A three-dimensional scan of a customized mould will be used to manufacture a child’s wheelchair seat in a process developed by UWindsor engineering students.
A project that can reduce the time and cost of designing individualized seats for children’s wheelchairs has earned a team of engineering students an award from the Office of Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility.
The students — Luka Mlinarevic, Pavneet Sarao, Alea McLellan, Jasmine Bull, and Saifaldin Abdelhamid — took on the capstone project “Develop a Rapid, Robust, Low-Cost Solution for Specialty Wheelchair Seat Design and Manufacturing” under professor Colin Novak. Their solution has the potential to reduce production time to three or four weeks rather than the current six to eight months.
Bull says she hopes their process will find broader application “so that everybody can enjoy day-to-day life and it’s all accessible to everyone.”
The group has been honoured with an award for contributions to enhance accessibility.
Watch a video on their achievement:
This is the first in a five-part series recognizing recipients of the 2022 OHREA awards.