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Student-designed Wheelchair Makes It Easier For Athletes To ManeuverCreated as part of a class project by a team of industrial design students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Balance Sport Wheelchair was designed to provide wheelchair athletes with greater control and maneuverability on the court. With the new design, the athlete's body essentially functions as the mechanical braking system for the chair, which features a segmented seatback and modified bicycle disc brakes attached to the wheels. To turn, the athlete leans hard into a side of the seatback; to slow or bring the chair to a stop, the athlete sits straight back, forcing both sides of the seatback to activate the brakes.
Eric Larson, a senior from Pecatonica, Ill., said the wheelchair is the outgrowth of a class assignment by former U. of I. industrial design professor Ki-Chol Nam to design a line of sports equipment. Larson was part of a team, which also included Ricky Biddle, Ben Shao and Austin Cliff (all now U. of I. graduates). Larson's team chose to focus on designing a better sports chair after observing practice sessions of the university's Fighting Illini Wheelchair Basketball teams.
"They used to practice in the gym right across the street from our studio," Larson said. "We were amazed at what they could do, but at the same time, we saw a lot of problems. Because of how rough they were, they we
more: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200... (194)
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