully operate her wheelchair. Based on her conditions, we decided to make modifications on her push rims that allow her to move both wheels using only her left hand. In addition, the design of the push rims should also increase Nadina’s grip strength. All in all, the new design of Nadina’s wheelchair should be user-friendly
The WheelMobile, presented by Roam, is a modified manual wheelchair created specifically for Nadina's needs and mobility concerns. The design of WheelMobile was based on the addition of a secondary push rim on Nadina left side, which is connected to the right wheel through a central axis and rotates independently from the primary push rim.
The secondary aspect of Roam's product, is the increased textured surface on all three push rims. This unique feature with increased grip and control is essential for Nadina’s ability to use a wheelchair effectively.
Name: Nadina Gregory
Condition: Multiple Sclerosis
Needs: A more versatile wheelchair, better grip on the push rims
Figure 1: The scaled-down prototype of our final design
In this design project my contributions were proposing various wheelchair modifications, making a 3D prototype on Autodesk Inventor, fabricating the physical prototype, and creating an engaging video that explains our design.
Figure 2a: The tripod design of our first solution
Figure 2b: The CAD model for our wheelchair design, a secondary push rim (grey) added to the left side of the wheelchair.
Milestones and Additional Worksheets
Technical Skills:
🔧Autodesk Inventor & 3D Printing
📽️Video Editing Skills
🪚Hands on wood work skills
✏️Sketching Skills
Soft Skills:
👥 Team Dynamics and Communications
🕛 Time Management
<aside> 💡 DP4 was the best design project I ever had. Firstly, for the first time, we worked with an actual client and customize our product based on their needs. Secondly, I am thankful that I had a great team to work with. Although there were hiccups (significant design changes) along the design process, we were able to work as a coherent team to finish all final deliverables within two weeks.
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*Cover image obtained from Unsplash database: https://unsplash.com/photos/B-t93LEzOAU?utm_source=63921&utm_medium=referral