Pendulum Braking System for Wheelchairs, 2002 Christopher Columbus Gold Medal Award

Written by on November 20, 2002 in 2002, Christopher Columbus Gold Medal Award, Team

Pendulum Braking System for Wheelchairs

Gwyn-Nor Elementary School
North Wales, PA

Problem: Difficulty controlling the speed of a wheelchair when going down ramps and sloped areas.

Solution: Using trigonometry and mechanical devices, created a pendulum braking system that applies pressure to the back wheels by remaining perpendicular to sea level even as the chair slopes downward.

At an awards ceremony held at Epcot at Walt Disney World, finalist teams receive $36,000 in savings bonds for their winning entries. The competition is geared toward middle school-age children, and gives kids experience in solving problems using the scientific process of exploring, analyzing and drawing conclusions.

Subscribe

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe now to receive more just like it.

Subscribe via RSS Feed

Comments are closed.

Top