Dubai, UAE, November 22, 2018:  Traveling by aircraft can be extremely difficult when you’re in a wheelchair. Disabled passengers have been turned away from their flight because their wheelchair couldn’t fit in the hold, or left to wait to disembark for hours. The combination of stairs, narrow seating and a dependency on staff to lift you on and off an aircraft, can make flying a challenging process for some passengers. In 2017 there was a high profile example of this when BBC reporter Frank Gardner shared experiences of being left on aeroplanes for hours. 

 

In the UAE specifically, approximately 11% of the population suffers from some form of disability according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). While the UAE government has launched several initiatives to support accessibility, two engineering students from the UAE’s American University of Sharjah, are attempting to vastly improve the accessibility of aeroplane travel for wheelchair users. Their proposed solution, Air Chair will make the experience more comfortable and dignified for disabled travellers. It will allow people to use one chair for their entire journey, from departure lounge to take-off. This design has helped Amer Siddiqui and Ali Asgar Salim secure the national winner in the world-renowned student innovation competition, the James Dyson Award.

 

Co-developers of Air Chair, Amer Siddiqui and Ali Asgar Salim said: “Winning the UAE leg of the James Dyson Award was an immense honour in its own right. But being selected international runner-up by a technology pioneer like James Dyson is a true vindication of our idea. This achievement has spurred us on to continue developing Air Chair. Through the exposure of our concept, we hope to secure even more investment to kick-start the prototyping phase; we’ll feel restless until we see Air Chair in airports across the globe.” 

 

Sir James Dyson said: “The Award invites talented, young inventors to do more than just identify real problems. It empowers them to use their ingenuity to develop inventive solutions. The UAE is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, and entries were unsurprisingly ambitious. But the Air Chair stood out for its clever concept and intuitive design.”

 

As the UAE invests heavily in fostering a culture of innovation, the inaugural edition of the award in the country recognises the Emirate spirit of ingenuity and the emergence of our expanding pool of talented engineers. The UAE is renowned the world over for setting audacious goals and then achieving them – and these young inventors are yet another example.

 

Hessa Al Balooshi, Director of Smart Services Department, Smart Dubai, added: “In line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Smart Dubai focuses its effort on the country’s most valued asset - its people. As part of this, we keenly support young talent, especially when it comes to technological development. Securing the runners-up spot in the James Dyson Award global competition, remarkably in the UAE’s maiden entry to the James Dyson Award, Amer and Ali have proven that the country nurtures an innovative spirit among its communities. We believe the youth are key to the progress of the UAE and we resolutely stand by them to help them achieve their dreams, while making a positive contribution to society.”

 

“The UAE government is instilling a culture of innovation in the education system in the country, and results are plain to see. Seeing the country winners make it to the runners-up position globally in the first-ever edition of James Dyson Award in the UAE, is proof that residents and citizens of the country are steadily progressing to make a mark on the world stage for innovation. At Dyson we are proud to support these talented individuals, thereby contributing to the overall vision of the government in our own way,” said Yousef Mouallem, Managing Director at Dyson MEA. 

 

Whittled down from thousands of entries, Air Chair was personally selected by Sir James Dyson for their clever invention. In total £7,000 will be awarded to the James Dyson Award runner-up’s to help kick-start their project, enabling them to further test and analyse their design, with a view to building a working prototype and testing it in the real-world. 

 

 “The achievement of our students at the world-acclaimed engineering and design award is a matter of great pride for us. We are also thankful to Dyson for encouraging young minds to unleash their creativity and innovation for the betterment of the society. I am confident that Amer and Ali’s success will set a shining example for other students in the university and spur them on to follow their dreams,” added Richard Tracy Schoephoerster, Dean – College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah.

 

 

Like an ordinary wheelchair, the Air Chair can be operated electrically or manually inside the airport terminal. The Air-Chair project is still in the concept stage. The next stages will include prototyping, where all wheelchair and aviation safety and regulatory regulations (CAA, ICAO, FAA FDA, MHRA, etc.) will be will be taken into consideration. 

 

Once in the plane cabin, the Air Chair’s sleek concept design allows the chair to pass through the aisle. Usually too narrow for regular wheelchairs, this innovative wheelchair is designed to fit the existing seat like a glove by sliding onto it using spherical wheels’. The integrated locking mechanism, which links to the metal bar underneath the seat combined with the seatbelt restricts movements and provides stability during the flight. With this solution, the traveller can use one wheelchair for the entire travel journey. Seeking to maximise flexibility the Air Chair can easily, neatly folded, reducing its height by over two thirds when not in use.

 

 

The competition is open to student inventors with the ability and ambition to solve the problems of tomorrow. Winning solutions are selected by Sir James Dyson and show ingenuity, iterative development and commercial viability. This year Mexico, the UAE, Sweden and the Philippines, have joined the global contest. With students from 27 nations now competing, the award is set to welcome new approaches to a broader range of global issues than ever before.

 

Since the competition first opened fourteen years ago, the iconic inventor has already contributed over £1m to championing boundary-breaking concepts. To help finalists to develop their novel idea, each year the overall winner is awarded £30,000, and winners in each participating region receive £2,000. Unlike other competitions, participants are given full autonomy over their intellectual property. 

 

The James Dyson Award forms part of a wider commitment by Sir James Dyson, to demonstrate the power of engineers to change the world. The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, the James Dyson Foundation and James Dyson Award embody a vision to empower aspiring engineers, encouraging them to apply their theoretical knowledge and discover new ways to improve lives through technology.

 

 

International Winner:

Up to two International Runners-up:

National Winners 

 

Any university level student of product design, industrial design or engineering, or graduate within four years of graduation, who is studying or studied in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, the UAE, the UK and the USA.