WDDC COURSE INFO

DESCRIPTION

SYLLABUS

SPONSORS

DESCRIPTION:

According to the United States Agency for International Development, 20 million people in developing countries require wheelchairs, and the United Nations Development Programme estimates below 1% of their need is being met in Africa by local production. Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries (WDDC) gives students the chance to better the lives of others by improving wheelchairs and tricycles made in the developing world. Lectures will focus on understanding local factors, such as operating environments, social stigmas against the disabled, and manufacturing constraints, and then applying sound scientific/engineering knowledge to develop appropriate technical solutions. Multidisciplinary student teams will conduct term-long projects on topics such as hardware design, manufacturing optimization, biomechanics modeling, and business plan development. Theory will further be connected to real-world implementation during guest lectures by MIT faculty, Third-World community partners, and US wheelchair organizations.

In past years many SP.784 students have continued their projects abroad with community partners. This year SP.719 is being offered for students interested in applying for funding to continue SP.784 or other service projects abroad during the summer, IAP, or after graduation. The aim of the seminar is to guide students through the funding application process. Lectures will focus on elements of a good project, finding sources of funding, how to construct a project, and how to write a successful proposal. As a requirement of the seminar, each student will write a proposal and have it reviewed by MIT Public Service Center staff.

MIT students (both undergraduate and graduate) from all academic disciplines are encouraged to participate. For more information, please contact Amos Winter.

SYLLABUS:

SP.784 Wheelchair Design in Developing Countries

Instructors:
Amos Winter, PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Mario Bollini, M-Lab member and Mechanical Engineer, Vecna
Amy Smith, Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
Lecture: SP.784: Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 - 4:00 PM, Room 1-371
Lab: Each project team will schedule its own lab time
Units: 2-2-5 for SP.784 (graded)
Prereq: No Pre-reqs required. MIT students (both undergraduate and graduate) from all academic disciplines are encouraged to participate. Students from other universities are welcome upon permission from the instructors.

Click here for a PDF version of SP.784 detailed course information

Week #	Tuesday	Thursday	Assignments	Milestones
1 (2/1)	Introduction to wheelchairs in developing countries and review of potential projects Instructor: Amos	Wheelchair/Trike relay race around campus	Readings about wheelchair usage and distribution, Review projects
2 (2/8)	2008 summer fellow presentations on last year's projects Alison Hynd speaking from the PSC about summer fellowships	Designing wheelchairs for the developing world and deterministic design process Choose project teams Instructor: Mario	Read 2.007 lecture notes on design process, define functional requirements of project, Reading from Nothing about us without us, watch videos of wheelchair workshops and PAWBA conference
3 (2/15)	Monday schedule	Power output test up ramp in basement Instructor: Mario	Power calculations from class activity, reading from Positioning a Wheelchair, 3/1 - Encouraged to visit 2.007 lecture
4 (2/22)	Wheelchair Biomechanics/Ergonomics Instructor: Amos	Deterministic design analysis Instructor: Amos	Analyze product at home	Strategy presentations, time TBD
5 (3/1)	Manufacturing processes and strategies Watch video from local workshops in Africa and Vietnam. Watch economies of scale presentation from PAWBA conference. Product design and critique of existing wheelchair designs Instructor: Mario	Wheelchair role-play Results from Tanzanian Wheelchair Foundation Study	Reading from Mastering the Machine
6 (3/8)	Guest speaker: Amy Smith and Amy Banzaert Appropriate technology, idea to product, successfully implementing technologies	Guest Speaker: Fatuma Acan from Pan African Wheelchair Association	Readings about different appropriate and inappropriate technologies
7 (3/15)	Guest Speaker: Fatuma Acan from Pan African Wheelchair Association	Guest Speaker: Joost Bonsen Developmental Entrepreneurship	Reading from HBS case study "Note on Marketing Strategy"	Concept presentations, time TBD
8 (3/22)	Spring break	Spring break
9 (3/29)	Material science/ mechanics of materials/welding with Mike Tarkanian	Material science/ mechanics of materials/welding with Mike Tarkanian	Reading from Mechanical principles of wheelchair design
10 (4/5)	Watch "Murderball" in class	Finish "Murderball" and watch parts of "Emanuel's Gift"	Write short comment on the two movies, discuss portrayal of disability, mobility, public perception Project work
11 (4/12)	Guest speaker: Ralf Hotchkiss Talking about his career and designing wheelchairs	Guest speaker: Ralf Hotchkiss Talking about his career and designing wheelchairs	Project work	Most critical module (MCM) presentations, time TBD
12 (4/19)	Guest Speaker: Prof. David Gordon Wilson Human-powered machines	Guest Speaker: Rory McCarthy Handcycle design and racing	Reading on wheelchair user image Project work
13 (4/26)	Project work	Project work	Project work
14 (5/3)	Project work	Project work	Project work	Poster and presentation for MIT Museum on Sat, 5/8
15 (5/10)	Project work	Project work	Project work	Final presentation of project with a working prototype, time TBD

SPONSORS:

		Hugh Hampton Young Memorial Fellowship

SPECIAL THANKS TO: