Written by Caroline Horn, ABC South East SA, December 11, 2023
In his shed south of Adelaide, mechanical engineer Tom Carr has been creating an invention he hopes will change the lives of wheelchair users.
Key points:
- Inventor Tom Carr is creating an alternative motor vehicle to help empower wheelchair users
- He is aiming to have a road-legal prototype of his “Magic Carpet” complete by the end of next year
- He says such innovations can make people “feel less disabled”
The Magic Carpet is intended as an alternative to a motor vehicle that eliminates the need for people to get out of their wheelchairs.
Mr Carr said the Magic Carpet was developed with the philosophy of “less but better” and a determination to provide fellow wheelchair users with a fast, efficient and independent mode of travel.
“I like a simple design that empowers people — that’s always been the thing that makes me tick,” he said.
Mr Carr’s prototype has already given him more independence on his rural property.
He is aiming to make a roadworthy model that could be sold commercially.
‘It’s been super useful’
Users hoist themselves onto the Magic Carpet via a small ramp, which then swings up behind them.
Once the wheelchair brakes have been applied, the user turns the motor on and they are on their way.
The Magic Carpet has a welded box steel chassis, a six-horsepower petrol engine and a carburettor and torque converter designed for a go-kart that Mr Carr purchased on eBay.
Mr Carr said the prototype cost $1,600 to build.
Mr Carr uses it to get around every day on his 93-hectare property.
“It’s probably limited more by my courage on the steeper areas than the device itself, but it’s been super useful,” Mr Carr said.
“I’ve been able to access sheds I couldn’t access and the dog and I have a much better relationship when she’s had a good run.”
‘Fast and empowering’
Mr Carr is looking to produce a roadworthy version with roll hoop, seatbelt and electric hub motor, which he says has the potential to give people far more independence.
“The problem with the wheelchair is … you do a transfer — so, you lift your bum from the wheelchair seat into the car,” he said.
“It’s quite strenuous and then, when you’re done, you lift your wheelchair over the top of you, you take the wheels off, lift it over the top of you, pop it into the car.
“You’ve done it four times to get there and back, and it tends to mean you don’t do things very often.
“I have this idea that if you are in a device that’s slow and cumbersome, it will make you feel more disabled than you are.
“[But] if you’re in something that is fast and empowering, it will make you feel less disabled than you are.”
‘Down to the essence’
Mr Carr came to Australia from the United Kingdom for a working holiday in 2011, but he and his wife Laura never went back.
They spent five years in Melbourne before moving to Adelaide and then to Ashbourne, a town of less than 300 people about an hour south of the city.
Within weeks of moving to their 93ha property, Mr Carr sustained a spinal injury in “a pretty nasty” vehicle accident.
He spent four weeks in intensive care and five months in rehabilitation before returning to the property.
Mr Carr said he started tinkering with disability equipment design when he was given a cumbersome shower wheelchair that weighed 26 kilograms and needed to be assembled and disassembled with an Allen key, which took about 10 minutes for each process.
He successfully designed one that was less than half the weight, could be unfolded in less than a minute and fit easily into the car.
Mr Carr said simplifying such equipment was a way to empower people living with disabilities.
“It’s about getting things down to the essence of what they can be,” he said.
Mr Carr now has his own company, Roark Design.
Eyes on the open road
After the shower wheelchair design was complete Mr Carr and his neighbour, Richard Hancock, began conceiving of the Magic Carpet.
The fellow share-farmer proved to be the “missing piece” Mr Carr needed to realize his vision.
“He is always badgering me,” Mr Carr said.
“He saw something like this in Murray Bridge in the ’80s and he kept on telling me about it.
“He’d come over with a beer and we’d work on it a bit, we’d talk about it and then work on it a bit more.
“I always say we won the neighbours lottery.”
The next step for Mr Carr is to get a vehicle engineer to outline the safety requirements and other features, such as suspension, as he works towards a roadworthy version of the vehicle.
He said the plan was work on a three-wheel design with an eye to low-volume mass production.
Mr Carr is aiming to have the first model ready to go by late 2024.
His work has been noticed by the trustees of the Julia Farr MS McLeod Benevolent Fund and although no funding has been finalized, a spokesperson said the trustees recognized the potential of the innovation.