Successful QL+ Projects
Erb Prosthetic Hand
The ERB Prosthetic Hand team of Max Maloney, Matt Griebel and Nickolas Butler.
This Cal Poly student team is collaborating to update and redesign the Erb Conformable-Grasp prosthetic hand, originally developed in the early 1990’s by a group of scientists at Franklin Research Center. The design needs updating to incorporate elements of affordability, comfort, longevity, functionality and anatomic fidelity.
The updated hand will be inexpensive, lightweight, and fit a wide range of amputee arm sizes and remaining limb sizes. It will be intuitively functional, meaning control of the hand will require little conscious thought. Its outer covering will maintain anatomic fidelity and as closely as possible mimic the appearance and functionality of a natural hand.
Adaptive Wheelchair
From left to right: Mark Azzarello, Brian Robinson, Jason Della Rosa and Dean Swenson.
This challenge was brought to QL+ by a Cal Poly student team member whose sister, Shelley, is less able to enjoy her favorite outdoor activities, like hiking, biking and running, since being paralyzed as a young adult.
The QL+ team's goal is to create a wheelchair that quickly and easily adapts between indoor and outdoor environments, and on-road and off-road formats, including rough terrain and gradients. This QL+ innovation will make it possible for wheelchair riders to re-experience nature independently, without the need to purchase or switch between different wheelchairs with specific indoor/outdoor functionality.
CAT D6R Ingress/Egress
The D6 team of Matt Rubin, Erick Serrano and Eric Ward.
A large tract of land belonging to a QL+ supporter was destroyed by a forest fire near Yosemite and needs to be cleared and reforested. As part of the QL+ mission to help reintegrate disabled veterans back into daily life, including employment, the work will be carried out by disabled veterans operating this machine and other heavy equipment.
The operating cab of a CATD6R earth-moving bulldozer is several feet above the ground, with limited steps for ingress/egress. The engineers in our QL+ Lab are developing a system to enable equipment operators with limited mobility, included leg amputees, to easily enter and exit the operating cab of this machine.
Yosemite Residential
One of the models entered as part of the Yosemite Residential architecture competition sponsored by QL+.
Closely related to the CAT D6R Ingress/Egress and the CAT 320 C L projects, this QL+ challenge seeks to provide disabled-accessible, eco-friendly living accommodations for the disabled veterans engaged in the Yosemite reforestation project.
QL+ sponsored a competition for students of the Architecture Department at Cal Poly to design residential accommodation for the term of the Yosemite project. The winning design will be constructed at the Yosemite site and used by injured veterans during the land clearance and reforestation project.
The Tablette
The tablette, shown ready for use, allowing wheelchair diners to eat in comfort.
Inspired by the designer’s grandfather, the Tablette solves the problem faced by wheelchair diners whose wheelchairs prevent them from being comfortably seated within an acceptable distance of a table. This can lead to spilled food and drink, reducing the dignity of a wheelchair user’s dining experience.
The goal for this challenge was to create a portable table to make dining out easier and more pleasurable for people in wheelchairs. The Tablette attaches to any table, regardless of height, width or breadth. It provides adequate lap covering, filling the space between the table edge and the wheelchair seat, effectively extending the table edge.
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