Students undertook a partnership with a charity over the summer to design and manufacture bespoke equipment for disabled people.
A University of Leeds engineering and physical sciences project enabled students to boost their skills over the summer by working with a client on a project in partnership with REMAP, the only UK charity whose community of volunteers create personalised equipment for disabled people, free of charge.
Students were tasked with developing a hand-bike project in collaboration with their client, Nick, who has limited finger function but retains wrist and arm movement.
Nick was struggling with the gear system on his bike, which he used to complete the Leeds half marathon this year. The students designed an electric wireless system for the shifter of the bike, to improve accessibility for Nick’s range of movement.
The project has really inspired me to consider a future in medical assistive technology.
Swayam Bandyopadhyay, a 3rd year Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate student, worked alongside Ava Bird, a 3rd year integrated Masters student studying Medical Engineering, on the project.
Swayam said: “It was my first time working with a client and I realised how small engineering changes can bring about tangible changes to personalised equipment.
“By working with the client, we were able to communicate and receive feedback to help improve our design and decision-making process. It was such a unique project, learning how Nick’s hand worked and assisting him in building a design that would work for him.”
Swayam and Ava met regularly with Nick to test their user-centred design. Nick shared his own research and input into the project, including a video of how his hand worked, which helped the students with adapting their design solution.
Andi Maratos, REMAP CEO, says: “Through listening to and working with Nick, Swayam and Ava have created a unique solution that will help him take part in many more bike races. An achievement to be proud of.”
Ava said: “The project has really inspired me to consider a future in medical assistive technology and making it available to all. Engineering can really make a huge difference in helping people and I would love to work with REMAP again in the future.”
The project helped to boost students’ skills working with Computer Aided Design (CAD) and prototyping by using 3D printing, which they will be learning in their next year of study.
Swayam said: “The project allowed us to design and build from scratch, which was a first for me. We measured the dimensions ourselves and it was a great achievement to get the CAD right on our first attempt.
“We also used a 3D scanner on Nick’s hand, which helped with the design of the electronic shifter. It was a useful headstart on using the scanner, which I will be learning more about this year.”
Ava added: “The project also helped my team working skills, we balanced each other skills and learnt from each other. The laboratory staff in adaptive mechanical engineering really helped us with 3D printing, prototypes and models, and gave us really helpful advice during the project.”
Dr Anthony Herbert, Associate Professor in Medical and Biological Engineering in the School of Mechanical Engineering, said: “One of the most valuable aspects of our work with REMAP is that students are tackling everyday barriers facing real people.
“It has been fantastic to see Swayam and Ava apply their engineering skills to a unique challenge where the outcome can make a real difference to someone’s everyday life. This is exactly what our partnership with REMAP is about.”
Further information
For more information, please contact Rebecca Hurrey at r.hurrey@leeds.ac.uk in the University of Leeds press office.
Picture credit: Simon and Simon photography.