Alarm System and Emergency Message from Wheelchair User Emergency Condition

When someone uses a wheelchair, there is still the possibility of an accident to the user, such as when the user suddenly falls down from the wheelchair or the user falls down along with the wheelchair. For notification of emergency conditions for wheelchair users, an alarm system is designed that can send messages to the intended mobile number. The system is designed using Wemos D1 mini, Ultrasonic, MPU-6050 and Proximity E18-D80NK sensors. The conclusion from the measurement and test results are: the value read by the MPU-6050 sensor is taken one axis for each direction when the wheelchair was falling down, Y≤180o for left falling down, X≤50o for right falling down, Z≤65o for forward falling and Z≥140o for backwards falling down. The Ultrasonic sensor works well for detecting the presence of user’s legs and the E18-D80NK proximity sensor works well for detecting the position of the user who is sitting in a wheelchair. Receiving notifications through the BLYNK server works well, not affected by distance provided there is an internet connection connected to the device.

The Integration of Wheelchair Users in Team Handball

Thus far, there are only a few sports activities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities can participate together and on an equal footing. The situation is even more complicated when people who are dependent on a wheelchair want to take part. The sports project Freiwurf Hamburg aims to make team handball playable for everyone. This case study documents how this can be achieved with a modified version of the handball game for runners and wheelchair users. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected and evaluated. The results show that players tend to distinguish between the roles of runner and wheelchair user rather than between disabled and non-disabled.

The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said, to Talk of Many Things: Wheelchair Securement Spaces on Commercial Airlines

Air travel poses special problems for people who use wheelchairs either periodically or consistently (wheelchair users). The wheelchair is, to some extent, an extension of the wheelchair user’s bodily autonomy. Personal dignity would be enhanced, and injury and discomfort would be reduced, if a traveling wheelchair user were allowed to remain in his or her own wheelchair for the duration of the flight. Although no law or regulation currently requires that option, groundwork has been laid in both case law and statutes that could lead to such a result. To be sure, safety and cost are paramount issues and must be adequately addressed. Some technological concerns have already been resolved and others are the subject of promising developments. Lobbyist groups are actively campaigning and, as a result, some airlines have shown interest in the proposal. The goal of in-cabin use of personal wheelchairs is achievable, but the process is likely to be incremental. During this period of COVID-19 pandemic-related disruption in the airline industry, both mainline and regional carriers should benefit from the Schumpeterian notion of creative destruction resulting in technical and business innovations. The catalyst needed to move the research and development process along at a faster pace might be a contest with some sort of reward such as has been used to foster other aeronautical innovations.

Ergonomic design and evaluation of a novel laptop desk for wheelchair users

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, although using laptops to perform many routine activities is inevitable, many wheelchair users are not able to efficiently use their laptops due to their movement limitations and inappropriate workstations. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate a novel ergonomic laptop desk for wheelchair users by considering their movement limitations. METHODS: In this experimental study, we ergonomically designed and assessed a novel laptop desk in two phases in a laboratory. In the first phase of the study, design specifications were identified by an expert panel and, accordingly, a new laptop desk was designed and prototyped for the wheelchair users. In the second phase, in order to evaluate the laptop desk, 14 wheelchair users were asked to complete a typing task within 20 minutes, both with and without using the laptop desk. Postural risk level, perceived discomfort, and task performance were evaluated using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) technique, Local Perceived Discomfort (LPD) questionnaire, and the number of letters typed and typing errors, respectively. RESULTS: The postures of the wrist, arm, and neck regions were corrected from RULA action level 3 to 2 when the designed laptop desk was used. In addition, the average perceived discomfort of the participants significantly decreased in the neck, shoulder, and wrist regions. Furthermore, typing accuracy was improved significantly when novel laptop desk was used. CONCLUSIONS: Accommodating wheelchair user workstation by using the novel designed laptop desk could reduce musculoskeletal disorders risk factors and help wheelchair users to perform their work more efficiently.

