Wheelchair Fabrication in Developing Countries
Channel: Jason Moore
Date: 2017-04-18

UC Davis Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Spring Quarter 2017 Seminar Series

Speaker

Ralf Hotchkiss
Whirlwind Wheelchair

Time and Location

April 13, 2017
4:10 PM
Social Sciences and Humanities Building Room 1100

Abstract

Ralf Hotchkiss will track the design of the Whirlwind Wheelchair from its beginning thirty years ago to the present and on into the future. From the first design breakthroughs of barefoot blacksmiths to the high tech testing and manufacturing methods of today, surprise breakthroughs in basic wheelchair design have come from the backyard inventors of some forty developing countries. These inventors form the Whirlwind Network of wheelchair riders and designers. Their goal is not only to make wheelchairs available in the poorest of countries; it is to radically improve the durability and rough-ground mobility so that wheelchair riders can live and work in environments that they can only dream of visiting today. Ralf will show unfinished designs that open wide opportunities for new developments, and he will make a plea for the innovative designers of UC Davis to enter into one of today's most fulfilling areas of invention and international development work.

Biography

Ralf Hotchkiss is an inventor and the lead designer of the Whirlwind Wheelchair International, a non-profit located in Berkeley. Its mission is "to make it possible for every person in the developing world who needs a wheelchair to obtain one that will lead to maximum personal independence and integration into society". Ralf taught a SFSU class, Engineering 620: Wheelchair Design and Construction, in which students built a complete wheelchair in a Third World appropriate shop. Ralf is a graduate of Oberlin College and a 1989 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

License

This talk is released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Any reuse must cite the speaker and this video.

Notes

Unfortunately the microphone died before the talk was over so the audio is missing for the last 20 minutes.