Just as VR is transforming everything from education to medicine, cars are becoming self-driving, there are many hundreds of people out there in the world that need help just to complete even the simplest of tasks that most of us take for granted, such as just getting from A to B.
With technology advancing at such a fast rate that it is almost impossible to keep up with, there is so much we can now do to bring mobility to those who are physically disabled.
That is what Collaborizm platform user Shrey Fadia envisioned.
Collaborizm is a platform which connects people with shared interests, skills and hobbies. From there people can collaborate, network, share and build new things, this in turn has been attracting many businesses by showcasing the talent pool they have within their ever growing community, worldwide.
A 21 year old college student, Fadia envisioned developing a product that could prove helpful and possibly life changing to the physically challenged and elderly in India and around the world.
This idea stuck with him after seeing several challenged and disabled children at the Blind People’s Association, struggling to move from their current position.
Fadia said, “They either seek the help of someone or need to be hard and careful when starting off. Meanwhile, there were some wheelchairs (manual) placed there and I got to an idea to make it ‘smart’ and hence the name Smart Wheelchair. Many thoughts were running through my head at this point, about features and how to make it practical in particular.”
The idea of the Smart Wheelchair aims to eliminate the need for another person to push the wheelchair as well as removing the physical effort the user needs to operate the chair by installing a gesture control and obstacle avoidance system.
The Smart Wheelchair offers the latest in technology and practicality for less able bodied people to tackle the everyday tasks wheelchair users have faced and continue to face thanks to its cutting edge gesture control and obstacle avoidance system.
Fadia created a project on Collaborizm asking for help and advice from within the community in areas that he wasn’t so skilled in. He discovered Collaborizm via Facebook ads.
The “law of attraction” kicked in fast. Fadia attracted several mentors, including Manjunath Masashetti, who runs development in India for NetFoundry, a technology company incubated by Tata Communications, one of the world’s largest and most innovative network services, cloud and collaboration software companies.
“It’s nice to see young people get involved in such meaningful projects,” Mahashetti said. Mahashetti has many years of experience in connected things and, in particular, the Industrial Internet of Things. “Leaders like Shrey will continue to meet other next generation leaders, through platforms like Collaborizm, and it’s an honor for our company to play a small role in ensuring these ideas mature into actual products that, in this case, can transform the lives of many physically disabled people.”
NetFoundry.io’s founder and leader, Galeal Zino, agreed to have the company sponsor Fadia’s vision with a donation funding the last piece required for the completion of the prototype, the main motor.
“We’re honored to support this very meaningful and creative project, and the Collaborizm community generally,” Zino said. “Connecting people, things, ideas and opportunity will be the energy that drives amazing inventions and solutions in the future.”
Fadia will be attending the IoT Evolution World event in Las Vegas in July, there to learn from the most advanced developers and businesses in the world of IoT.
Carl Ford, the event’s organizer and producer, said, “There is so much the IoT makes possible, including improving the lives of millions. There’s nothing more exciting than to see and support the creation and commercialization of connected things that really matter. We’re thrilled to bring Shrey to our event as a special guest, and to help him attract even more support as he continues to pursue this very worthy dream.”
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
