ABOUT US
We are a small group of five who made it our mission to enhance the experience of the mobility impaired at events that include band shells and/or stages. Designing an easily transportable, economically feasible wheelchair ramp that our clients can use to get on stage to accept awards or perform will ultimately allow people to participate in events who otherwise could not. This is a small yet necessary step in providing equal opportunity to the disabled community.
Project Deliverables
Group 35
MAE 494 Design Project, Spring Semester 2017
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
State University of New York at Buffalo
Problem Statement
The current marketplace for wheelchair lifts and ramps does not adequately address the transport of the mobility impaired from the ground to the stage of a band shell. The proposed solution is to create a modular, sectioned ramp that can be easily assembled and stored. This will facilitate prompt access to elevated platforms and stages for the mobility impaired. The main problem that has plagued accessibility ramps is the creation of a portable device that can reach the varying height of a typical stage (usually four vertical feet). This problem is going to be worked through by creating an adjustable, easy to assemble support structure to reach the varying height of a band shell or stage. A comprehensive technical analysis will be performed on this device to confirm its robustness. These technical analyses will take the form of stress testing, deflection testing, weather testing, and finite element analysis. Assuming that the device passes all stress related testing, the main validation will come from the devices portability and ease of use being that it is the current market gap. To validate the solution, each section of the device must be able to be transported from storage (the stage of a band shell) to the ground where it must be set-up in less than 5 minutes.