Last winter, the students worked on designs and prototypes to ensure their solution was safe, simple, and easy to use. Using the specifications of King’s wheelchair, they designed and created custom brackets on the school’s 3D printer and used aluminum pipe, which they manipulated to build and perfectly fit the frames and connectors. Testing two prototypes, the students continued to refine the design, and by late February, they had successfully designed a stroller-wheelchair that was simple for someone in a wheelchair to set up and use and provided a secure ride for an infant. They also designed a different version that attached a car seat to the wheelchair.
In March, the project won two first-place awards in the make:able challenge, an international design competition. In the age 14 to 18 category, the project won “Best Inspirational Story” and “Best Showcase of Iterative Design.”
Jeremy King and his son use WheeStroll, a wheelchair that carries an infant seat.
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