By keeping his daughter safe, he made others safe.
Barry Dean’s daughter Katherine was born with cerebral palsy, and has used a wheelchair her entire life. Her dad became concerned about the risk of her tipping over in her wheelchair—which sends some 30,000 people to the hospital each year.
Barry was inspired to do something to keep his daughter safe. He began collaborating with his brother Jered who also happens to be an engineer. They developed a functioning prototype that “wouldn’t let her run into things or drive off steps” and that would “let her go out in the backyard by herself and get her help when she needed it.”
Surprised to find that there was no other technology that addressed this safety concern, the brothers decided to start a company to bring their invention to the public.
They created LUCI, a hardware and software platform that mounts onto a power wheelchair and “uses sensor-fusion technologies to allow the wheelchair to ‘see’ its environment and avoid collisions, prevent dangerous drop-offs, and provide unprecedented stability, security and cloud connectivity.” Best of all, it can be attached to a wheelchair so people don’t have to purchase a new one.
“What started as a labor of love among family members has ultimately created a safer, more stable way for people with disabilities to navigate their world and stay connected to loved ones,” Barry said.
https://luci.com/our-story/
https://www.rd.com/list/heartwarming-stories-of-dads-going-above-and-beyond/