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B'luru team wins Enable Makeathon

Last Updated 26 January 2016, 19:54 IST

Mobility India team from Bengaluru, which worked on a low-cost, prefabricated twin device to help correct the posture of children with cerebral palsy, emerged winners of Enable Makeathon organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The winning team received USD 25,000 as seed money for making further improvements on its device. Team Assem from R2D2 lab at IIT Madras, which developed an easy add-on to a manual wheelchair to convert it into an outdoor mobility device, bagged the second prize, while RightFit Prosthetics Initiative’s solution, which is dedicated to improving the quality of prosthetic care through a patient-centred design, emerged third.

The ‘Enable Makeathon Challenge’ concluded on Tuesday at the IKP Eden in the City. Initiated by ICRC, the 60-day challenge that kickstarted November last year saw persons with disabilities, humanitarians, engineers, designers, the scientific and innovation community, manufacturers, investors and entrepreneurs collaborate to create sustainable and affordable solutions to the problems of persons with disabilities in rural areas.

The awards were presented by Mary Werntz, Head of Regional Delegation, International Committee of the Red Cross, India and Tarun Sarwal, the Innovation Advisor at ICRC. More than 20 teams from India and around the world participated.

Sarwal said: “The currently available devices such as the wheelchair are fit for use in a city environment with proper roads and infrastructure. However, those who live in areas that don’t even have roads often find such designs unsuitable.
Through the Enable Makeathon Challenge, we wanted to provide a platform for innovators to use their expertise in building assistive devices that help people with disabilities in rural India and similar places in the world.”

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(Published 26 January 2016, 19:54 IST)

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