CREW Wheelchair

The CREW wheelchair is a power-assisted wheelchair control system designed specifically to address the issue faced by caregivers, helping them nagivate wheelchairs especially on slopes with greater ease and safety. 

While motorised wheelchair has become more common in more developed cities, operating the joysticks on such wheelchairs can be challenging especially for users with deteriorating fine motor skills. Pushing non-motorised wheelchairs may also be a challenge to the the caregivers, especially navigating sloppy terrain. 

To address this isuse, the team adopted MIT's Participatory Design methodology and invited ten elderly as co-designers to work on a feasible solution. Through the continuous brainstorm and feedback process, the team redesigned the handles of the wheelchairs to be pressure-sensitive, allowing caregivers to push the wheelchair with assisted power. The wheelchair would be able to sense a forward-pushing or backward-dragging force of the caregiver, and intelligently decide on its motions whether to move forward or apply breaks without a caregiver’s laborious effort to direct the wheelchair. This intuitive control and other safety features (such as hill hold) allow the team of caregiver and passenger to embark on their trips with greater ease and safety.  

The humanitarian technology invention has received acknowledgement for its design and contribution to the society,  including receiving the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, as well as the Gold Medal for the MUSE Design Awards for Conceptual Design.

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