FRCC Students Build Assistive Devices for $200—and Real People Use Them
FRCC engineering students designed wheelchair boosters, smart sun visors and compression socks—all for $200 per team and all for real people who need them. The semester-long capstone at the Larimer Campus replaces traditional exams with prototype iteration.
Engineering faculty run fall and spring Engineering Design Expos at FRCC's Larimer and Westminster campuses showcasing 10-week student projects in assistive technology. The expo functions as a training ground linking FRCC's engineering pipeline with the local disability community—and as a pathway to four-year degrees at reduced cost.
"All of the projects here are based on the experience of some real person who said, 'I have this problem. Can you fix it for me?'" said Anne Wrobetz, an engineering faculty member at FRCC.
Students define their own problem statements through interviews with local residents, then design and build solutions under tight constraints. Wrobetz explained that students "don't have to worry about exams" but must "make it work," mirroring real engineering practice.
Hailey, Jillie and Phil built a joystick-controlled wheelchair booster they called the "Power Roller" using an Arduino motor control system and recycled scooter and bike parts. "My mother-in-law is the inspiration," Phil said. "She recently lost a leg and uses a wheelchair." The team stayed well under budget at $128.
Mason designed an attachable automatic sun visor after his grandfather struggled with sudden glare while driving. Mason, Nick, Jay and Rahzel moved from interviews and cardboard prototypes through CAD modeling and 3D printing, navigating safety regulations along the way.
Samuel, Jozy, Layne and Kevin created adjustable compression socks for people struggling with stiffness who find standard medical socks difficult to put on while maintaining therapeutic pressure.
"This is a good way to go hands on and see what it's like to be an engineer and how to go through the engineering process, fail, go back to the drawing board and then make something better," Jozy said.
Engineering instructor Lisa Weber said the semester's students connected deeply with their stakeholders to develop designs that were functional and meaningful.
The expo is part of a larger effort to make engineering degrees affordable and accessible. FRCC's Associate of Science in Engineering degrees allow students to transfer to CSU, CU or Mines while saving roughly $16,500 over two years compared with starting at a four-year university.