Vardaan: Stair Climbing Wheelchair
About the Practice
• Wheelchairs are extensively used by disabled people to enhance their personal mobility. One of the basic problems of user on manual wheelchair is overcoming architectural barriers like kerbs, stairs etc. on its way
Detail:
The manual stair climbing wheelchair is designed for people with lower limb disability to enhance their personal mobility. One of the basic problems faced by users of manual wheelchairs is overcoming architectural barriers like kerbs and stairs on their way. Vardaan facilitates climbing up and down the stairs by using a “Y” shaped wheel that provides better grip and optimum braking along with a ratchet and a braking system. The “Y” shaped wheel is designed by mimicking the human gait while climbing up. For climbing up the user pulls and pushes the lever ratchet attached on the axle of the Y shaped wheel. The design makes use of the fact that people with lower limb disability have high upper body strength and therefore pulling/pushing the ratchet lever can be conveniently operated by them. While climbing down the user can use brakes to control the motion of the wheelchair as the “Y” shaped wheel rolls down the steps. The braking system along with the “Y” shaped wheel is likely to make the wheelchair a safe solution for climbing stairs for users. This same wheelchair can be converted instantly to move on level ground too. The initial prototype has been tested under various conditions like step sizes of stairs, people with different weights (58 kg‐89kg) and it has shown satisfactory results. The wheelchair can navigate stairs with 230‐350 mm width and step heights from 110‐185 mm. VARDAAN can climb almost every public stair that conforms to the National Building Code Specifications (India) for public buildings. Vardaan is an economic, safe, user friendly and efficient stair climbing manual wheelchair. It is a simple machinedesigned for climbing stairs with mechanical benefit via lever ratchets system and braking system. A “Y” shapedwheel is designed for better grip and optimum braking for climbing up and down.Currently the stairs climbing devices are electrically/battery operated and are expensive for both Indian markets aswell as for international markets. Ibot (powered stair‐climbing wheelchair) is the example technology marvel but istoo expensive ($29,000) for an ordinary user to buy. A stair climbing manual wheelchair is an economic solution(<10% of the cost of Ibot) for a user to negotiate the stairs. But only few manual stairs climbing devices exist in theworld and unfortunately there is hardly any product existing in the Indian market. (http://www.southasiainitiative.harvard.edu/site/health_southasia/Submission_abstracts/VARDAAN)
About the Innovator
Address: IIT Kanpur
State: Kanpur
PIN Code 208016
Email: Shanu Sharma (cpshanu@gmail.com) Syed Nadeem Akhtar (snadeem@iitk.ac.in) J. Ramkumar (jrkumar@iitk.ac.in)
Contact No: 0512 259 0151
Practice Details
Link: So far, the product design is focused on independent stairs climbing manual wheelchair but in future the same concept can be developed for many other users with diverse needs of such wheelchair like, • Stairs climbing powered wheelchair, • Assistant operated manual wheelchair. • Assistant operated battery-operated wheelchair. • External device attachment for stairs climbing, • Pediatric stairs climbing manual and powered wheelchair. • Different range of products can be designed with the use of various materials. • Stairs climbing wheelchair for specific usage for example in airports, railway stations, hospitals etc.
Manufacturing Capacity: b) Design Support
Problem Scale: Around the world
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