Ralf Hotchkiss Makes Wheelchairs That Go ‘Round the World

Ralf is another fellow I met at a Stanford event. And another product benefitting lots of people. “Whirlwind Technology has been taken to over 45 countries worldwide, providing the best in wheelchair design and construction utilizing local resources.” That quote’s from their site.

I saw it in action. There was a woman attending the talk who was in a $4,000 titanium wheelchair. She was respectfully asked “Do you bang your toes?” She admitted she did. “What happens when you go off a curb?” She said she couldn’t without risking a nasty fall. Ralf pointed out that the Whirlwind design protected the feet and was stable going off an 8-inch curb. This was ably demonstrated by a proud owner of a Whirlwind chair. He in fact pushed off a 16-inch-high stack of boxes without misshap!

What’s wrong with this picture? Why does it take 100 years before some products receive some intelligent design attention?