Mobility Device Damage Study
Project Information:
Team Member: Amir Babazadehjoudi, Davood Dadkhah, Zeyad Ghulam, Tilak Dutta
Mobility aids are essential for travelers with disabilities, providing the independence needed to navigate air travel. However, these devices are often damaged during transport, particularly when placed on their side to fit through narrow cargo hold doors. Between January and September 2019, data from the U.S. shows that at least 7,747 mobility aids were mishandled, an average of 29 per day, leading to avoidable damage and stress for both passengers and airline staff.
To better understand the handling conditions mobility aids experience during air travel, this project proposes equipping selected wheelchairs with sensors and data loggers to measure orientation, impact forces, vibration levels, and environmental conditions throughout the journey. Testing would be conducted across multiple airlines, aircraft types, and routes to capture a representative dataset of real-world handling practices in Canada. These tools will help identify patterns and pinpoint specific handling stages where improvements are most needed. Addressing these issues will enhance the travel experience for passengers with disabilities by ensuring safer transport of their mobility aids.
Study Objective:
To identify mobility device handling patterns that indicate the stage of transport process where the risk of damage is highest using data logging sensors attached to the device.
Email our study coordinator, Amir Babazadehjoudi, at
amir.babazadehjoudi@mail.utoronto.ca to learn more!