Investigation of the Foam Airbag Performance For Wheelchair Application

Wheelchairs are one of the most important devices in rehabilitation that have immensely improved the

quality of life for people with disabilities and impairments. Wheelchairs are subject to tips and falls,

that can cause injuries. For a person who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, such injuries can have

significant short and long-term effects on quality of life and independence. Implementation of safety

measures in wheelchairs has not advanced to the extent utilized in automobiles. Despite their

overwhelming advantages in automobiles, airbags are not utilized for wheelchairs mainly due to their

high cost, weight, and being single-use. This project proposes to facilitate the development of a fall

injury protection device for wheelchairs, using our novel foam airbag technology. The irreversible

process of chemical reaction or compressed air containers for airbag deployment is replaced by foam

for its high compressibility and fast shape rebound characteristics.

Faculty Supervisor:

Siamak Arzanpour

Student:

Partner:

MobiSafe Solutions Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

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Government

Mitacs Partners