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ATLAS |
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Assistive
Technology
Laboratory
at
Stanford |
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Technology and
design benefitting individuals with disabilities and older adults in the local
community |
March 5, 2014 |
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Welcome to this edition of Perspectives,
the e-newsletter of the
Stanford course,
Perspectives in Assistive
Technology.
This issue invites you
to attend the next class session.
What is
the course? - Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a
Winter Quarter course at Stanford that explores the design, development, and
use of assistive technology benefitting people with disabilities and older
adults. Much more information can be found on the course website. Student enrollment in the course is
44.
Invitation to attend - You are invited to attend
all class lectures. They will be held in the
Thornton Center - Classroom 110 on Tuesday
and Thursday afternoons at 4:15 to 5:30pm and are free and open to the
public.
Next class session - Thursday, March 6th at
4:15pm:
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Wheelchair Fabrication in Developing
Countries
Ralf Hotchkiss
San Francisco State University |
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Abstract: Ralf
Hotchkiss will track the design of the Whirlwind Wheelchair from its beginning
thirty years ago to the present, and on into the future. From the first design
breakthroughs of barefoot blacksmiths to the high tech testing and
manufacturing methods of today, surprise breakthroughs in basic wheelchair
design have come from the backyard inventors of some forty developing
countries. These inventors, along with several graduates of the Stanford
d.school, form the Whirlwind Network of wheelchair riders and designers. Their
goal is not only to make wheelchairs available in the poorest of countries; it
is to radically improve the durability and rough-ground mobility so that
wheelchair riders can live and work in environments that they can only dream of
visiting today. Ralf will show unfinished designs that open wide opportunities
for new developments, and he will make a plea for the innovative designers of
Stanford to enter into one of today's most fulfilling areas of invention and
international development work. |
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Biosketch: Ralf
Hotchkiss is an inventor and the lead designer of the Whirlwind Wheelchair.
His project, Whirlwind Wheelchair International, is a project of San Francisco
State University. Ralf teaches a class, Engineering 620: Wheelchair Design and
Construction, in which students can build a complete wheelchair in a Third
World appropriate shop. Whirlwind Wheelchair International's mission is "to
make it possible for every person in the developing world who needs a
wheelchair to obtain one that will lead to maximum personal independence and
integration into society". Ralf is a graduate of Oberlin College and a 1989
MacArthur Foundation Fellow. |
Would you
like to support the course? - Funding in any amount for the course
and student projects is always welcomed. Monetary gifts support approved
project expenses, administrative costs, honoraria for guest lecturers, and the
end-of-term celebration. Refer to the Team Project
Support webpage for more information.
Please contact me if you have any
questions, comments, or suggestions about the course and thank you again for
your interest.
Dave
Do you
have a question or comment? - David L. Jaffe, MS, the course
instructor, can be reached by email
or at 650/892-4464.
To unsubscribe from this
newsletter, please email Dave. |
