2011-04-14
Uniquely-designed pedal vehicles handed over to new owners
Mechanical engineering students in their final year have designed, constructed and produced five pedal vehicles, which have been created specifically for their new owners. Now, these vehicles have been ceremoniously handed over.
For the second consecutive year, third-year mechanical engineering students were asked to design, construct and produce pedal vehicles specifically for persons with different types of disabilities. Each project group first met with "their" cyclist in order to understand the needs and requirements for this person's pedal vehicle.
– Engineering students have been working with pedal vehicles for the past 8 years, but this is the second year in which we focus specifically on designing vehicles for users with a disability. At the start of this study year, I contacted the people who received their special vehicles last year to see if they are still using theirs. The answer was that they use them almost daily. That was of course very good to hear, and a confirmation that it is useful to continue the work also this, says Samir Khoshaba, Programme Co-ordinator for the Mechanical Engineering Programme at Linnaeus University.
Five different pedal vehicles have now been produced, most of which are constructed so that two persons can ride side by side. Some of them are fitted with a basket or a box where the vehicle's owner can keep his/her belongings during the ride. The new owners could also indicate their preferred colour for the vehicle, so there were green, purple, pink and red vehicles on display before the handover at the M-house entrance hall. Representing the pedal vehicles' owners was Moa Johansson together with her personal assistant Mia Johansson. Moa had chosen green as the colour for her new vehicle, and between the driver's seats was a basket to store her things.