Engineers at Calsky Design Studio in the southern city of Tychy have designed a wheelchair-accessible minibus in which a disabled driver will be able to transport wheelchair-confined passengers. In another project, the studio is working on the world's first disabled-friendly sports car that will combine therapy with racing fever.

The minibus is code-named CAL 5200 and has already won a silver medal at the 2006 Eureka World Exhibition of Innovation, Research and New Technologies in Brussels. Work to build a prototype of the vehicle is in progress. Once it is completed, the vehicle will enter production.

The CAL 5200 is a part of a broader project called Micro Bus, involving low-floor minibuses designed to transport people in wheelchairs and to be driven by disabled drivers. The aim is to form a municipal "door-to-door" transportation network for the disabled that they would run themselves as employees of the control room and as drivers.

The Micro Bus project is the brainchild of Jarosław Kałuski, an industrial and process designer, founder and CEO of Calsky Design Studio, and Marek Plura, president of the Akcent Association for the Therapy and Education of Disabled People.

In addition to Kałuski, the Calsky Design Studio team comprises Łukasz Kulczak, Stanisław Kawa, Dariusz Stanaszek, Marcelina Garcarzyk and Błażej Kałuski. The motto of the studio is "We never design anything we cannot make ourselves."

The prototype of the first CAL 5200 is being built in a consortium called the Design, Innovation, Integration Zone based in Tychy within the Katowice Special Economic Zone. This is also where the cars will be assembled in the future.

"This will probably be the world's first business incubator for people with disabilities," Kałuski says. "They will not only be the users, but also participate in the production process."

Granting the award to the CAL 5200 and the entire Micro Bus project, the judges in Brussels highlighted the fact that the project combined cheap and economical technology and attractive modern design with a well thought-out social project aimed at making life easier for disabled people. It will not only enable them to leave home and move freely around town, but will also create new jobs for them. Plura says Katowice has just one taxicab with a lift for the disabled. There are also too few wheelchair-accessible buses. When completed, the Micro Bus project will allow a greater number of people who are confined to a wheelchair to travel around the city.

The project's coordinators say that instead of spending zl.1 million on one bus with a special space for one wheelchair, the city should better create a whole transport system by spending the same amount on 25 minibuses that will carry 100 people and provide 60 jobs for disabled workers.

Aluminum wins

One special feature of the Micro Bus is its floor, which is flat along the whole length of the vehicle. Before it is lowered, the floor is 280 mm from ground level, and 130 mm after lowering. A wheelchair-confined person can board this minibus from any side; side access is provided by wide sliding doors, while the back features a tailgate that comes down as a loading ramp. The interior of the vehicle is spacious enough for easy wheelchair maneuvering.

CAL 5200 microbuses are planned in two basic wheelbase versions: 2.5 m and 2.9 m. The CAL 5200-2.5 is about the same length as the Fiat Punto and the CAL 5200-2.9 is similar in length to the Fiat Ulysse. The CAL 5200-2.5 and CAL 5200-2.9 vehicles can carry three or five people in wheelchairs respectively.

The driving devices have been designed to enable driving exclusively using the hands. A tilting steering column makes it easier for the disabled driver to take his or her place. Depending on the need, the driver can sit in their wheelchair or use the standard driver's seat.

The CAL 5200 is the first vehicle with its entire body made exclusively of lightweight aluminum extrusions. This means that the workstations where they will be processed can be operated by disabled people in wheelchairs.

"The choice and use of aluminum alloys on this scale brings measurable benefits that are hard or impossible to achieve using traditional materials," says Kałuski. "The most important benefit is that the car's frame and plating do not require painting; the paint shop can be eliminated from the production line. The unpainted frame is resistant to damage and scratching, so maneuvering wheelchairs inside causes no stress linked to ruining the look of the car." In addition, the vehicle does not corrode, which makes it highly resistant to intensive use. A non-corroding body guarantees a minimum of 10 years of continuous use.

The production of this car does not require any costly stamping dies, and the machine fittings involved are over 10 times cheaper than standard ones. Aluminum technology enables quick production launch, modification and further product development. The vehicle also consumes less fuel, since it is lighter.

The CAL 5200 will be assembled in cooperation with workshops run by the Design, Innovation, Integration Zone consortium. The designers would like to make the first 20 minibuses at production cost. Later the price will go up to zl.80,000-zl.100,000 per vehicle.

