Max
11-23-2004, 05:20 PM
Students reinvent wheelchair
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
By NATALIA E. ARBULĂ
narbulu@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - The wheelchair designed by a group of High School of Science and Technology students offered the user more than the standard mobility and stability.
Advertisement
The wheelchair, which had six wheels, could be steered up and down an icy slope and still be used indoors, said seniors Kevin J. Whalen, 17, and Thuan Nguyen, 18.
The prototype was the group's project for a class unit taught by Hampshire College students that looked at the physics of a wheelchair and technology.
The group, part of Robert T. Staron's honors physics class, presented its prototype yesterday and explained how it was designed. Presentations of other designs continued today.
The other students in the group were seniors Nasar Hussain, 17, Thong Vo, 19, and Cyril Chou, 17.
Vo explained that the wheelchair's two rear wheels would extend when going up the slope. On the way down, a computer sensor attached to the underside of the seat would sense the angle and change the rear wheels' placement.
Chou estimated the wheelchair would cost $4,000 if designed, based on his research on the cost of different wheelchairs
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1101199618168150.xml
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
By NATALIA E. ARBULĂ
narbulu@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - The wheelchair designed by a group of High School of Science and Technology students offered the user more than the standard mobility and stability.
Advertisement
The wheelchair, which had six wheels, could be steered up and down an icy slope and still be used indoors, said seniors Kevin J. Whalen, 17, and Thuan Nguyen, 18.
The prototype was the group's project for a class unit taught by Hampshire College students that looked at the physics of a wheelchair and technology.
The group, part of Robert T. Staron's honors physics class, presented its prototype yesterday and explained how it was designed. Presentations of other designs continued today.
The other students in the group were seniors Nasar Hussain, 17, Thong Vo, 19, and Cyril Chou, 17.
Vo explained that the wheelchair's two rear wheels would extend when going up the slope. On the way down, a computer sensor attached to the underside of the seat would sense the angle and change the rear wheels' placement.
Chou estimated the wheelchair would cost $4,000 if designed, based on his research on the cost of different wheelchairs
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1101199618168150.xml