Students at Virginia Tech create a one-handed bobsled steering system for paraathletes

Blacksburg, Virginia – Virginia Tech engineering students are creating history. They are transforming the sport’s future by assisting a wounded veteran in becoming the first one-handed competitor to control a bobsled.

We had an athlete who had one arm attend a summer camp a few years ago. According to Team USA Para Bobsled Pilot DJ Skelton, “That was a first, a first for the sport.”

“Can those with limited upper-limb mobility drive a bobsled?” was raised when Army Veteran David Snypes, Jr., who had his arm amputated following a motorbike accident, arrived at a Team USA Para Bobsled training. Are you able to steer with just one arm? A group of Virginia Tech engineering students sought this challenge.

According to VT Para Bobsled Project Team Leader Morgan Mocso, “in the past, the only athletes who were willing to try the sport were those with back or lower body injuries because you can’t really push on a rope when you’re steering a bobsled, which requires two ropes.”

The students were required to construct a one-handed bobsled steering rod for Snypes as part of a final design project. Pilot DJ Skelton and other Team USA Para Bobsled members tested the system and

And lo and behold, it succeeded. “You mean I’m still here?” Skelton asked. After that, Snypes was able to give it a go and became the first athlete to steer a bobsled with one hand.

Regardless of the hand used, a new student-led team is working this semester to develop a lift and make sure the one-handed system can withstand higher g-forces, faster speeds, and safe use by athletes from all starting locations on the track.

“Select a little, I have a solution scenario from your bird’s eye view. After you get that answer, you begin modeling it in a computer system and using computer-aided design. After that, you begin testing remodeling. Justin Capan, the VT Para Bobsled Project Team Leader, stated, “But everyone works really hard and we all have the same goal, which is also really important.”

Trials will be held in one of the world’s most challenging bobsled courses, Lake Placid in New York. If it is successful, bobsledding will open up new chances for athletes with disabilities.

“This should theoretically be able to be used anywhere in the world at any bobsled track at any competition if we can get it tested to the top of Lake Placid, which is what we’re hoping to do by the end of the year,” Skelton stated.

This innovative partnership was facilitated by QL Plus, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with college engineering students to develop and construct assistive technology for disabled veterans.

“We have the opportunity to collaborate with exceptional kids and courageous veterans, and we are able to bring these two groups together to create something very special. They’re having a great time and working on a project that someone cares about. According to QL Plus Executive Director Mark Robbins, “it truly makes a difference in their lives at the end of the day, so for us, it’s rewarding.”

The lift and steering system’s initial design is being worked on by the students.