Project “Design and Fabrication of Disabled Friendly Wheelchair” Makes it to the top 100 at India International Science Festival 2018

An engineering student-undertaken project “Design and Fabrication of Disabled-Friendly Wheelchair” made it to the top 100 in the ‘Student Engineering Model Competition’, which was part of the Fourth India International Science Festival (IISF) 2018 organized by the Government of India’s Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Earth Sciences in association with Vigyan Bharati, at Lucknow from October 5 to 8. IISF 2018 was inaugurated by the President of India in the presence of Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science & Technology and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and was represented by approximately 10000 delegates including 5000 students, 550 teachers, 20 international delegates and approximately 200 startups.

The project, which was undertaken by students from the Don Bosco College of Engineering (DBCE), Fatorda, in their final year, was the only project from Goa selected among top 100 projects for the competition. The project was selected from over 2,200 submissions by students from all over the country and one of the 3 projects from engineering colleges selected by Goa Govt’s department of Science & Technology to represent the state at IISF 2018. Entries for the Student Engineering Model Competition were evaluated by a 64 member jury panel consisting of eminent technocrats. The project was among the 22 selected in the “Make in India” Category. Of the five students – Deepak Kolur, Saideep Naik, Anay Kalghatgi, Prashant Gaonkar, and Vinay Naik – who undertook the project, two of them, i.e. team leader Deepak Kolur and Saideep Naik, went to represent the state at Lucknow. The five students were guided by Prof. Swapnil Ramani and HOD, Mechanical Department, Prof. Ajit Salunke.  Top government research agencies like DRDO, ISRO, HAL also displayed their projects at the festival.

Also called ‘Robotic wheelchair’, the wheelchair they designed is driven by two battery powered DC motors. An important feature of the wheelchair is its ‘standing function’, which operates through compressed air. Currently, this feature operating by compressed air is not available in the market, the chair they designed can lift a person weighing up to 250 kilos. The chair also reclines completely, so the person using it can roll over and shift to his/her bed. The wheelchair has a wireless controller which can be controlled through an Android phone. The complete chair assembled from scratch, with a view to aid people who have reduced mobility in their lower limbs. While the current market price of such a chair is around Rs 3,00,000, the model developed costs only Rs 55,000. When produced on a large scale, price would go even lower.