Project Summary

Rock Climber, a revolutionary electric wheelchair concept that enables unprecedented access to both urban and rural environments, promotes equality and freedom for users. Through a single design solution, the prototype will showcase superior features including size, easy-to-manouvre, obstacle-climbing ability, range of operation, and overall appeal, surpassing current electric chair offerings. Rock Engineering Limited (REL) leverages its extensive vehicle design expertise to overhaul each system, empowering users with the confidence to independently explore and enjoy their surroundings, reducing reliance on external transport and support.

Project Achievements

The focus for our project w as to a produce a full design & then manufacture the first prototype vehicle. The main achievements for the project included the production of a full CAD model of the complete design. This included the development of a detailed design specification, that defined the performance requirements for the vehicle, including targets that the design needed to achieve. In turn this document drove the detailed design of each system including chassis, suspension, pow ertrain and electrical architecture. Various virtual simulation methods w ere also used to validate the design prior to producing any parts. This has included methods to test the structural integrity of individual components, as w ell as simulating w hether the vehicle, as a system, has sufficient performance to achieve the maneuverability, and range targets. Besides producing a fully detailed digital model of Rock Climber the project has also undertaken a full manufacture and build of the first prototype. Rock Engineering has produced much of the components in-house, but has also collaborated w ith an external company to develop the electronics. Currently the vehicle is in the final stages of manufacture.

Conclusions

The primary project objective w as to develop a technology that w ill provide w heelchair users w ith improved access to urban & countryside environments, w hich in turn w ould result in improved independence, confidence, access to better w ork and social opportunities, and ultimately improved happiness. The measure of success for the project, therefore, is w hether the Rock Climber w ill substantially improve user access. At this stage this has been validated by virtual methods, i.e. through computer simulations, but this can’t be objectively quantified until the first physical prototype has been built. The pragmatic, Engineering led, processes & methods used to complete the project does, how ever, still give us confidence that the final design w ill achieve its goals.

Next Steps

The next steps for the project are to complete the build of the first prototype. A series of physical tests will then be undertaken to confirm performance, validate structural integrity and produce media content that will help identify & promote the accessibility issues highlighted in the project brief. Commercialisation of Rock Climber will require a re-design of the concept to produce a design that is more aesthetically pleasing, and viable for larger scale production. Initial discussions are underway with Huddersfield University to support Product Design requirements. Investment is also required to scale up to production, and discussions have commenced, but are at an early stage