Vikram Dinubhai Panchal
For a Backpack that can Become a Pushcart, Simplicity is Genius
Design competition winners are often futuristic, with complex materials and major price tags. The winner of design site Core77’s first competition is just the opposite.
The submission is by Vikram Dinubhai Panchal, from the National Institute of Design in Ahmadabad, India. Panchal's "Load Carrier" is intended to help laborers in the developing world transport various materials. It is easily constructable, made with inexpensive and easily found materials such as cane, plastic, and metal, and costs about $6.80.
The Load Carrier has three different modes for lifting and carrying, allowing loads to be hauled above the head, on the back, or, for particularly heavy weights, by pushing or pulling.
Essentially, It's a backpack with wheels. It's a pushcart with straps.
Extremely simple in function and construction, devices like this may not be instantly exciting. However, the potential it has to improve working conditions, and to prevent expensive or debilitating injuries for poor workers, is great. For a mere $6.80, life could be made a lot more comfortable for a workforce that needs all the comfort it can get.
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