Karsten Miranda
Two Goan mechanical engineering students along with two of their classmates from Belgaum have successfully worked on an optimised design for a stair climbing wheelchair. Chaitanya Kamat from Majorda, Anveer Mehta from Panjim and Belgaum residents Santosh Godi and Prasad Desai are from Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum and they took two months to work on their final year mechanical engineering project.
Chaitanya’s father, Ramesh Kamat, also a mechanical engineer, helped the four students and Chaitanya credited his father for being there for them at ever hurdle they faced by offering them alternate solutions and inspiring them to keep moving forward. The objective of their project was to devise a method that would help a certain section of society who are differently-abled and have been confined to the use of a wheelchair in their daily activities and outgoings.
Their project has incorporated heavy modification to the pre-existing model of a wheelchair that helps people climb up and down stairs independently without the support of a second person. They have made use of a planetary wheel system driven by a sun gear that has been designed in such a way so as to ensure climbing of a step when encountered by one.
Panjim based Anveer added that the wheelchair as a means of transport plays an important role in the lives of old and diabled people. “With the society paying more attention to the benefits of elderly and disabled people, barrier-free facilities as well as the elevator has been widely popularized. Common wheelchairs can easily access many places, but when the user encounters stairs, it is a hindrance. With the assistance of a second person, it would be ok for them to climb, but if they’re on their own, it becomes very inconvenient,” said Anveer.
“This project is based on the existing stair-climbing wheelchair; the advantages and disadvantages between different types of wheelchairs are compared and summarized, in order to make our design overcome those disadvantages. The planetary wheels mechanism is optimized to extend the life of the gear for the transmission system and improve the security of the device,” added Santosh on the technical aspects.
Chaitanya further stated that they had kept in mind the difficulties faced by those who have been restricted to wheelchairs and understand the need of dependence on another individual every time a staircase without a ramp is encountered by a person in one. Elaborating on how their project can make a difference, the students felt it was the need of the hour to have a simple design that would compete with professional designs and rates available in the international market. The optimized design they have come up with makes use of parts that are simple to procure and have proved to be efficient in more ways than one. “The wheelchair was designed for step sizes that are meant to be the standard step sizes for all hospitals, offices and buildings that are commercial as well as residential. This widens the scope of use of our wheelchair enabling it to be of use to the majority of people who would want it,” added Prasad.
The students have added the seat adjustment system which is used to adjust the centre of gravity of the wheelchair and keep the seat always inclined with the ground while climbing up and down stairs. “A locking system is added which is used to lock the wheelchair while climbing up and down stairs, making sure it can only move in one direction, and protect the wheelchair from slipping down,” added Santosh.
Anveer concluded by stating that they had tried their best to make a very efficient as well as cost effective design that is simple to manufacture, assemble and use. A proud achievement indeed!
