New Low-Cost Design of „Staircase Climbing Wheelchair’ Prof. Girish Sudhir Modak Prof. Dr. Manmohan M. Bhoomkar Assist.Professor of Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering PVG’s College of Engg. & Technology, Pune PVG’s College of Engg. & Technology, Pune Abstract The average human age is increased and a common problem that the elderly people are facing is ‘impaired mobility’. New policies continue to make newly built areas accessible to disabled, but old buildings can’t be re-developed because they are without elevators. So „Staircase Climbing Wheelchair’ is a need of day, at least in the developing countries. Many designs are already converted into the actual products but they are not cost effective or affordable. This paper proposes a new and most importantly ‘Affordable’ design of a stair-climbing capable mechanism for the wheelchairs for elderly or disabled. Keywords: Staircase Climbing Wheelchair, impaired mobility, Low Cost Design. 1. Introduction It is rightly said that „Necessity is a mother of Invention‟ and thus the main focus of technology is on providing comfort to the people. Many countries are currently experiencing what is referred to as an “Aging Population,” The average human age is increased and accordingly the Number of old people is also increased. A common problem these elderly people are facing is impaired mobility. In this regard, traditional wheelchairs and powered wheelchairs continue to play a vital role. However wheelchairs to date provide a high level of mobility in “barrier free” environments. There remains a significant gap between the obstacle negotiating ability of a wheelchair and that of the average able bodied person. This aspect is perhaps most apparent when considering stair-climbing. While modern architecture and new policies continue to make newly built areas as “accessible” as possible, to persons with a wide variety of disabilities, „Steps‟ will always be a reality in the “real world”. Many old buildings are without elevators and „non availability of lifts‟ can not be a reason for re- development of these buildings, in densely populated areas of society. Extensive research is being carried out in the field of „Development of Staircase Climbing Wheelchair‟. Many designs are put forth and some designs are already converted in the actual products. Main problem that lies with all these designs is the „Cost‟ factor. After giving due consideration to all the constraints, which are coming on the design process of these chairs, the final manufacturing cost of these chairs, goes so high that the product no longer remains affordable. This paper proposes a new design of a stair- climbing capable mechanism for the wheelchairs for elderly or disabled. 2. Drawbacks of existing designs Many designs are proposed till date and some of them are accepted finally and are converted into reality. But the main problem with all these designs is the cost factor. Too many considerations are involved in the design process of these chairs. Right from motion on flat surface with specific speed, the most critical consideration is „Balancing of chair and maintaining Centre of Gravity within the base‟ during climbing the stairs. To accommodate all these requirements in the design, very much sophisticated mechanisms are incorporated in the designs. Due to the complex mechanisms and accessories, these products are so expensive that a common man can not afford it. In an article [6] published by MSNBC on 25 th May 2009, it is mentioned that “By using the stair climbing chair we feel comfortable but while buying the chair we feel miserable”. According to this article, The first ever practicable staircase climbing wheelchair is launched in 2009 in USA. The said article is given below: International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) Vol. 1 Issue 5, July - 2012 ISSN: 2278-0181 1 www.ijert.org