Walking wheelchair could amend mobility for the handicapped

There is good news for people with mobility problems. At the University of Derby, a 21-year-old BA (Hons) Product Design student Martin Harris has designed a prototype 'walking chair' which has a specially added feature to it - the use of 'metal legs' rather than wheels. The chair is powered by standard wheelchair motors and batteries, it can go several miles on a single charge. The prototype also fulfills the maximum speed limit requirement set for wheelchairs of four miles per hour.

Walking Wheelchair

The 'walking sculptures' of Theo Jansen, a Dutch artist and engineer inspired Harris of using the metal legs. Martin said,

I first saw Theo Jansen's work many years ago, he calls the walking sculptures Strandbeests. The walking mechanism had so much potential and I wanted to put it to a practical purpose.

Martin's uncle who works on powered wheelchairs and his father, a mechanic, gave him tips on the idea and his brother helped him in building and testing the prototype.The chair moves on 12 legs, six on each side comprised of 216 separate pieces bolted all together. The seat is totally adjustable and can fit anybody comfortably.

The 'walking chair' is compact enough for both indoor and outdoor use and it can cross soft surfaces, such as sand or grass, these can prove difficult for wheeled chairs otherwise. The University is conducting an annual Degree Show at its Markeaton Street site in Derby, which is going to be held till 11th of June and Martin's 'walking wheelchair' will be kept there on display. Source: Domain-b