Students Develop Devices to Make Life Easier for Aging Americans
Utah State University students showed two devices at the Assistive Technology Lab that can help America’s aging population. The event coincided with Engineering Week at USU.
An earlier version of one of the devices, a wheelchair lift that helps a caretaker lift and stow a wheelchair into the trunk of a car, has a patent pending. The other device, the mechanics creeper, was developed to allow people to work under a car — even if they cannot use their legs.
Steve Hansen, a former deputy director of the Space Dynamics Lab and a research professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at USU, mentored the students who worked on the projects. He sees broad applications for both devices. The creeper could come in handy for just about any shop with a senior mechanic who would like to minimize the stress on his knees. And, the wheelchair lift could make life easier for a caretaker assisting a person in a wheelchair, but who struggles with wrangling a 50-pound wheelchair in and out of the trunk.
Both projects used the facilities of the Assistive Technology Lab and drew from the expertise of its staff.
The wheelchair lift is an option that would help senior couples, said Amy Henningsen, an occupational therapist for the Utah Assistive Technology Program. Too often, if one is in a wheelchair, they end up staying home because dealing with the wheelchair is too inconvenient.
Albert LaBounty was the inspiration for the mechanics creeper. He lost the use of his legs 20 years ago, but he didn’t lose his passion for working on cars. He worked with the engineering students who designed the creeper, letting them know what would and would not work.
“I asked them to make sure it’s low enough that I can get under the vehicle without jacking it up,” he said.
With the creeper he looks forward to changing his own oil — which will save him $30 every time he can avoid paying a mechanic to do it for him. The creeper sits at a height that allows him to transfer over from his wheelchair. Then it then lowers and reclines until he can slide under a pickup.
L J Wilde worked with the student team building the creeper. The project also helped them build their resumes. Then Wilde saw LaBounty use their creation for the first time.
“It was an experience second to none in my academic career,” he said.
Both projects continue to evolve, as their designers think of ways to improve them. They were supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, which awarded Hansen a five-year, $125,000 Engineering Design to Assist Aging Persons grant. Over the next four years the grant will continue to help students find ways to make life easier for aging Americans. (Those with ideas for a project can go to the Utah Assistive Technology Program’s blog and leave a comment.)
Additional support for the projects came from the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Utah State University and the Center for Persons with Disabilities’ Assistive Technology Lab.
Contact: JoLynne Lyon, Center for Persons with Disabilities, (435) 797-1977, jolynne.lyon@usu.edu
Albert LaBounty (far right) transfers from his wheelchair to the mechanics creeper as USU graduate student and student team member L J Wilde looks on with (left) MAE faculty member Steve Hansen and occupational therapist Amy Henningsen.
James Somers, one of the students who designed the wheelchair lift, operating the device. He worked on that project as a mechanical engineering student; he has since graduated and is now working on his MBA.
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