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Williams F1 Sister Company Helps Design Innovative New Wheelchair Concept

Williams F1 sister company Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) has agreed to work alongside Whizz-Kidz in order to refine the Dream wheelchair concept, which has been designed by children for children.
Dream wheelchair prototype 7 photos
Photo: Williams Advanced Engineering
Dream wheelchair prototypeWilliams F1 carWilliams F1 carWilliams F1 carWilliams F1 carWilliams F1 car
The project began back in 2017 when charities Whizz-Kidz and Duchenne UK joined forces with academics at Edinburgh University to design a chair that would not just meet medical needs, but that would harness technology and design in order to further a young person’s dreams and aspirations.

The following year, Frazer-Nash Consultancy was brought in to help turn the project from a dream into a reality, resulting in the Dream wheelchair prototype being successfully launched in December of 2020.

In fact, the prototype proved so successful that the project was able to secure further funding from Duchenne UK and Motability Operations to examine the feasibility of bringing the chair to market.

Now, they’ve even brought Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) on board, who will use their expertise in product design to further improve the Dream concept’s design to include a smart features seat and kerb climb ability, while also ensuring that the seat can also support a modular construction.

WAE will call upon the knowledge it gained through a series of high-profile healthcare industry projects, such as Babypod (a lightweight incubator for the transportation of critically ill children) and a Paralympic handbike, in order to ensure that the individual needs of the user are central to not just the design, but also the manufacturing process of the wheelchairs.

“We are delighted to be part of this project and welcome the opportunity to contribute to a programme that will be making a genuine difference to people’s lives. Our experience with past projects has shown us the importance of prioritising the needs of the individual and we look forward to delivering some new and innovative design ideas,” said Paul McNamara, Technical Director, Williams Advanced Engineering.

We just love seeing projects like these come together, driven by necessity and goodwill. Furthermore, given their expertise, WAE really does seem like an ideal partner.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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