Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries

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Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries posted by member150_php on 3/6/2009

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Abstract/Syllabus

Courseware/Lectures

Test/Tutorials

Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries

Spring 2007

Man sitting in a three-wheeled chair, holding the hand crank component.

Course instructor Amos Winter works on a hand-cranked tricycle wheelchair, or handcycle, with a user. (Photo courtesy of Amos Winter.)

Course Highlights

The related resources page includes videos of the manufacturing process and demonstrations for different wheelchair and handcycle designs.

Course Description

This class will give students the chance to better the lives of others by improving wheelchairs and tricycles made in the developing world. According to the United States Agency for International Development, 20 million people in developing countries require wheelchairs, and the United Nations Development Programme estimates below 1% of the need in Africa is being met by local production. Lectures will focus on understanding local factors, such as operating environments, social stigmas against the disabled, and manufacturing constraints, then applying sound scientific/engineering knowledge to develop appropriate technical solutions. Multidisciplinary student teams will conduct term-long projects on topics such as hardware design, manufacturing optimization, biomechanics modeling, and business plan development. Theory will further be connected to real-world implementation during guest lectures by MIT faculty, Third World community partners, and U.S. wheelchair organizations. Funded summer fellowships to implement class projects into African wheelchair workshops will be offered to at least six students.

This class is made possible by an MIT Alumni Sponsored Funding Opportunities grant with additional support from the MIT Public Service Center and the Edgerton Center.

Special Features

Class competition video
Special feature video
Image gallery

Technical Requirements

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .mp4, .rm, .xls.

Syllabus

This page includes a course calendar.

This section describes what each Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries (WDDC) student and project group should expect as far as class structure, responsibilities, deliverables, and resources during the term.

Course Breakdown

The course units are broken into 2-2-2 corresponding to Lecture-Lab-Homework.

Lecture

Each student is required to attend the lectures but is allowed to miss two during the semester. More than two absences without permission from one of the instructors will result in failing the course.

Lab

A lab time will be chosen on the second day of class. This time will be reserved for group presentations. Project teams will be required to meet weekly with their lab instructors, but may choose to do so outside the designated class lab time (see the Term project - Group meetings section).

Homework

Homework will consist primarily of readings and short assignments to be handed in. Assignments will be due one week after being assigned. As the semester progresses less homework will be given to allow more time for the project.

Grading

Final course grades will be P/D/F. Lab instructors will assign grades for all students in their section. Instructors will collaborate to ensure that there is equitable grading between lab sections. Half of the total grade is based on individual work and the other half is based on teamwork. Class and lab participation grades are based on both attendance and quality of in-class activity.

The grading breakdown is:

Grading criteria.
ACTIVITIES	PERCENTAGES
Class participation/homework	15%
Strategy presentation	20%
Concept presentation	20%
Most critical module (MCM) presentation	20%
Final presentation and prototype	25%

Term Project

Students will form into lab groups, 3 to 5 members plus a lab instructor, to work on a project (either from the Web site or proposed by a student) for the term. While participating in the project, each group will have the following responsibilities:

Collaboration

The project is meant to be a true collaboration between MIT students, experts who work in each project field, and African wheelchair technicians. Each team is required to send a weekly update email to both the project mentors and African partners to demonstrate their progress and obtain feedback/ideas. Mentors and African Partners will be assigned to project teams after the teams have been formed.

Group Meetings

Each project group is required to meet once a week with their lab instructor. It is up to the group and lab instructor to choose the best meeting time for all, which does not have to be the scheduled class lab time. The group is encouraged to pick a time that overlaps with open hours of facilities that might be useful to the project (e.g. the Hobby Shop, Edgerton Shop, Foundry, etc).

