Our next step as a group, was to really understand our own individual tasks by researching our previous research. This was difficult because the group itself hasn’t done an extensive project like this one before. To further our research was a strange concept, but we did our best. Each part of the design proposal was split up and picked apart and was researched further. A large part of the next step in this project is to create a prototype, but in order to do that we needed to find out all the details behind our ideas that we brainstormed. Our design we chose to do that, has many details behind how its built, what its made of and how its going to work once its made for the consumer. Realistically, every part of our design would turn out flawless, but in order to know how everything works together,we had to research rules and regulations about how a wheelchairs work. This was a tough process to go through because there are all kinds of designs for wheelchairs and different materials to built it out of. As novice builders we weren’t sure how to decide which materials to use for our prototype.
In my research to find rules and regulations behind the construction of wheelchairs. The interesting part of wheelchairs was how many safety tests they had to pass in order to be approved. They test durability and stability of the product being presented. There are specific tests for wheels, brakes and how durable the materials are. Electric powered wheelchairs have a different set of regulations, but for our design we wanted our product to be built without electricity so it could be more mobile. Also, to avoid having to plug the product in and waiting for it to charge. Our design has the look we want and the ideas we want are incorporated, but now we need to take the next step forward and dig deeper into our extended research on the dimensions on the materials we end up using. The main details we need to focus on next is how big the actual seat is going to be compared to the consumer. How big the wheels have to be so the chair itself doesn’t fall, putting the consumer at risk. I believe the more we tinker with the materials the more we’ll have an idea of what we want our prototype to be made out of. Trial and error are going to be our motto until we discover our path into making a successful prototype that meets all of our personal requirements but also fits all the safety standards.
Wheel test in progress in order to see the durability of the wheel life span
Our company logo and title page of our design proposal
StarPathDesign 
Leave a Reply