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Manual Wheelchair Design to Improve User Safety, Comfort and Aesthetics for the Aging Population

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Advances in Industrial Design (AHFE 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 260))

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Abstract

In the future, a quarter of the U.S. population will be comprised of people over the age of 65. The goal of this research was to design a manual wheelchair concept to help users live a more mobile and independent life with safety, comfort and modern aesthetics. Three design phases explored these attributes through sketching and 3D CAD iteration. The final design included a hub-less wheel system with integrated, grooved push-rims to reduce the risk of fingers getting caught in spokes and enable ease of motion. The chair also integrated a self-balancing gyroscopic sensor so the front caster wheels could be fully eliminated, to reduce the risk of tripping, while improving turn radius and mobility. The intent of this work was to start a conversation regarding ways industrial designers can improve manual wheelchairs for the growing aging demographic.

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References

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded through the 2019–2020 University of Oregon College of Design Tinker Hatfield Innovation Award - Design for Healthy Aging project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oregon, 70 NW Couch Street, Portland Oregon, 97209, USA

    Susan L. Sokolowski, Ezra Ende & Mark Fretz

Authors
  1. Susan L. Sokolowski
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  2. Ezra Ende
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  3. Mark Fretz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan L. Sokolowski .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Cliff Sungsoo Shin

  2. Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi G. d’Annunzio, Pescara, Italy

    Giuseppe Di Bucchianico

  3. System Design and Management, Keio University, Musashino, Japan

    Shuichi Fukuda

  4. DAAP School of Design, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Yong-Gyun Ghim

  5. Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Gianni Montagna

  6. Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Cristina Carvalho

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Sokolowski, S.L., Ende, E., Fretz, M. (2021). Manual Wheelchair Design to Improve User Safety, Comfort and Aesthetics for the Aging Population. In: Shin, C.S., Di Bucchianico, G., Fukuda, S., Ghim , YG., Montagna, G., Carvalho, C. (eds) Advances in Industrial Design. AHFE 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 260. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80829-7_61

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80829-7_61

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-80828-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-80829-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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