The Mobility Project

August 10, 2020 · 9:30 am

Ramping up accessibility using LEGO

Wheelchair rolling up colourful Lego ramp

Dozens of stores in Rita Ebel’s hometown of Hanau now use Lego ramps to ease entry for wheelchair users. Photo credit: REUTERS

“This is to draw attention to the fact that there are still many obstacles for wheelchair users that need to be removed”

In the west German town of Hanau, you can see vibrant little bricks of Lego brightening the doorways of various shops and cafes across the square thanks to Rita Ebel.

The 62-year old was inspired to make her community more accessible after learning that her friend, who is also in a wheelchair, needed to enlist the help of 4 people to carry her chair out of a shop because it had steps.

In collaboration with the town’s integration initiative, ‘People in Hanau’, and willing public businesses, Rita and her husband have been on a personal mission to help make their town barrier-free. Her volunteer activism has earned herself the cheeky nickname “Lego Grandma”.

The colourful low-tech high-fun solution has a brilliant value-add: it catches the attention of onlookers of all ages raising people’s awareness of inaccessible buildings and mobility barriers. And it’s not just wheelchair users who benefit – the colourful ramps also help people with walkers, strollers, and visual impairments.

Rita’s mission is to sensitize the world to barrier-free travel and emphasize the importance of accessible spaces.

Leave a comment

Filed under Accessibility, Barriers, Design, Posts, Wheelchairs

Tagged as Accessibility, lego, ramp, wheelchair

March 12, 2019 · 8:58 pm

A Call to Action! Global competition challenges the world to rethink mobility

Mobility is essential to our ability to participate freely and independently in society, but so so often we fall WAY short in creating spaces that are fully inclusive. Which means the pressure is on innovators to create smarter assistive technologies.

The Mobility Unlimited Challenge is offering $4 million to support this effort.

“This is the beginning of our Challenge, a three-year journey concluding in Tokyo in 2020. A journey where the greatest minds in technology, design and engineering, from every corner of the world, will compete to make the environment and society more accessible for people with lower-limb paralysis. We know we don’t have solutions yet: this Challenge is about working with the people who can help develop them.” Ryan Klem, Director of Programs for Toyota Mobility Foundation

The shortlist (top 5 finalists from 80 entries) are pretty cool. Check them out!

Pheonix Ai is a lightweight, self-balancing, ‘smart’ wheelchair with power-assist technology to help make slopes easier for the user to navigate and ascend. The design also uses smart sensors to automatically self-configure with how the user is moving.

quix Quix is a highly mobile, powered exoskeleton that is designed to offer fast, stable, and agile upright mobility. Essentially, it’s a legged robotic system that aims to use a combination of control algorithms and perception technology to allow the user to enjoy a level of mobile independence that existing exoskeletons cannot provide.

Evowalk is a personalized, time muscle simulation technology that wraps around the user’s leg. The sleeve’s sensors track walking motion and stimulate the correct muscles at the right time to improve mobility.

Qolo is a mobile exoskeleton-on-wheels designed to assist sitting and standing while removing the chair element of the conventional wheelchair. The device is controlled by the upper body and allows for hands-free operation so that users can travel around in a standing position.

Moby proposes a wheelchair scheme that is accessed through a simple app, much like popular bike-sharing systems seen in urban areas. It would offer a series of wheel-on electric devices to make commuting easier for people using lightweight manual wheelchairs.

The finalists will receive $500,000 to develop their device and present in Tokyo. I’m excited to see if/how these concepts will translate into real life application.

2 Comments

Filed under Posts

July 25, 2018 · 6:24 am

We all want to be BEACH BUMS – Sand no longer a barrier on beaches in Nova Scotia

“There’s a healing within coming to a beach and I think everyone across Canada can relate to it,” (Rose Mary MacDonald, IDA’s vice-president).

I’m back in Nova Scotia for the summer and, as always, inspired by the kind of work that happens here. One of the real gifts of the east coast is the beaches – and while they’re beautiful restorative energizing places for many of us – beaches are (still) NOT available to all of us (which is *&$^%#!). But this is changing… On Inverness Beach in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, sand is no longer a barrier for those with mobility challenges.