The center of the minibus network will be the Akcent Association, which will also deal with carrying out the Micro Bus project in other urban centers. The strategy for the network assumes that CAL 5200 vehicles and the related know-how will be made available to other centers dealing with the treatment and employment of disabled people, both in Poland and abroad.

Racing fever

The CAL 5200 is not the only vehicle for disabled people that Calsky Design Studio has on its drawing board. Work is also nearing completion to build a prototype of the Calster, "the world's first integration and therapeutic vehicle," as the designers call it, referring to its intended use as a means of integrating disabled people into the wider community.

Chronologically, the Calster project came before the minibus system. In fact, the CAL 5200 was based on earlier experience gained in building the Calster. Its design allows it to be driven by both disabled and able-bodied people, and production staff can include people in wheelchairs, as in the case of the minibus.

At present, the Calster is the world's only "sports car" designed for therapeutic purposes and the first "integration-oriented" sports vehicle that requires no adjustment to be driven by an able-bodied driver or a paraplegic. It is not meant for city driving; its purpose is to move around recreational grounds and centers that help people with disabilities, and to ensure safe competition on a racetrack. It is targeted at young disabled users. Kałuski says that manufacturing and using the Calster is planned as a kind of psychotherapy for young people who are confined to a wheelchair due to an accident or disease and cannot take part in regular physical exercises and sports. "We have already had visits from young people with disabilities who cannot wait to see the Calster finished. They have said that the car's design will make them feel special when they drive it; it's something no one else will have," Kałuski says.

Visually, the Calster is the product of an intentional "design cocktail"-a mixture of stylistic features taken from roadsters, hotrods, buggies and 1950s Formula 1 cars. The vehicle's credentials as a vintage sports car are highlighted by its protruding fenders. The front fenders turn with the wheels. The Calster is lightweight and has efficient brakes and a low center of gravity designed to offer young people a lot of driving-and racing-excitement.

One of the main objectives in designing the Calster was to turn all the technological restrictions into aesthetic assets. The most prominent example is the 3D body framework made of welded steel or aluminum alloy sections. All the fusion welds are in plain sight, as in mountain bikes. The upper bodywork with the frame forms a firm safety cage around the driver. The tubes of the cage running overhead enable the driver to hold on to them and lift their body. This means the driver can easily adjust his or her position behind the wheel at any time.

Both the front and the rear of the car are designed to absorb energy in the event of a collision. Safety parameters were a priority consideration during the design work.

The Calster weighs only 300 kg, enabling it to be hauled to sports events on a platform trailer pulled by a passenger car.

All the driving devices and controls are operated manually. A simple-to-use control switch operated with the right hand controls the gearshift, clutch, main brake, hand brake and throttle. This is a purely mechanical device, with no pneumatic, hydraulic, electric or electronic components, which increases its reliability.

Even though the Calster is meant for driving without using the feet at all, gas and brake pedals can be fitted on request. The dashboard has all the indicators and switches that a dynamic sports car should have. On the track, the Calster achieves a top speed of about 60 kph.

This car is largely based on parts and components taken from the once popular Fiat 126p. This especially applies to the suspension system. Thanks to this, the cost of assembling one car is about zl.18,000, and other advantages include inexpensive spare parts and simple maintenance.


Not for profit

Quite apart from its automotive value, the Calster is an educational and therapeutic tool targeted at technical schools, sports clubs and associations, and centers that help disabled people in both Poland and abroad. The designers' intention was for this vehicle to find its way to the largest possible number of European Union institutions where young people are educated and undergo treatment.

The Calster can be offered as a ready-made vehicle or a kit for the buyer to assemble. The designers from Calsky Design Studio are implementing the Calster project as part of the D.I.I. Zone consortium as a non-profit undertaking.

"We are not making this vehicle for the money," Kałuski says. "The people working with us share a special approach to the world. We believe that empathy is an important part of a designer's work-trying to put ourselves in the role of the future users of our products. We make tools that serve to start up certain processes among people, to genuinely integrate the disabled and the able-bodied as they work and have fun together. We aim to prove that design can serve broader ideals than just making specific devices. This is not just about technology; it's about humanism."

Ewa Dereń