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Hovercrafts

In 2006 Dreamfit in collaboration with The University of Western Australia is adapting a two seater hovercraft so that it is accessible to people with a variety of different disabilities including wheelchair users.

The Dreamfit Hovercraft

The modified hovercraft will then be donated to the Disabled Recreation Club (Inc) so that their members can share in the fun that able bodied people often take for granted.

The Inspiration

In 2003, Darren Lomman met a wheelchair user whose biggest dream in life was to experience the exhilaration of riding a motorcycle. Darren took this challenge on as his final year mechanical engineering project at The University of Western Australia (UWA). The result was a custom modified hand controlled motorcycle that could be ridden by someone without the use of their legs.

In 2005, Darren Lomman was invited to attend the Australian Biomedical Engineering Conference where he was named the 2005 Young Biomedical Engineer of the Year.

Seeing first hand how much joy recreation could bring to people with disabilities, Darren wanted to encourage more young engineers into the field.

After collaboration with UWA, they agreed to support further design projects helping to make recreation available to people with disabilities. One of these projects is a a custom built hovercraft that will be available to people with disabilities including wheelchair users.

Inaccessible is Unacceptable

How does modifying a hovercraft help?

Having an disability does not change who you are and what you want out of life, nor should it mean that you have to miss out on having fun like everyone else!

Conventional recreational hovercrafts have the cockpit recessed into the hull. This makes getting in impossible if you are restrained to a wheelchair or have an impairment that limits your agility, strength, balance or coordination.

To overcome this, the front of the hull will be redesigned with a custom ramp system so that the hovercraft becomes accessible to a wide variety of people with disabilities including wheelchair users.

Active Participation is a Right

Whilst being able to ride in a hovercraft is a thrill, being able to control it yourself is even more exhilirating. Unfortunatly, controlling a vehicle via the standard control system is not always possible if have have disability.

Every disability is different. Some people have full use of their arms whilst others don’t. Some can grip, some can’t. Some can push, others can pull. As a result, there isn’t a control system that will suit everyone.

To overcome this, the hovercraft will be converted to a fly-by-wire system. This will allow for the development of numerous interchangeable control systems.

These can range from a steering wheel to motorcycle style handlebars to a joystick that can be operated from a wheelchair.

The fly-by-wire system will also allow for the implementation of dual controls. Having dual controls allows a second experienced driver, seated at the rear of the hovercraft, to ensure the safety of an inexperienced user or a user that has limited cognitive ability.

Sponsorship Potential

Redesigning and building a hovercraft is an ambitious project for students. Their viability and success will not be possible without the financial and technical assistance from different organisations, both from within The University of Western Australia and from private enterprise.

By becoming a project sponsor, your organisation is demonstrating that you are willing to give something back to the community by supporting a project helping improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

It’s not everyday that the opportunity to get involved in such an exciting, high profile project arises.