Vacancy expired!
A quadriplegic and his father are looking for technical assistance designing a custom power wheelchair. Specifically, we're looking for help with the sip-and-puff system which controls the chair's power tilt seating function. We have such a system in place, but it is unreliable and prone to component failure.
The job would involve analyzing and testing the current electromechanical system (unfortunately, our documentation is poor) to find problems; designing and adapting improvements to the current system, or building a new system if necessary; and documenting the result so that, as best as possible, a layman or a professional could understand it, and, hopefully, the design could be made freely available under an open license so that others could use it.
Along with the basic switching functionality, we are looking for a control system which emphasizes safety and reliability; but also ease of diagnosis and repair of the most likely future problems the new system might develop, as we assume any system will given enough time and use.
Experience and training in a related field is highly valued, be that electrical engineering, robotics, the design of biomedical devices, or any other relevant technical field. If you think you might be qualified, please get in touch, and let us know why.
Compensation could be by the hour or as a single project fee, whichever works best. We can be flexible around other jobs and commitments, and we would expect to pay a fair professional rate for professional work.
If you have any questions about us or the job, please feel welcome to ask.
Best wishes.