Deliverables

Each group will need to produce the following deliverables:

A Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation for the Strategy, Concept, MCM, and Final Presentation milestones.
Poster - The Museum of Science in Boston is going to display the class projects one day before Lec #12. Teams will make a poster summarizing their work to display with their prototype. Teams may also choose to give a presentation at the Museum.
Prototypes - A physical solution to each teams' MCM will be presented at the MCM presentation. For the final presentation a working prototype of a full solution to the team's problem is expected. For example, if a team designs a new wheelchair frame, a finished frame on an assembled, usable wheelchair is expected. For teams doing business plans or other projects that do not require hardware, a solution to the biggest obstacle of the project is expected at the MCM presentation, and a full plan of how to implement the group's work into an African workshop is expected at the final presentation.

Resources

Monetary

The class has a materials budget of $2000. Teams will not have a fixed budget, as some teams will have to buy more things than others. If you would like to purchase an item you can either:

Tell Amos where to buy it
Buy it yourself and submit your receipt to Amos for reimbursement

Manufacturing

The following on-campus facilities will be accessible to WDDC students for their group projects:

The Edgerton Shop - good for machining and cutting metal parts.
The Hobby Shop - good for woodworking and has a waterjet.
The MIT Foundry - where to go to get things welded and learn to weld.

Parts

WDDC has multiple African-made wheelchairs and handcycles that teams can use. Teams should not destroy any of these devises, but are welcome to use parts from them. If a team would like to make a "permanent modification" to one of these devices, ask an instructor first. Also, there are loose bicycle components from all three partnering African countries which can be used/destroyed for prototyping.

Storage

Teams are to keep their projects consolidated in the designated storage room - do not make a mess! Do not leave valuables here, as the room is accessible to many people. The storage room may be changed during the semester, as a professor will be moving into this room at some point in the future.

People

Utilize your Mentors, Community Partners, and Lab Instructors to the fullest. They have a wealth of knowledge in your project area will greatly broaden the skill set of your team.

Fellowships

WDDC has funds to support three students this coming summer to implement technology generated in the class into African wheelchair workshops. The MIT Public Service Center (PSC) is interested in funding more fellowships focused on wheelchair work. Those who are interested will have to propose a project (most likely a continuation of their class project) within the guidelines of one of the PSC fellowships (Independent, network, or focus). To be fair to all interested students, proposals will be submitted to, judged by, and awarded through the PSC. Alison Hynd, coordinator for the fellowships and the IDEAS competition, will be coming to class on Lec #2 to talk about all funding opportunities to continue work from WDDC.

Calendar

Course calendar.
LEC #	WHEELCHAIR TOPICS	PRESENTED THEORIES	INSTRUCTORS	IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES	KEY DATES AND MILESTONES
1	Introduction to wheelchairs in developing countries	Developing country research	Amos Winter	Wheelchair/Trike relay race around campus	Review projects
2	Designing wheelchairs for the developing world	Deterministic design process	Amos Winter Alison Hynd - PSC fellowships	Choose project teams, watch videos from workshops	Define functional requirements of project
3	Wheelchair biomechanics/ergonomics	Design for human use	Amos Winter	Power output test up ramp in basement	Power calculations from class activity Encouraged to visit 2.007 lecture
4	Abdullah speaking to the class about his experiences	Round-table discussion	Abdullah Munish, TATCOT	Q&A with Abdullah	Encouraged to visit 2.007 lectures Strategy presentation - evening session, four days later
5	Appropriate technology	Idea to product	Amy Smith and Sarah Bird, MIT	Wheelchair roll-play
6	Available materials and manufacturing techniques in developing countries	Material science/mechanics of materials	Prof. Mary Boyce, MIT Mike Tarkanian, MIT welding instructor	Exercise of calculating forces and moments	Concept presentations - evening session, six days later
7	Human power	Q&A with guest speakers	Prof. David Gordon Wilson, MIT Rory McCarthy, Move With Freedom		Project work
8	Business plans in the developing world	Writing business plans	Jorge Barrera, MIT
9	Ralf speaking to the class about his experiences	Round-table discussion	Ralf Hotchkiss, Whirlwind	Q&A with Ralf	Most critical module (MCM) presentations - evening session
10	Wheelchair user image	Product/ergonomic design	Prof. David Wallace, MIT	Sketching exercise and judging
11	Project work	Project work
12	Project work	Project work		Project work	Poster for museum of science display
13	Project work	Project work		Project work	Final presentation of project with a working prototype - evening session

Readings

LEC #	WHEELCHAIR TOPICS	PRESENTED THEORIES	INSTRUCTORS	READINGS
1	Introduction to wheelchairs in developing countries	Developing country research	Amos Winter	Information Package on Wheelchairs. International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2005. "Wheelchair Standards Organizing Committee Formed." Whirlwind Wheelchairs International, September 27, 2005. Winter, Amos. Assessment of Wheelchair Technology in Tanzania (PDF)
2	Designing wheelchairs for the developing world	Deterministic design process	Amos Winter Alison Hynd - PSC fellowships	2.007 lecture notes on design process (PDF) (Courtesy of Alex Slocum. Used with permission.) Wheelchair sections in Werner, D. Nothing About Us Without Us: Developing Innovative Technologies For, By, and With Disabled Persons. (PDF - 6.3 MB) (Courtesy of David Werner.)
3	Wheelchair biomechanics/ergonomics	Design for human use	Amos Winter	Mayall, J. K, and G. Desharnais. Positioning in a Wheelchair. 2nd ed. Thorofare, NJ: Slack Incorporated, 1995. ISBN: 9781556422515.
4	Abdullah speaking to the class about his experiences	Round-table discussion	Abdullah Munish, TATCOT	Independence through Mobility: A Guide to the Manufacture of the ATI-Hotchkiss Wheelchair . Note: You are not required to read the whole document, but skim to see what info may be useful for your project.
5	Appropriate technology	Idea to product	Amy Smith and Sarah Bird, MIT	Dolan, Robert J. "Note on Marketing Strategy." Cambridge MA: Harvard Business School, 2000. Product No. 9-598-061.
6	Available materials and manufacturing techniques in developing countries	Material science/mechanics of materials	Prof. Mary Boyce, MIT Mike Tarkanian, MIT welding instructor	Winter, Amos, and Ralf Hotchkiss. Mechanical Principles of Wheelchair Design. (PDF - 2.6 MB)
7	Human power	Q&A with guest speakers	Prof. David Gordon Wilson, MIT Rory McCarthy, Move with Freedom
8	Business plans in the developing world	Writing business plans	Jorge Barrera, MIT	Yunus, Muhammad. Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty. New York, NY: PublicAffairs/Perseus Books, 2003. ISBN: 9781586481988.
9	Ralf speaking to the class about his experiences	Round-table discussion	Ralf Hotchkiss, Whirlwind
10	Wheelchair user image	Product/ergonomic design	Prof. David Wallace, MIT
11	Project work	Project work
12	Project work	Project work
13	Project work	Project work

Webliography:

Related Resources

Special software is required to use some of the files in this section: .mp4, .rm.

Image Galleries

Sub-Saharan Trikes

These photos are a compilation of many tricycles seen by Amos Winter in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia over the past two years.

Manufacturing Videos

These videos by Amos Winter show how various African workshops produce their wheelchairs.

Course videos.
TOPICS	SUMMARIES	STREAMING VIDEOS	DOWNLOADABLE VIDEOS
APDK- Handcycle manufacturing	This video shows the process of making a tricycle at APDK in Nairobi	(RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	(MP4 - 31.9MB)
APDK - Wheelchair manufacturing	This video shows the process of making a wheelchair at APDK in Nairobi	(RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	(MP4 - 45.5MB)
DAGE - Handcycle manufacturing	This video shows the process of making a tricycle at Disabled Aids and General Engineering in Dar es Salaam	(RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	(MP4 - 26.4MB)
Mobility care - Wheelchair manufacturing	This video shows how Mobility Care makes a wheelchair	(RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	(MP4 - 29.1MB)
Disacare - Wheelchair manufacturing	This video shows how Disacare makes a wheelchair, as well as some of the modifications they have invented in their shop	(RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	(MP4 - 79.6MB)

Promotional and Demonstration Videos

These videos highlight the designs of various wheelchairs.

