Vehicular Seating for the Disabled
Dharaneesh Koneru
Abstract
The quality of life among individuals with severe physical disabilities
has greatly improved during the last two decades, partly as a result of
well-planned intervention programs. However, some individuals with
physical disabilities do not cope well in their everyday life, no matter
how long they have had the disability. It has been suggested that those
individuals who adjust well do so regardless of the degree of their
physical impairment. With this as a background I have worked on this
thesis regarding Vehicular Seating customizations for the physically
disabled. The word disabled is strictly restricted to physical disability in
the current scenario. The Idea is mainly oriented towards helping
disabled people enter and drive a vehicle in an extremely simple and
fluid way. The initial design brief was “To design a method of seating
in a vehicle exclusive to people suffering from physical disabilities in
order to make their life easier”. 2.5% of the Indian Population are
Disabled, In an era where ‘inclusive development’ is being emphasised
as the right path towards sustainable development, focussed initiatives
for the welfare of disabled persons are essential.
Objectives
The Main objectives of this Thesis are :-
• To understand the path of interaction between a physically
handicapped person and vehicles in general.
• To find some methods to ease their life while doing the above
mentioned task.
• To understand people’s view on the entire innovation for the
disabled.
Methods
The main research methods used during the course of the making this
thesis are Non Participant Observation, Interviews, Secondary and
Primary Data Analysis. I have used the Research Methods to gain a
better understanding of the problem as well as the way to proceed on
topic of the objectives.
Non-participant Observation : This option is used to understand a
phenomenon by entering the community or social system involved,
while staying separate from the activities being observed.
A Research Interview involves an interviewer, who coordinates the
process of the conversation and asks questions, and an interviewee, who
responds to those questions. Interviews are an appropriate method when
there is a need to collect in-depth information on people's opinions
Secondary Data Analysis refers to the analysis of
existing data collected by others. Secondary analysis affords researchers
the opportunity to investigate research questions using large-
scale data sets that are often inclusive of under-represented groups,
while saving time and resources.
PES University
Results
The quantitative analyses revealed that satisfaction with one’s life
situation is a function of the handicapped person’s occupation or
meaningful occupational activities, social integration and his/her sense
of the meaning of life. Further, the length of time since the onset of the
disability was a risk factor for the person’s feeling of satisfaction. The
qualitative analyses of the interviews verified the results of the
quantitative analyses
The physical results of this paper are shown below. They are the “proof
of concept” prototypes of a specific idea on the above mentioned issue
regarding the feeling of inadequacy, or the feeling of helplessness due
to the inability to do anything on their own. The Product is a solution
for Vehicular seating for the disabled. It works on a simple mechanism
the helps it swivel 90 degrees and lower out the car.
Conclusion
• The disability per se did not decrease the disabled individual’s
quality of life. The individual’s capacity to cope with everyday
life was of great importance. Occupation or meaningful
occupational activities as well as social integration at different
stages of life should be taken into account when planning
intervention programs in the future.
• Technical innovations have enormous potential for enhancing
the lives of people with disabilities, often providing means for
substantial independence and contributing to their dignity.
• Institutional collaboration and the integration of a broad range of
disciplines are producing sophisticated solutions which allow
people with once-debilitating physical and mental health
conditions to lead healthy full lives. Meanwhile, novel
technologies that create intimate connections between man and
machine are augmenting human abilities beyond natural limits.
• Very simple changes, modifications or adjustments to the day to
day use products can make the life of all the physically
handicapped or disabled way easier.
References
• International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health
Care , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , Spring 1995 , pp. 187 – 195
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266462300006826
• Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Disability, The Future
of Children DOI:10.1353/foc.2012.0002
• Innovation and Technology for the People with Disabilities, Nabil
Eid
• Innovation: Changing the Face of Disability , Dr. Mattew S.
Goodwin, Professor Rosalind W. Picard, Sc.D
• http://affect.media.mit.edu/
• http://www.disabled-world.com
• Accessible Personal Transportation for People with Disabilities
Using Autonomous Vehicles, Sashank Allu, Ayush Jaiswal, Michael
Lin, Anjali Malik, Levin Ozay, Tarun Prashanth, Dr. Bradley S.
Duerstock, Editor
• Analysis of movement of a disabled person from wheelchair to car
seat, Paolo Ragogna, Rubens Rossi, P. B. Pascolo