Gravity-Balanced Wheelchair Lift (Spring 2016)

This wheelchair lift concept was designed for an Advanced Robotics class at Columbia University to demonstrate how the principal of gravity-balancing via springs could be applied to a wheelchair lift.

• Gravity-balancing is a technique most commonly seen in desk lamps. By adding a spring to the mechanism, its potential energy no longer depends on its position, and it will remain stable and stationary in any configuration.

• This design concept used mostly COTS parts to apply this technique to a wheelchair lift.

• Mechanism design was verified through dynamic simulations in Matlab and Solidworks.

• This project highlighted how innovation can improve accessibility. The improved mechanism would allow for cheaper, less powerful motors to be used compared to a traditional elevator-style wheelchair lift.