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Design or adapt a motorized electric scooter to assist with mobility for a girl with special needs
An 8th grade girl at a local school experiences fatigue during her daily routine due to issues within her nervous system. During a normal day she finds it difficult to keep up with her peers from class to class or during any prolonged physical activity. Because of this her parents feel she could make use of a motorized scooter to help her get around. We would need to build something that she could use throughout her high school career and beyond.
There are many mobility scooters available today. Customers today can choose from the very popular Segway scooter, to the very simple Zappy 3 wheel electric scooter. There are also collapsible lightweight options out there such as the Luggie Travel Scooter.
Issues with available scooters
In the end after considering the amount of time and money needed to for each proposed design we reconsidered our approach. We sat down, as a team, and decided to find an existing scooter on the market and modify it to fit our needs.
We decided on a design that would take a light weight scooter and add material to it to enable the scooter to stand up on its own and stay upright during use.
Our final design will involve the adaptation of an electric Razor scooter. The design will add suspension components to the scooter to improve stability and add footrests for comfort. The scooter selected, the Razor E300s comes with a standard seat that will further benefit the accessibility of the scooter.
We first evaluated the minimum required diameter for the axle using 304 steel with the 100% of the power from the motor being transmitted to the wheels.
Then we evaluated the torsion using our torque solved for from the first analysis using our selected 1/2 inch diameter.
Finally we evaluated the shear stress being applied to the axle assuming a force of 150 lbs being applied directly over the center of the bearing.
Our focus for testing was to find what surfaces the scooter could handle. During our testing we found the scooter could handle indoor surfaces very well. But when it came to outdoor use the scooter was best operated on paved surfaces. The hard material of the skateboard wheel does not allow free movement over rough gravel or grassy surfaces.
Always wear a helmet when operating outdoors.
Maximum recommended load of 200 lbs.
Only one individual should ride the scooter at a time.
Maintain a safe speed when navigating turns.
Keep tires inflated to recommended 45 psi.
Do not use the device unless supervised by an adult that has been fully understood the safe use of this product.
