Towards a new wheelchair
2006/01/01 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
In the case of these people who have sat in wheelchairs, on many occasions the technology has been and will be very useful to facilitate their life and exceed daily limits.
In this sense, the Tekniker technology center will develop a new wheelchair thanks to the support of the Social Work of Kutxa. The project will last for two years, so the wheelchair is expected to be ready for 2007.
The features of the new wheelchair have been carefully selected after meeting with Bidaideak, Elkartu, Gene and other disability organizations. In this way, the prototype that will be developed will have a series of characteristics considered basic, which must be cheap (with an approximate price of between 9,000 and 12,000 euros), easy maintenance, with a suitable suspension, ergonomic and regular, of great autonomy, with capacity of lifting notches, with anti-rollover system and with lights for use at night.
What is innovation?
In addition to these basic features, you will have others that differentiate you from the chairs available on the market. For example, the disabled person can climb into the chair to access the wardrobes or counters, or talk to pedestrians in person, standing in front of their faces, that is, the chair can be adapted to different heights. In addition, you will have a remote control to move the chair from the outside, that is, to move away from yourself or approach it. At the same time, the chair will have great freedom of movement -- it will be able to take a full turn.
From now on, walking through irregular terrain will not be an obstacle. In fact, this new chair will have the ability to move in difficult areas, both outside and inside, with intelligent acceleration control. That is, acceleration has certain limitations and, in the event of excessive acceleration to the wheelchair, the system sets limits. Acceleration must be progressive. Otherwise, a strong involuntary acceleration can endanger the wheelchair user.
You can control the wheelchair through different devices, such as joy stick (in general we are used to seeing them), look, head movements, etc. However, it will also have conventional methods, that is, with manual control of the chair and handbrake. In order to be able to safely access other means of transport, such as trains, buses, etc., it will be necessary that the wheelchair can also block the wheels. Finally, it will have a special rain protection system, a kind of hood.
Other aspects to be analyzed
In any case, the wheelchair, in addition to in price, closely resembles a car in its characteristics. Therefore, in addition to all these characteristics, others will be analyzed.
In the case of wheel change, for example, rapid change systems will be studied, as well as anti-drilling systems. On the other hand, both cold and heat will no longer be an obstacle to wheelchair circulation so that the disabled feel rich, as experts are investigating the cooling and heating systems in question. Systems similar to cranes are also being found to facilitate movements from the chair and chair, as well as the possibility of dismantling the chair for transport. Finally, the integration of home automation in the dock is another of the topics covered in this project.
There is no doubt that technology will continue to change our way of life. All this seems fiction, but it is not so. The current social demand is quite broad. People with reduced mobility linked to the wheelchair see the need for new and advanced chairs. And so the project has been launched. The goal is one and only: to socialize the most advanced and modern technologies and, as far as possible, find ways to carry out all those actions that become everyday barriers for people with reduced mobility.
