Door-Opening Device Could Win Gulliver Prep Students a National Prize
By Veciana-Suarez, Ana; Miami Herald ,Publication Date: February 20, 2010
Article describes a door-opening device developed for a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. The Operational Portable Entry Device (O.P.E.N.) was designed by a team of high school students in Miami, Florida, as an entry in the 2010 National Engineering Design Challenge, a contest for high school students to design the best technology to assist a person with a disability in the workplace. Three criteria guided the students in their design of O.P.E.N., which was developed with input from its intended user, a computer teacher with cerebral palsy: it had to be safe to use, would work on a variety of door handles, and had to be compact enough to be stored on the wheelchair and fit through a door. The resulting device uses a telescopic mechanical arm with a clamp at the end to open doors. When attached to a wheelchair, it pivots horizontally and is adjustable vertically. At the time the article was written, the design team was one of five finalists in the competition slated to appear before a panel of judges on February 25 in Washington, DC.
Published by: Miami Herald Publishing Company (Website:http://www.miamiherald.com)
Link to text: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/19/1488534/
