User-centered design and development of a parking system for a novel mobility device

Banks, Keona L.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127168 Copy

Description

Title

User-centered design and development of a parking system for a novel mobility device

Author(s)

Banks, Keona L.

Issue Date

2024-12-10

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Hsiao-Wecksler, Elizabeth T

Department of Study

Mechanical Sci & Engineering

Discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• user-centered design
• mobility devices
• biomechanics

Abstract

Individuals who rely on wheelchairs for recreational activities and perform unassisted seat transfers face a heightened risk of falls and injuries. However, approaches to ensure the stability of mobility devices such as wheelchairs or scooters are often trial-and-error processes. This thesis explores an objective approach to evaluate stability for manual wheelchair users (mWCUs) using biomechanical data and demonstrates how that data can be incorporated into the design of components on a novel ballbot-based mobility device, PURE (Personalized Unique Rolling Experience). The first design phase was to develop a tip-prevention component, the stability ring, of which the shape was generated from an analysis of the area of support referred to as the tilted Necessary Support Polygon. The second design phase was to develop a parking system to automate the transition between phases of stability. Two potential leg mechanisms for the parking system were designed, prototyped, and tested along with a transition strategy that leveraged the existing balancing capabilities of PURE. The preliminary designs were installed on a second-generation prototype of PURE to lay the groundwork for the third-generation prototype. The insights gained from this work aim to support future generations of compact mobility devices.

Graduation Semester

2024-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127168

Copyright and License Information

© 2024 Keona Banks

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