Thursday, February 18th
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Wheelchair Fabrication in
Developing Countries
Ralf
Hotchkiss
San Francisco State University
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Abstract: Ralf Hotchkiss will track
the designing of the Whirlwind Wheelchair from its beginning 30 years ago to
the present, and on into the future. From the first design breakthroughs of
barefoot blacksmiths to the high tech testing and manufacturing methods of
today, surprise breakthroughs in basic wheelchair design have come from the
backyard inventors of some 40 developing countries. These inventors, along with
several graduates of the Stanford d.school, form the Whirlwind Network of
wheelchair riders and designers. Their goal is not only to make wheelchairs
available in the poorest of countries; it is to radically improve the
durability and rough-ground mobility so that wheelchair riders can live and
work in environments that they can only dream of visiting today. Ralf will show
unfinished designs that open wide opportunities for new developments, and he
will make a plea for the innovative designers of Stanford to enter into one of
today's most fulfilling areas of invention and international development
work.
Biosketch: Ralf Hotchkiss is an
inventor and Whirlwind wheelchair designer whose company, Whirlwind Wheelchair
International, designs wheelchairs for use and manufacture in developing
countries, involving wheelchair riders in all of its projects and activities.
The organization's mission is "to make it possible for every person in the
developing world who needs a wheelchair to obtain one that will lead to maximum
personal independence and integration into society". Ralf is a graduate of
Oberlin College and a 1989 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
- Contact information:
- Ralf Hotchkiss
- 6505 Farallon Way
- Oakland, CA 94611
- 415/338-1290
- whirlwind -at- sfsu.edu
- Lecture Material:
- Pre-lecture
slides - 259 Kb pdf file
- Slides -
3.72 Mb pdf file
- Audio -
1:16:57 - 17.6 Mb mp3 file
- Links:
- Tough,
Low Cost Wheelchairs Needed in Haiti, Around Third World - 5:31 - PBS News
Hour - 02/18/2010
- Ralf Hotchkiss & His
Whirlwind Wheelchairs
- Hotchkiss' da Vinci Spirit
Recognized
- Manufacturing
assistive devices in developing countries
- Independence through
Mobility
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