Adaptive Paddling with Quadriplegia

J. Kevin Taylor, Ph.D., Frank Owen, Ph.D., P.E.

Kinesiology and Mechanical Engineering Departments, Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo

The Kinesiology Department at Cal Poly offers three community based Adapted Physical Activity programs as lab options in their Adapted Physical Activity class. The programs have built a strong bridge between Cal Poly and the local community of people with disabilities, but Cal Poly reaps great reward in that it’s students learn invaluable lessons from their experience. Those benefits now extend beyond the Kinesiology Department through a richly rewarding collaborative venture between Kinesiology and Mechanical Engineering.

The success of Adapted Paddling Program led us to consider trying to offer someone with profound physical disability the opportunity to experience control over his or her own craft as part of our program. With this idea came the notion of teaming up with faculty and students from the Mechanical Engineering department at Cal Poly. We began by writing a grant to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation for $10,780 to fund the Solo Quad-Conversion project, the grant was funded and the project is underway!

Currently, modifications to a tandem kayak have been made to enable control via a joystick over a trolling motor attached to the rear. A team of Mechanical Engineering students has designed the current system to ultimately allow the option of changing between many different forms of control. At completion we hope to have the option of controlling the vessel with either joystick or a chin joystick. Initially we increased the stability of the kayak using inflatable sponsons that have now been replaced by a keel. The keel adds more stability, it can not be punctured (it’s more durable), and is considerably less visible from a distance.

Developing control over the motor took a great deal of time, the speed at which the kayak can travel has been restricted so that it travels at a speed similar to that of a manually propelled boat. Governing the speed ensures the safety of all participants, while creating a sense of comfort and independence for the pilot. A feedback device was initially designed to mount on the front of the kayak allowing the pilot to determine which way the motor is facing. The trolling motor has the capacity to turn through 180 degrees hence the pilot needs to know the direction that the motor is facing in order to maneuver the kayak safely. This mechanical device proved unreliable so the engineers designed complex servomechanisms with electronic feedback loops to make joystick movements mimic actual boat movements. Now when you push the joystick hard forwards the kayak moves forwards fast. In order to complete this component of the project we had to make the motor spin both forwards and backwards, something it was initially designed not to do!

The engineers explored the use of a "CoPilot" controlling mechanism that would enable a person in an accompanying vessel to have override control of the kayak with a remote control unit. Eventually this concept proved impossible with the existing motor and was therefore abandoned.

In alliance with the Cal Poly motto of "Learn By Doing" students have been centrally involved in every aspect of this project. Mechanical Engineering students have obviously been involved in the design and construction, but Kinesiology students have also been involved. Kinesiology students have been involved as overall project managers as well as in the design of safety procedures and risk management associated with the ultimate use of the craft.

The first engineering student to be involved in the project equipped the kayak with a joystick-controlled motor that was "governed" to restrict the maximum traveling speed. In the second phase of the project we increased the stability of the craft by adding sponsons and manufactured the feedback mechanism that shows direction of travel.

Safety & Risk Management

As ME students proceeded with the design and construction, a team of Kinesiology students developed safety procedures for the use and operation of the finished craft, and established a liaison between the project team and potential pilots, to solicit their input and advice.

Based upon input from potential pilots, we are concurrently exploring different transfer possibilities into the kayak. Many participants have commented that transferring into and out of the kayak can be uncomfortable and lead to embarrassment when being lifted from their wheelchairs, by program assistants. We were asked to consider finding a lift that could be user operated to allow paddlers to control their own transfer from chair to boat. As a result of this input, a further group of engineers designed a hoist specifically for use in adapted paddling settings. The most promising design incorporates the hoist into a boat trailer that will also be able to transport kayaks to and from the paddling location. We are currently exploring the possibility of soliciting additional funding to build the hoist. As an alternative now we plan to begin design of a "shuttle vehicle" which would be a joy stick controlled vehicle that the paddler would drive into the water for the kayak to float off.

Questions?

  • Contact:
  • J. Kevin Taylor, Ph.D.
  • Kinesiology Department
  • Cal Poly, 1 Grand Avenue,
  • San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
  • jktaylor@calpoly.edu