3 Talented Graduates Build Solar-Powered Wheelchair That is Controlled by Voice, Use it in Video

• Three graduates of the University of Port Harcourt have built a solar-powered and voice-controlled wheelchair
• The graduates of the department of mechatronics engineering said the wheelchair was their final year project in school
• One of the graduates who spoke to Briefly News said the project is targeted at solving the problem of persons with severe paralysis as quadriplegia

In a bid to make life easier for persons suffering the problem of severe paralysis, 3 Nigerian graduates have built a wheelchair that runs on solar power and is voice-controlled.

The talented University of Port Harcourt graduates who are the brains behind the innovation has been identified as Ugochukwu Stanley, Stella Onyinyechukwu and Collins Oyomare.

Ugochukwu Stanley who shared on Facebook a video showing the use of the device stated that all the materials used in the creation of it were sourced locally except for the voice recognition module which was ordered overseas via Ali Express.

Read also

3 Talented students build remote controlled dog as final year project, photos go viral

It was their final year project in UNIPORT

Ugochukwu and his colleagues all graduated from the department of mechatronics engineering in UNIPORT and did the wheelchair as their final year project.

Watch the video below:

Ugochukwu told Briefly News that the special wheelchair can also be charged using electricity and the sun, describing it as a hybrid project.

Challenges faced in designing the special wheelchair

Speaking with Briefly News, Ugochukwu stated that the team faced several challenges that include getting the machine to recognize their voices.

"We had several challenges. The whole process of making the wheelchair understand our voices wasn't an easy one. We had to test it for two weeks to be sure it wasn't going to misbehave. And finally it had a good response of about 69.335%."

Read also

When life gives you a pothole, swim in it: Frustrated locals find a new use for issue

The special wheelchair will also help special individuals with their mobility.

"Instead of depending on a caregiver, this device would be useful to the disabled," he said.

SA inspired by local engineer who launches his own watch brand: #BlackExcellence

Earlier, Briefly News reported that a local man has social media users talking after sharing his innovative watch brand with South Africa. The locally manufactured products require no batteries and are the brainchild of Pietermaritzburg based entrepreneur, Zamani Bhengu.

Heading online, Twitter user @pekzar87 shared Bhengu's inspiring story.

"My name is Zamani Bhengu I'm from Pietermaritzburg I just launched my watch brand AmaBhengu, a mechanical watch that uses no batteries at all," he captioned the post in part.

Source: Briefly News