The Inverness Development Association and the Inverness County Accessibility Committee are working together to make the beach more accessible by investing in some beach-friendly wheelchairs, blue mats leading from the boardwalk to the water’s edge, and some floating chairs.

These blue mats provide a path from the boardwalk to the water’s edge on Inverness Beach, making it easier to walk and push other accessible equipment. (Kayla Hounsell/CBC)

Photo by: Kayla Hounsell/CBC

Christine Hannigan says it will be much easier to get to the beach now. (Kayla Hounsell/CBC)

Two of the beach-friendly wheelchairs, mats that make it easier to walk on the sand and two floating chairs that allow people to go in the water. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

This equipment is all part of a larger project to make the Inverness Beach fully accessible including ramps and accessible parking spaces and bathrooms to provide the “whole [accessibility] package”. It’s the first beach to do so along Atlantic Canada and I hope it prompts others to do the same – come on lets do this!

Check out the original story covered by CBC Nova Scotia here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/accessible-beach-equipment-arrives-in-inverness-1.4730080

2 Comments

Filed under Accessibility, Barriers, Design, invention, Mobility Aids, Posts, Projects, Recreation, Wheelchairs

June 5, 2018 · 10:13 am

INSPIRED Design

Products for people with disabilities were once uninspired. Not anymore. – Michael Kimmelman, New York Times

Mobility devices and other products made for people with different physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities have historically been ugly, feebly designed, and stigmatizing. These products are often designed by engineers without the input of consumers living with disabilities who use them.

The “Access+Ability” exhibition at the Smithsonian Design Museum, organized by Cara McCarty and Rochelle Steiner, makes plain why design matters for mobility devices.

There has been a surge of design with and by people with a wide range of physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities. Fueled by advances in research, technology, and fabrication, this proliferation of functional, life-enhancing products is creating unprecedented access in homes, schools, workplaces, and the world at large. Access+Ability features over 70 innovative designs developed in the last decade. From low-tech products that assist with daily routines to the newest technologies, the exhibition explores how users and designers are expanding and adapting accessible products and solutions in ways previously unimaginable.

The Access+Ability exhibit demonstrates a shift in the way we think about designing with diversity and inclusion in mind. With approximately 1 in 7 adults having a disability in Canada, there’s merit in investing time and effort into designs that make specialty items easier to use–not to mention fun, cool, and beautiful. Products that have a “medical” aesthetic carry stigma – the move to more “de-medicalized” devices would help to address this.

RAH to those who can visit the Smithsonian Design Museum to see the show. I haven’t seen it in person yet but making a plan to get there before it closes on September 3rd, 2018.

This wheelchair navigates rough, unpaved, and uneven terrain, specifically in the developing world where the ground may be mud or sand. The three rather than four wheels provide extra Access+Ability stability when pushing, propelling, and even tipping around obstacles.

Leave a comment

Filed under Accessibility, Art, Barriers, Design, Mobility Aids, Posts

May 8, 2018 · 11:43 pm

Re-imagining mobility

The Mobi electric folding wheelchair designed by Jack Martinich at Monash University is re-imagining mobility in an exciting new way.

Unlike traditional wheelchairs that (by their cumbersome, medicalized and rigid design) say “I don’t travel” “I don’t need to get around in poorly designed spaces” and “I am not worthy of sexy design” the Mobi electric folding wheelchair is actually designed to meet the lifestyle requirements of anyone who uses it – and looks FUN too!

This wheelchair offers a convenient alternative to the traditional wheelchair and bulky electric scooters. The chair features a special folding mechanism that allows it to be folded, stored, and transported in a vehicle without having to disassemble it.

What’s more, the ingenious design encourages user independence and promotes physical activity with the use of force sensors in the hand rims. When the user pushes on the hand rims to move, these sensors detect the physical exertion and add additional power to the wheels to make movement easier, similar to power steering in a car.

This wheelchair taps into a kind of versatility, ease, and lightness that’s unparalleled to traditional manual models and has the potential to break down barriers more than ever before. There’s a sort of playfulness in the colour and design that I like, too!

