Scalevo Wheelchair Conquers Stairs, One Step At A Time
The stairs have been the biggest obstacle and a problem for the wheelchair users; but no more. A group of talented engineering students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Zurich University has developed 'Scalevo Wheelchair' that has conquered the stairs. The wheelchair has been specially designed and built to help the wheelchair users climb up the stairs, and as you'll find out in the video below, it does it with great precision and control while looking absolutely cool. Check it out:-
Back in 2013, a group of mechanical engineering students began working on an idea of Beni Winter, a student of ETH. Winter wanted to develop a robot that could climb the stairs. However, after a couple of meetings with Prof. Sigwart, the group decided to design and develop a wheelchair capable of climbing the stairs. The project was accepted and presented to the college; which led to formation of a team of seven mechanical engineering students and an electrical engineer. Two Zhdk students also joined the team to handle the design part.
In its current form, the Scalevo wheelchair is electric powered and balances on two wheels - using technology used by the segway. When the wheelchair encounters a staircase, two smaller wheels pop-out to help put a pair of treads on the stairs. Once the grip is confirmed, the chair adjusts its angle so that the user remains horizontal and balanced all the time. Upon reaching to the top, the system gets back into its regular form.
The wheelchair itself looks from the future - with all the lights and control-displays to help the user maneuver the wheelchair. The team is now working on increasing the speed of the wheelchair with a goal to achieve 1 step / second climbing speed.
Read more about the project on its official website linked in the source below.
Read More
Back in 2013, a group of mechanical engineering students began working on an idea of Beni Winter, a student of ETH. Winter wanted to develop a robot that could climb the stairs. However, after a couple of meetings with Prof. Sigwart, the group decided to design and develop a wheelchair capable of climbing the stairs. The project was accepted and presented to the college; which led to formation of a team of seven mechanical engineering students and an electrical engineer. Two Zhdk students also joined the team to handle the design part.
In its current form, the Scalevo wheelchair is electric powered and balances on two wheels - using technology used by the segway. When the wheelchair encounters a staircase, two smaller wheels pop-out to help put a pair of treads on the stairs. Once the grip is confirmed, the chair adjusts its angle so that the user remains horizontal and balanced all the time. Upon reaching to the top, the system gets back into its regular form.
The wheelchair itself looks from the future - with all the lights and control-displays to help the user maneuver the wheelchair. The team is now working on increasing the speed of the wheelchair with a goal to achieve 1 step / second climbing speed.
Read more about the project on its official website linked in the source below.
Read More
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