Biomimetic Walking Wheelchair
A wheelchair that walks: a SolidWorks design that turns wheel rotation into a quadruped-inspired gait.
A Capilano research project: a wheelchair that walks instead of rolls. I modeled it in SolidWorks, turning the rotation of a wheel into a walking gait using linkages based on how four-legged animals move.
- Modeled a walking wheelchair in SolidWorks over multiple design iterations.
- Converted wheel rotation into a walking gait using quadruped-inspired linkages.
- Adapted linkages and motion ratios from prior research until the gait ran smoothly.
01The idea
Design a mobility device that walks, so it can handle terrain wheels struggle with. The motion is modeled on quadruped locomotion.
02The mechanism
The hard part is turning circular motion into a stable gait. I studied prior work on linkage-based walking mechanisms, then adjusted the linkages, joints, and motion ratios until the legs moved smoothly.
03The work
Built the full 3D model across several iterations in SolidWorks, refining components and mechanisms each pass for stability, efficiency, and ergonomics.
Want to talk through how I built this?