HCC Engineering Students Help the Disabled

Harford Community College engineering students and V-LINC, a Maryland nonprofit organization whose mission is to create technological solutions to improve the independence and quality of life for individuals with disabilities, partnered during the spring 2016 semester to provide specialty equipment for two Harford Countians. Two Introduction to Engineering Design classes taught by Lisa Ovelman took on V-LINC projects. The first was for a specialized bike for Ian Nohe, a 17-year-old student at the John Archer School. V-LINC provided the bike frame and the students engineered custom adaptations, including installing an audio player so it would play music as Ian rode the bike, modifying the seat and adding safety features, designing and installing a parking brake, and creating a way for the bike to be steered from the rear. The rear steering solution included designing and 3D printing a part, with which David Antol, Coordinator for Applied Technology Programs at HCC, assisted the students. With the help of The Bike Shop of Bel Air, who donated their time, labor and materials, the students delivered the finished product in May to a delighted Ian and his grateful mother.

The second project assisted James Brower, a 42-year-old group home resident in Abingdon, whose hobby is making welcome mats out of recycled tire rubber. James requested a tray that could attach to his motorized wheelchair to allow him to carry various items he would otherwise be unable to hold and provide a convenient surface to work on his mats. The basic tray requirements the students needed to address were to make it fit through doorways and be attached firmly, and to be structurally stable, easily removable, aesthetically pleasing, and to accommodate his joystick. They added other features such as an enlarged work space for mat-making and a clip-on light, and decorated the tray with a sports theme as James is an enthusiastic Ravens and Orioles fan. One student commented, “Overall, this project was amazing. Seeing how happy James was made the project worth it and really made the team feel good about themselves.”