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VT Mechanical Engineering students build custom device for disabled Army Veteran


120817 VT Wheelchair.JPG
120817 VT Wheelchair.JPG
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BLACKSBURG, Va. (WSET) -- Walking in and seeing students huddled over a computer isn't an unusual sight at Virginia Tech.

However, in the Mechanical Engineering department, there is a group of students who aren't just studying, they are working on a project to improve the life of a disabled veteran.

As part of their Senior Design Project, the students partnered with QL Plus at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

"I really gravitated toward projects that were directed toward helping an individual in need," said group member Kristine Baisa.

That's why Baisa was pleased that she was picked to work on a special project for Tammy Landeen, an Army Veteran living in Maine. Landeen is confined to a wheelchair. As such, she found that she had a problem that she needed help with.

Landeen explained, "I would be outside and then just the trek from the car to the house, I would pick up so much slush, so much dirt." Smiling she added, "I'm yelling at my family, take your shoes off, but then I'm tracking dirt everywhere."

Landeen came to QL Plus looking for help changing the tires on her wheelchair, so she could have a set for outside and then a clean set for inside.

The team started meeting with Landeen via video conference in September, where they would go over different ideas. Not every one was a hit. Landeen remembered one that sounded good, until she thought of what it would entail.

She recalled, "I was like, you want me to go 18 inches, 2 feet, up a ramp backwards?"

Now, just four months later, the group has found a model that everybody is happy with.

Senior Colin Jones explained, "Right now, we're incorporating into our design, some sort of, we don't know if it's going to be a physical way, I don't know if we're going to have some sort of guide rails or things like that, to where when she backs up, she knows she's centered on the device. She hits the button, is lifted, hits the button again, goes down."

Landeen will be able to easily change her tires while she's in the air.

The team at Virginia Tech calls it a second set of hands for her, but Landeen calls it her time saving miracle.

"In essence, the tire change itself is only going to save a minutes, maybe two minutes, but the cleaning process and the hassle is going to be immeasurable."

The team hopes to have the project done and ready for Landeen in May.

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