Saigon students make wheelchairs in excess of the terrain with international awards

Can go upstairs, cross rough terrain, a wheelchair made by Truc and Ngan has won many domestic and international awards. They were invited to meet US President Obama when he came to Vietnam.

These days, when my peers are studying for graduation, Pham Thanh Truc and Nguyen Hoang Ngan (18 years old) are busy studying English, carrying out their own projects before going abroad. study abroad. Le Hong Phong High School students have just returned from the US with the third prize at the International Science and Technology Competition (Intel ISEF) organized by Intel Corporation. Winning product is a patent wheelchair that can surpass all terrain - TN98.

More honor, Ngan - Truc was invited to interact with President Obama when he came to Saigon."I am very happy to be in contact with the US president. In addition to the charisma of a politician, he is humorous, creates closeness, engages with listeners," Truc said.

Patented wheelchair over the terrain with wheels simulating tank chains.(Photo: NVCC).

The name TN98 was paired from the first letter of Truc - Ngan and born in 1998. The car is 1.27m long; 65cm wide; 1.52m high; Electrically powered is based on the idea of ​​a completely new dynamic balance system application.

Wheelchairs are equipped with controls to be able to move forward, backward, stop, turn left, right and the sensor adjusts the tilt of the seat. TN98 has a compact size, easy to move through narrow areas such as doors, corridors, elevators, steps .

Instead of using round cakes like the wheelchairs available on the market, the invention of the young couple runs on homemade rubber-coated sprocket. Like a tank, it easily moves on muddy, muddy or rough terrain.

"It's hard to build a car at any stage, but the research and making of the rubber crawler and the damping system is the most stressful. This looks very familiar in the tank, but the research material is about it. Very little, we have to do it ourselves, " Truc said.

Thanks to this track, TN98 has outstanding advantages that help users to go up and down stairs with a slope of up to 30 degrees. Rubber-clad chains cling to each step, bring the car up or down at speeds up to 8 km / h without slipping or falling. Vehicles also withstand weight up to 80 kg.

Previously, a group of Swiss students used to do this but users had to turn their backs on the stairs, causing anxiety and anxiety when going up and down. Wanting to overcome this obstacle, after many trials, Hoang Ngan applied the principle of dynamic balance in a semicircular iron frame.

The new way helps the seat automatically adjust its position, tilt to change the center of gravity. When the car goes upstairs, the chair comes forward; When the car goes down, the seat reclining back helps the occupants to maintain their balance.

Two young people exchange with people interested in the US competition.(Photo: NVCC).

According to Nguyen Hoang Ngan, the idea of ​​cross-wheelchair-accessible wheelchair arises when he sees his grandfather, the elderly in the neighborhood due to limited health, only moves around the house. Although I really want to interact with people, most of them are afraid to bother their children. From this thought, Ngan wanted to make a car for convenient access for the elderly and disabled.

Since the idea came to fruition, it took them nearly a year and the two didn't know much about the technique. The bank must study specialized mathematics and Truc Anh English while making wheelchairs and must have mechanical and technical knowledge.

The two then had to find books and documents on the Internet for reference. In terms of technical drawings, Ngan and Truc tinked with many new programs to learn SoidWorks software (3D design allows data entry of external impacts into design to run simulation). Not to mention the experience, so the car was removed, installed and tested for many times

In order to have the components manufactured, the couple look to the electronics market, boldly enter the factories in the suburbs to find. Many days, going from early morning to late evening, and many times the two of them argue and argue, leading to eliminating the " study " 1-2 days.

"I don't think I can complete the product because many times we are very frustrated, want to give up because the process is extremely difficult," Truc said.

Initially, Ngan - Truc's family worried that the work of the two children would influence learning but later understood and supported. Two young people are fortunate to be always followed by the school, motivated spirit and material to complete the project.

Ngan - Truc attended an exchange event with President Obama in Ho Chi Minh City.(Photo: NVCC).

The TN98 wheelchair won the first prize at the national science and technology competition in the 2015-2016 academic year for high school students in the South, held in Dong Nai last March.

So far, Truc and Ngan's wheelchairs have undergone 7 rounds of improvements. TN98 is being improved in the direction of light, durable, easy to disassemble, increase engine efficiency, and have a protective frame for users in case of bumping or turning.

Nguyen Hoang Ngan said, if mass production, the price of a TN98 is about 17 million VND while the majority of wheelchairs across the world cost over 300 million. Young couples are eager to be able to transfer technology to a certain unit to apply mass production to serve the elderly and disabled in Vietnam.