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Department of Engineering

Sustainability innovation on display

Sustainability innovation on display

Winners Georgia Ware, Stephanie Wen and Tian Xi Lim

A team of Department of Engineering students took home the top prize with an innovative chair design at the Sustainability Product Design Competition. 

We were struck by the number of wheelchair users in third world countries and how many of their culture-specific needs go unresolved.

Georgia Ware

A team of third-year engineering students, led by Georgia Ware, designed the Samavesa ‘inclusion chair,’ an invention for disabled people and other wheelchair users to be able to engage better socially. The team included Mateusz Pniewski, Stephanie Wen and Tian Xi Lim, all of whom are currently in IIA of the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos.

“We were struck by the number of wheelchair users in third world countries and how many of their culture-specific needs go unresolved,” said Georgia regarding the inspiration for the device. Many social interactions in these countries occurs at floor level; people in conventional wheelchairs often find themselves excluded from certain activities. “Our solution, the Samavesa – which means ‘inclusion’ in Hindi – came about after considering issues such as ergonomics, product sustainability and distribution.”

The chair works by introducing a mechanical system that enables users to lower themselves to floor level for social interactions while maintaining the functionality of a conventional wheelchair at sitting level.

The team also brought their design to the Institute for Manufacturing 2015 Design Show, a showcase for third-year manufacturing student projects.

The Sustainable Product Design Competition, a collaborative effort between the University of Cambridge EcoHouse Initiative and Cambridge Research & Development Ltd (CRD), aims to reward innovative ideas with cash prizes and a chance to work with CRD on a prototype. Entrants submit a business plan, competition poster and design prototype.

“Moving forward, we intend to work with the help of CRD in designing and manufacturing a full-scale prototype of the Samavesa,” Georgia said. “We also intend to look at important factors such as costing and customisability.”

At the awards presentation, last year’s winner Charles Bruce was in attendance to . The second-year engineering student took home the prize for his design of LED lighting and separation of power through batteries that result in cost and energy savings.

Other innovative designs in the competition included an ‘infinity bakery’ for use in places where fuel is limited, a method for recycling 3D printer waste and an environmentally friendly ‘eco-kettle.’

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