Recumbent Vehicle Design and Entry for the 2020 ASME Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge; Representation and Equity Outcomes of Cycling Advocacy

The ASME Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge objective is to:
“provide an opportunity of engineering students to demonstrate application of sound engineering principles toward development of practical, efficient, and sustainable human-powered vehicles” (American Society of Mechanical Engineers [ASME], 2019).

My technical project is aimed at users that cannot ride a traditional upright bike and wish to substitute use of a car to travel in urban areas. Both the technical and STS research projects discuss methods of increasing cycling mode share in urban areas. Equipment choice changes the comfort, convenience, safety of cycling, and can affect an individual’s decision to cycle (Handy et al., 2013). If cities increase investments towards the safety of cycling infrastructure, lack of available cycling equipment may still prevent potential individuals from using new cycling paths. A recumbent tricycle can provide a means of transportation with designated cargo space, stable three-wheeled geometry, comfortable riding positioning, and protection from harsh weather that a typical bicycle cannot. This STS research paper analyzes the existing policies a cyclist is impacted by in major US cities, while the technical project proposes a stable and safe method of taking advantage of cycling infrastructure for populations averse to cycling.

School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Natasha Smith
STS Advisor: S. Travis Elliott
Technical Team Members: Todd Baber, Sandesh Banskota, Ethan Blundin, Ross Bonnin, Thomas DeAngelis, Michael Jeong, Yasmin Khanan, Jeanluc Lapierre, Brad Mahaffey, Coke Matthews, Jesse Patterson, Henry Qi, Kristin Schmidt