Accessible Air Travel

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Challenges faced when flying with a disability are tedious and dehumanizing, but wheelchair users have no other option. Furthermore, wheelchairs are people’s “legs” and "bodies," and a damaged chair can negatively impact not only their flying experience but also their lives beyond the airport. Chairs are damaged every day during transport in airplanes, and Palladin aims to prevent that damage.

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Palladin, the defender of the skies, is a steel frame that enables baggage handlers to lift power wheelchairs from safe lifting points, and it protects chairs when they are put on their sides. Palladin folds down for easy storage when not in use.

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The design focus for my project was to safely store any power wheelchair during loading, storage, and removal from the cargo hold of an airplane. I worked with the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Open Doors Organization and Northwestern.

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Skills Developed:

Independently working through the design process, balancing "client" goals and personal growth goals, scoping down a set of problems

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My Role:

All of the design process, networking to work with stakeholders

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Project Duration:

March 2017 - December 2017