Study of the Space Occupied by a Wheelchair User at Metro de Santiago Platforms by Laboratory Experiments

The objective is to study the space a wheelchair passenger would use in the preferential waiting areas of an urban railway platform. For this purpose, an analysis of the variables that interfere in the space occupied by a wheelchair user was carried out at Metro de Santiago platforms, to design a preferential prototype waiting area at the Human Dynamics Laboratory of the Universidad de los Andes (Chile). The prototype has a 3.0 m long and 2.5 m wide carriage, together with a preferential waiting area on the platform of the same length as the carriage, and 2.0 m wide. With this prototype defined, a detection method was developed using PeTrack software, to accurately identify the limits of the space occupied by a wheelchair user under two scenarios of different density levels in the preferential waiting area: medium-density (1.5 passengers/m2) and high-density (4.0 passengers/m2). It was observed that the space occupied by a wheelchair user decreased by 33% as the density increased from medium to high. On the other hand, for a high-density level, the space occupied by a wheelchair user was found to be 61% higher than that occupied by a passenger without reduced mobility. This variation occurred mainly because passengers increased their distance from the wheelchair user, which widened their area of influence. Further experiments are proposed as future research to extend this analysis using other density situations.

"They're changing the network just by being there": Reconsidering infrastructures through the frame of disability studies

Through the case study of wheelchair user accessibility in public transportation in London, United Kingdom, this article aims to show how the field of disability studies can enrich other disciplines––in this particular case, the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). Firstly, this paper describes the manners in which wheelchair users struggle with various access barriers in transport, from broken technologies to tense social interactions. This is partnered with a discussion on the nature of infrastructures as highly paradoxical things that struggle with temporality and scale. Secondly, this article describes the inclusion mechanisms developed by wheelchair-using passengers to combat this neoliberal-able infrastructure, showing how they are extremely active users of this network. This is used to illustrate how disability studies throws into question long-standing definitions in the field of STS, namely that of infrastructures being "invisible". This article argues that "invisibility" is a category of privilege for infrastructures, and shows how other disciplines can be enriched through dialogue with the field of disability studies.

AUTOMATION OF FULL-SIZE WHEELCHAIR USER BODY 3D-SCAN DIMENSIONAL SIGNS REGISTRATION

Distance clothing technology is an actively developing area. For its implementation in the highly specialized area of manufacturing technical means of rehabilitation, and, in particular, in the manufacture of special functional and aesthetic clothing for disabled people, it is necessary to solve organizational and technical issues. An example of a technical issue is remote acquisition of dimensional features. The dimensional characteristics of the human body are an integral part of the technological process of manufacturing individual clothing. The use of 3D scanning makes it possible to implement remote technology for individual design and manufacture of clothing. The production of clothing for wheelchair users involves the adaptation of standard clothing design techniques to the specific properties of the posture. A case of a patient with a C5-C6 cervical vertebra fracture who has been using a wheelchair for more than 25 years is considered. The study used 3D human models obtained with a 3D scanner. The technique of scanning and an example of processing the obtained data are presented. The main features of dimensional features have been determined and an algorithm for their determination by anatomical landmarks has been developed. Recommendations are given for processing 3D scans and combining them into one 3D model. It is shown that the use of 3D scanning for the remote production of a set of functional and aesthetic clothing for a wheelchair user is a way to produce comfortable individual clothing.

Monitoring Electric Power Wheelchair Battery Consumption Level via Mobile

Nowadays, power wheelchair is one of the most important vehicles for people with physical disabilities such as paralysis, stroke, handicap and many more. Electric wheelchair which is also called electric - power wheelchair or powerchair can be moved by an el ectrically based power source, regularly motor or batteries. It is very important to have frequent monitoring battery level because power wheelchair need sufficient battery level for it to be moved around. Therefore, this project is developed to monitor th e battery consumption level and real time battery monitoring. Current sensor is used to measure the current state of the battery level. In this project, Internet of Things (IoT) concept is applied where sensor and mobile application is integrated and know n as BLife. Blife was designed using the visibility of the system status principles which consist of knowledge is power, appropriate feedback, compel user to action and communication creates trusts. If the battery is in the lower state, the power wheelcha ir users will be informed through mobile application via an indicator informing that it needs to be recharged. Moreover, the current location of the power wheelchair user is also notified to the users’ caretaker. Evaluation of Blife were conducted using fu nctionality and usability testing based on visibility of the system status technique. Most of the respondents are satisfied and gave positive feedback. This project is a great contribution to disable people who has limited access to charge battery and to a lert them on their battery level status.