Mobilarm

About the Project

Project Overview:

The Biomedical Engineering Design (BMED) team at the University of Victoria has designed a purely mechanical retractable arm, mounted on the seat rails of power wheelchairs, that can be independently controlled by the user.

To fit within the structure of the powerchair, both the arm and gearing systems were constructed in an L-shaped configuration. The arm can rotate 270°, allowing it to reach the user easily during loading/unloading of their bags, and be tucked away whilst maneuvering their powerchair.

The project began in September 2020 and was submitted to both the Simon Cox Student Design Competition and The Innovation Design for Accessibility (IDeA) competition. The team won first place in the Simon Cox competition and second place in the IDeA competition!