For this year’s FLL Senior
Solutions competition, the NYCityzens have researched senior citizens’ issues. We found
that seniors with mobility problems have a tendency to fall, so they use canes
and walkers. However, we discovered that these aids could also lead to falls
when the person encounters raised surfaces such as curbs. So we decided to develop a new walker
for senior citizens (or anyone else who is in need of a walker). Although NYC
has converted many of the street crossing curbs to handicap ramps so that
wheelchairs, power chairs, and walkers can more easily move up and down them.
However, sometimes as we have observed that the handicap ramps crossings are
not always flat to the street surface and the senior or person with a walker has
trouble moving up the handicap ramps; the person might have to lift the walker
slightly or give the walker or chair more momentum to make it past the slightly
raised curb. Also, someone trying to enter a van with their walker, they actually
have to lift it. Thus, we have come up with the StreetSmart Walker
Conventional walkers have
3-4 wheels. Some may be fixed while others are swivel caster wheels. This StreetSmart
Walker has three pairs of wheels for a
total of six wheels, which we think gives the walker more stability. A sensor
will scan the front of the walker for obstacles/curbs and will send a vibration
to the handles to warn the senior. The person can move out of the way of the
obstacle or press a sensory button to raise front wheels with the middle set of
wheels, to a height to clear the curb, and then automatically readjust to the
surface.
The
wheels that we are recommending for this walker are called Rotacaster® Multi-directional Wheels made by Rotacaster® (http://www.rotacaster.com.au/robot-wheels.html
). These wheels are unique because they can easily move
in any directions. According to Rotacastor® (the manufacturer),
the “wheels are sturdy, impact
resistant, precision-engineered, and made from fully molded polymers allowing
the engineering of entirely new multi-directional movement.” Rotacaster®
Multi-directional Wheels are wheels with little discs around the circumference,
which are perpendicular to the rolling direction. Other walker wheels sometimes
show some resistance when trying to move sideways or turn. Even the swivel
caster wheels can sometimes become momentarily stuck when trying to turn,
particularly for a senior who has limited upper body strength.
The StreetSmart Walker will be equipped with manual handbrakes on the back
wheels, in case the senior feels the walker is moving too fast going down an
incline, the walker can be slowed down or come to a stop. We are
putting brakes on the back wheels of the Walker. Brakes require pressure to be
applied on 2 sides of the wheel. We emailed Peter McKinnon of Rotacaster about how
to put brakes on the Rotacaster Multi-directional wheels. He recommended
putting brakes on the primary and secondary directions (left and right, forward
and backward).
An optional GPS will also be available for seniors who
are beginning to suffer from dementia. It will be simply programmed to return
the senior to his/her residence.
This walker will also have a small basket under the
seat, allowing seniors to carry small items. Since the basket is under the seat
the walker will remain balanced.