Promotional and demonstration videos
VIDEOS	SUMMARIES
Whirlwind's RoughRider^TM (MOV - 10 MB) (RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	This is a promotional video for Whirlwind's new chair, the RoughRider. (Courtesy of Whirlwind Wheelchair International. Used with permission.)
TOTEM - Columbia-made RoughRider wheelchair (RM - 56k) (RM - 220k)	This is another promotional video for Whirlwind's RoughRider, as produced in Columbia. (Courtesy of Whirlwind Wheelchair International. Used with permission.)
Freedom Technology Tricycle Research	This video is awesome! Freedom Technology is a wheelchair workshop in the Philippines. They did great research into user needs and came up with some awesome designs.
Move With Freedom MORPH	Rory McCarthy, one of the mentors for the class, is developing a new handcycle that can morph between a low position for long rides and a high position for maneuvering indoors. Check out this video of the MORPH in action!

Web Resources

Related resources table.
WEB RESOURCES	DESCRIPTIONS
Google™	If you have never used Google™, you probably grew up in a cave. It is the best search engine ever!!!
McMaster Carr	It's like a hardware store with 6.022X10²³ different products.
How Stuff Works	How Stuff Works lives up to its name. It is the best resource for finding out how different technical things work. This Web site will serve as the class text.
Efunda	Good place to look up analysis that has to do with engineering. Forget what stress is? efunda can tell you all about it.
Wikipedia	Wikipedia is great for learning a small amount about anything. Want to know when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb? This is the place to go.
Matweb	Matweb is a great place to find material properties. They have information on just about any material you can imagine.
Math.com	This is a good place to look up mathematical concepts. You can quickly find things like common integrals or trig identities.
2.007	This is the MIT mechanical engineering department's introduction to mechanical design class. The lecture notes have are the best compilation of design principles I have ever seen. Students build robots for a class project (where do you think I got the idea for our class?). You can find some really ingenious technical solutions in some of the robots.
2.744	This is MIT's graduate product design class in mechanical engineering. It has many great links to other sites, and tells about the basics of product design.
Google™ Scholar	Google™ Scholar is an easy way to get academic articles for free. It works just like regular Google™.
USPTO	At the U.S. Patent office, you can search for any patent issued from the 1700's till now. Looking through patents generates good ideas, and prevents you from reinventing the wheel. If you are thinking of designing a protective carrying case for your banana, sorry, it already exists: U.S. Patent number 6918231 - Search on patent number.
Free Patent Fetcher	If you find a patent that looks sounds interesting, like a banana carrying case, Free Patent Fetcher is a really easy way to download it in pdf form.
World Bank	This Web site is a resource for all kinds of info, including general statistics for every country.
UNDP	The United Nations Development Programme Web site has many articles about development.
USAID	The United States Agency for International Development Web site is another resource with many articles about international development and disability.
Whirlwind Wheelchair International	The Whirlwind Wheelchair International Web site has many wheelchair related articles and links to other disability organizations.
Motivation	The Motivation Web site has many wheelchair related articles and links to other disability organizations.
ExtremePhoneCards	The "I Talk Africa" card is the best I have found for calling Kenya and TZ. It gives about $0.05/min to a land line and $0.20/min to a cell phone.
D-Lab	Our MIT international development friends in D-Lab have lots of information, case studies, and other resources on their Web page. Also see the OCW Web sites for D-Lab classes SP.721 and SP.722.
Disability KAR	The Disability Knowledge and Research Web site has tons of academic articles and other useful info about disability around the world.
Freedom Technology	This NGO in the Philippines makes some awesome mobility aids. Their two new tricycle models have very innovative designs (see this video).