Amanda Gelb

The plan is to make these ramps with an assortment of low cost high weight bearing materials.

 

I aim to learn by doing, as I will need to re-model and adapt many times to achieve the ramp's sweet spot of slope, height, width and length. An anti-slip, high traction surface is also essential. 

 

Project Essence:

 

A circle and a square.

A wheel and a stair.

I want to find a way for them to work together.

More specifically, for those in wheelchairs to go up a few stairs autonomously.

I'm focussing my efforts on creating a portable, low-cost solution that can can accommodate a few different stair scenarios and be deployed easily by a user autonomously.

This will result in either a new ramp or wheel concept.

 

Intended Use and Audience:

 

I’m aware that the way I phrase “the problem or need” dramatically changes how I address the solution. Through research and conversations with various stakeholders, this assistive device is aimed at urban-residing people in manual wheelchairs who have full use of their upper bodies.

 

While this assistive technology is aimed primarily at those in wheelchairs but aspires to incorporate universal design and be applicable for motorized wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, and more.

 

 

Collaboration with Potential Users :

 

 

Design for disability is fraught by designing on behalf of. I have already formed partnerships with UCP and the Axis Project so that this adaptive device can be molded in the eyes of those who will ultimately use it. I am also on the lookout for more partnerships and groups of wheelchair users of various ages and backgrounds and hope to look to the mentorship and OT support of this grant to connect me with those users if possible.

 

The best ramp in the world doesn't give us public discourse about disability. To that end I aim to involve as many on campus as possible. Both in the trial of my prototypes as well as using them as an opportunity for further discussion and engagement about access in general.

 

Folks I worked with in the Assistive Tech. class at Poly this past semester expressed interest in continuing their work with me. I plan to take two of them up on it and they will provide backup research and ideation support. In addition, as my vision for this solution becomes clearer based on my interviews, research and experimentation described above, I will to reach out to some Poly students who study mechanisms and/or materials for detailed assistance with problems that may arise or for their opinions and tweaks on the designs.

 

Anticipated Obstacles:

 

I am ever and growingly aware that this is a simple to grasp concept but a difficult one to solve. For one thing, Medicaid/Medicare makes it hard to get wheelchair improvements, and modifications to wheelchairs run the risk of invalidating a warranty. NYC itself bans any ramps that are not to the ADA code of 1 inch of rise by 12 inches of run, a near impossible task given the width of many urban storefronts. In order to be used the design will need to be incredibly simple to use and deploy easily. Further, it will need to take up minimal precious real estate on the chair itself or in the user’s backpack.

 

Wheelchair users don’t want heavy things on their chairs so lightweight will need to be achieved in addition to the mechanism and it may be hard to position perfectly on the ground while sitting in chair. While I aim for this to be multi-purpose and of use for different height scenarios, it entails the user knowing which height to deploy. Relatedly, the device will need to hook onto a stair which may be hard to design. Further, the act of ascending and descending are related but not entirely the same problem to solve.  

 

 

Realistic Success Looks Like:

 

I am modeling 5 conceptual ideas out of cardboard. The aim is to hone and iteratively test these prototypes, landing on one working largely functioning prototype queued up for production or further testing. Success is the development of prototypes into a functioning model made with its target users.