Solar energy wheelchairs

The University of Virginia's solar-powered wheelchair (NL) designed to win the first prize in the Change My Life in One Minute contest, launched from last year to commemorate the World Brain Damage Day 2-10.

Contest participants are required to come up with an initiative that can make a significant difference to people with disabilities. And the $ 20,000 prize went to a group of students at the University of Virginia's Engineering Department with a wheelchair that can operate continuously through sunlight.

Inspired by foldable mobile hoods, this group of students built a wheelchair with a photovoltaic battery of about 1 square meter that they thought could allow the car to move in the time limit is about 0.5 meters per second without the need for battery power.

According to this group of students, when running at a speed of about 2.3 meters per second, the car can operate within 4.5 hours. They also point out that the car's solar panels can provide other benefits for users such as shading them. In addition, this special wheelchair is also equipped with USB ports for charging electronic devices.