Unfortunately, this wheelchair is only a concept right now, but I’m looking forward to seeing this concept become a reality in the future!

Leave a comment

Filed under Accessibility, Barriers, Design, Mobility Aids, Posts, Wheelchairs

March 2, 2018 · 10:49 am

“Pimp My Zimmer”!?

Care home residents across Britain are partnering with local schoolchildren to decorate their walkers. The festive makeovers are part of a project called “Pimp My Zimmer,” which aims to reduce falls in care homes. People with dementia sometimes have difficulty recognizing their own frames, so the personalization of devices helps residents remember to use them. One care home even claims the project has reduced falls by 60%! Check it out here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-42284621/pimp-my-zimmer-project-reduces-falls

‘Why are all walking frames grey?’Angela Donlevy, manager at Chalkney House care home in White Colne, wondered to herself… Shortly after, this project was born and they started seeing results.

“About a year ago I woke up after having a vivid dream about walking frames and I remember asking myself why they were all grey. Suddenly it occurred to me that brighter colours would be more recognisable to people with cognitive impairments such as dementia.” – Angela Donlevy

I always get really excited when I see people “pimp their rides”. In my own research, I’ve found people do this for fun, function (including safety) and fashion. This project brings to light some additional benefits that the personalization of assistive devices can have in certain settings (such as reducing falls for residents with dementia). AWESOME!

Want to see more cool personalized devices? Head over to my “I like your ride!” page to meet some fantastic people and their amazing personalized mobile creations, here.

Keep moving!

2 Comments

Filed under Articles, Design, Mobility Aids, personalizing, Posts

November 8, 2017 · 2:51 pm

The cool factor

As a cyclist, I was immediately intrigued by Barbara’s mobility device which is basically a push bike for adults!

“In a wheelchair I was invisible,” she told me, “but with this, I’m at the same height as other people.”

Heading off to Mexico soon with her new Walk Aid, Barbara told me it’s not just height and the accessibility and ease of the device, “There’s the cool factor, too!”

The Walk Aid is an orthopedic scooter that’s designed to make it easier and more convenient to navigate public and private spaces for people who have trouble walking.

There are pictures and videos on the site that illustrate the advantages of a mobility aid like this – check it out here: Walk Aid.

1 Comment

Filed under Accessibility, I Like Your Ride!, Mobility Aids

November 3, 2017 · 3:56 pm

A bit SHOUT – OUT to Tetra’s Volunteers!

Back in January, I wrote about the awesome TetraNation. In case you missed it, they’re a volunteer-led community of engineers and technically-minded people who help invent some pretty creative mobility solutions for people living with disabilities.

To celebrate their 30^th anniversary and the great work of their dedicated volunteers, Tetra is holding a contest to showcase Tetra projects from chapters across the country!

Our world isn’t always built with accessibility in mind, and mobility devices (particularly those that are customized/personalized) are often really expensive. That’s what’s so amazing about these projects: they hinge on a DIY foundation to make accessible adaptations affordable AND individually tailored.

I’d like to give a huge shout-out to all of TetraNation’s incredible volunteers for making a real difference in people’s lives for three decades. THANK YOU!

Voting will be open until March 31, so check out the videos that have been posted so far and get INSPIRED! You can vote here: http://tetranation.org/video/.

Leave a comment

Filed under Accessibility, Barriers, competition, Design, DIY, invention, Mobility Aids, personalizing, Posts, Projects, Wheelchairs

July 24, 2017 · 10:00 am

Independence with a splash of colour

Ruth nearly ran me over recently she was going so fast. A speed demon at 91, Ruth told me when she had to give up her car – “they tested my eyes and right there on the spot told me to hand in my license – ha!” – she got herself a scooter to stay independent. Ruth obviously enjoys colour and has some rockin’ style. She crocheted her seat cover herself – “it’s pretty isn’t it?”

1 Comment

Filed under Accessibility, Design, DIY, I Like Your Ride!, Mobility Aids, personalizing

July 17, 2017 · 9:32 am