Collaborate Disseminate
The writer Cory Doctrow coined the term enshittification to describe the way that services decline in quality as their users become the product. He was talking about online services when …read more Continue reading The Insurance Buys The Wheelchair, But Not The App To Run It
Plucky West Virginian EV company ZEV has announced what it claims is a radically more affordable ride-in vehicle for wheelchair users than anything else on the market. This US$9,900 ZEV 511 is a fully-enclosed urban getabout with a practical range.Cont… Continue reading ZEV debuts an affordable ride-in nano-van for wheelchair users
The ultimate in assistive mobility, Scewo’s Bro is the only self-balancing wheelchair able to rise up and climb stairs. This two-wheeled personal electric vehicle is delightfully intuitive to maneuver, as I found out first-hand at this year’s CES.Conti… Continue reading Upstairs, downstairs in Scewo’s two-wheel, self-balancing wheelchair
It still needs to move through the senate, but a bi-partisan bill that would let people fix their own wheelchairs has a good chance of becoming law. Continue reading Wheelchair Right to Repair Passes Colorado House
Some of us have computer mice with more buttons than we have fingers, resolution tracking finer than a naked eye can discern, and forced-air vents. All these features presuppose one thing; the user has a functioning hand. [Federico Runco] knows that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, will …read more
Building robots can be fun, and remains a popular pastime among many in the hacker and maker set. However the hardware side of things can be daunting. This is particularly the case for those attempting to build something on a larger scale. A great shortcut is to start with a …read more
Continue reading Electric Wheelchair Makes A Great Base For A Big Robot
Dutch design firm Studio Rotor has been working with startup Retter Helfer Medical on a lightweight patient transport option for ambulance personnel. The Multi Scoop Pro features a patented mechanism that sees it change from flat stretcher to… Continue reading Scoop stretcher can transform to a lightweight wheelchair in seconds
Every hacker has dreamt of building their own tank at some point. Or maybe that’s just us. [Peter Sripol] and [Sam Foskuhl] have built one at a scale which is big enough to be rideable, but small enough that neighbors don’t get concerned.
An electric wheelchair is at the heart of the build. After ripping out its internals, the two motors with gearboxes are directly connected to the two tracks, allowing differential steering. Holding everything together is a solid welded steel frame – essential for years of reliable sieging.
The tracks themselves are simple strips of wood, cut and assembled …read more
Continue reading On The Right Tracks: Electric Wheelchair Guts Find New Life As Tank
We live in an amazing time where the availability of rapid prototyping tools and expertise to use them has expanded faster than at any other time in human history. We now have an amazing ability to quickly bring together creative solutions — perfect examples of this are the designs for specialized arm prosthetics, Braille printing, and custom wheelchair builds that came together last week.
Earlier this month we published details about the S.T.E.A.M. Fabrikarium program taking place at Maker’s Asylum in Mumbai. The five-day event was designed to match up groups of makers with mentors to build assistive devices which …read more
Continue reading Rapidly Prototyping Prosthetics, Braille, and Wheelchairs
Starting this weekend, a group of 65 invited Maker’s from various disciplines, along with 20 awesome Mentors, will gather at the Maker’s Asylum in Mumbai for the five day S.T.E.A.M. Fabrikarium program. The aim is to improve the capabilities of the differently-abled by building and expanding upon existing open source projects. At the same time, the teams will learn more about rapid prototyping techniques.
Among the participants will be at least 15 differently-abled people who will be a part of the whole process of learning as well as providing their inputs on the problems being tackled. Participants have an opportunity …read more
Continue reading S.T.E.A.M. Fabrikarium Builds Assistive Tech in Mumbai