3 Talented Graduates Build Solar-Powered Wheelchair That is Controlled by Voice, Use it in Video
- Three graduates of the University of Port Harcourt have built a solar-powered and voice-controlled wheelchair
- The graduates of the department of mechatronic engineering said the wheelchair was their final year project in school
- One of the graduates who spoke to Legit.ng said the project is targeted at solving the problem of persons with severe paralysis as quadriplegia
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In a bid to make life easier for persons suffering problem of severe paralysis, 3 Nigerian graduates have built a wheelchair that runs on solar power and is voice-controlled.
The talented University of Port Harcourt graduates who are the brains behind the innovation have been identified as Ugochukwu Stanley, Stella Onyinyechukwu and Collins Oyomare.
Ugochukwu Stanley who shared on Facebook a video showing the use of the device stated that all the materials used in the creation of it were sourced locally except for the voice recognition module which was ordered overseas via Ali Express.
It was their final year project in UNIPORT
Ugochukwu and his colleagues all graduated from the department of mechatronics engineering in UNIPORT and did the wheelchair as their final year project.
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Watch the video below:
Ugochukwu told YEN.com.gh that the special wheelchair can also be charged using electricity and the sun, describing it as a hybrid project.
Challenges faced in designing the special wheelchair
Speaking with YEN.com.gh, Ugochukwu stated that the team faced several challenges that include getting the machine to recognize their voices.
"We had several challenges. The whole process of making the wheelchair understand our voices wasn't an easy one. We had to test it for two weeks to be sure it wasn't going to misbehave. And finally it had a good response of about 69.335%."
The special wheelchair will also help special individuals with their mobility.
"Instead of depending on a caregiver, this device would be useful to the disabled," he said.
Nigerian student builds surveillance drone as a final year project
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh previously reported that a Nigerian student had built a surveillance drone as his final project.
Demonstrating its use in a video he shared on LinkedIn, the mechanical engineering student Tochukwu Egbujor took delight in the eventual success of the aircraft despite the challenges.
Speaking more on the challenges faced during its creation, Tochukwu while responding to comments said he and his team members had to improvise as some parts of the aircraft were difficult to work with.
In another response, Tochukwu revealed that he was still learning to control the aircraft.
Source: YEN.com.gh