Project Lead - RA Cooper
Project Team - GG Grindle, J Kanode, R Cooper
Airline travel facilitates engagement in work, leisure, and access to specialized healthcare. However, for PWD whether long-term or temporary it can be extremely difficult and stressful. Travelers, airports, and airlines acknowledge that better technology and systems are needed. WC users often encounter difficulties boarding and deplaning the airplane because of needing to transfer out of their WC to an airplane boarding chair that is usually ≤13 inches wide, which is necessary to be able to travel down the airplane aisle of which shall be ≥15 inches wide. Once in the airplane boarding chair, the individual is then wheeled to their seat and must transfer from the boarding chair into the airplane seat. The process is reversed when deplaning the airplane but occurs once all remaining passengers are off the plane. Furthermore, aircraft aisle chairs most commonly lack sufficient back support which can lead to lateral instability and risk of the individual falling from the chair as well as place some people at risk of pressure injuries due to the lack of a sufficient seat cushion.
Specific Aim (SA) 1: To develop initial concept designs which can be evaluated by focus groups in R2. SA2a: Develop a usable prototype to be evaluated by potential end-users in R2. SA2b: Develop a second prototype to be evaluated by potential end-users and airport/airline personnel in R2. SA3: File intellectual property protection, produce manufacturing documents and disseminate the design and findings.
