| |
|
|
|
|
ATLAS |
|
|
Assistive
Technology
Laboratory
at
Stanford |
|
|
|
Technology
and design benefitting individuals with disabilities and older adults in the
local community |
March 3, 2015 |
|
|
|
|
Perspectives is the newsletter of the Stanford
course,
Perspectives in Assistive Technology.
This issue invites you to attend the next class
session.
Perspectives in Assistive
Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course in its ninth season
that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that
benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly
classroom discussions; lectures by notable professionals,
clinicians, and assistive technology users; tours of local medical,
clinical, and engineering facilities; and an assistive technology faire.
Much more information can be found on the course
website.
|
Attend a lecture - You are invited to sit in on
class lectures that interest you. They are open
to the greater Stanford community - you need not be a Stanford student and
there is no required signup, enrollment, or charge. They will once again be
held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:30pm in a large tiered,
accessible classroom on campus in the Thornton Center (Classroom 110) adjacent
to the Terman Fountain and near the Roble Gym, the same venue as last year.
Here are the parking options, maps, and
directions to the classroom. |
 |
|
Next class session - Thursday, March 5th at
4:15pm:
|
|
Wheelchair Fabrication in
Developing Countries
Ralf
Hotchkiss
Whirlwind Wheelchair
International |
|
Abstract: Ralf
Hotchkiss will track the design of the Whirlwind Wheelchair from its beginning
thirty 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 forty 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 the lead designer of the Whirlwind
Wheelchair. Whirlwind Wheelchair
International is a project of San Francisco State University. Ralf teaches
a class, Engineering 620: Wheelchair Design and Construction, in which students
can build a complete wheelchair in a Third World appropriate shop. Whirlwind
Wheelchair International'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. |
| Remaining class sessions: |
|
|
|
Do you have a question or comment? - If you have
general questions, comments, or suggestions about the course, David L.
Jaffe, MS, the instructor, can be reached by
email or at 650/892-4464. Thank you
again for your interest.
Dave
To unsubscribe
from this newsletter, please email Dave. |
|
