Thanks to students at ETH Zurich, Giuliano Carnovali can film in his wheelchair

Giuliano Carnovali is a passionate filmmaker. He regularly shoots clips for his TikTok account. He’s been in a wheelchair since an accident five years ago. «When I move around in a wheelchair, I don’t have enough hands to film because I have to steer with them,» explains Giuliano. But certain shots are more dynamic. So he called upon ETH Zurich for help. As part of a course, a group of students took on the challenge of making it easier for Giuliano to film in a wheelchair.

Presenting the problem

I hear about the project from Francesco, one of the students who modified Giuliano’s wheelchair. He contacts me because they need a gimbal for it – something my employer provides. So I meet up with them to look at the group’s project.

On a rainy afternoon, I meet Francesco Bianchi, Valentina Haas, Michela Calabrò and Rahel Kaufmann at ETH. Giuliano is also on site. Today, they want to attach their solution to the wheelchair for the first time. «First of all, we had to sit down with Giuliano to understand the problem in detail,» Francesco explains. Giuliano’s wheelchair-compatible bracket is one of three projects that students on a course at ETH were able to sign up for. The teams were then put together by the lecturers based on their skills.

The idea

After the first exchange with Giuliano, it’s clear the students will have to abandon their original plan, a construction similar to a camera car. «We said to ourselves: why should we build something when we can use an existing gimbal? It’s tried, tested and works,» says Francesco. The students then get to work. Their idea: attach a gimbal to the wheelchair so that Giuliano can film to his heart’s content. At first they consider using a gimbal for interchangeable lens cameras. But the structure would be too large. So they later switch to one for smartphones. They divide the tasks according to their individual strengths.

During my visit, the students are filming. They’re videoing their work as proof of their achievements. Leaning against a chair in the room is their solution for Giuliano. It sort of looks like an arm. The team plans to attach a metal tube vertically to the wheelchair. Using a ball bearing, they then want to fix the arm – a square tube – at a 90-degree angle. This will allow it to swivel so that Giuliano can get in and out of the wheelchair. «We drew the arm on the computer and had it made by the ETH metalworker,» says Francesco. Today, the students are checking whether the adapters, used to attach the arm to the wheelchair, fit.

Various adjustments

It soon turns out the adapters don’t work. The 3D-printed adapters can’t be attached to the wheelchair as they’d like. The angles of the wheelchair frame are to blame. «Although we have the plans of the wheelchair from the manufacturer and have seen it live before, certain angles aren’t drawn in or we can’t see them on screen.»

Instead of attaching the arm straightaway, the students have to change the design. But they go ahead without printing another 3D prototype. «We don’t have the time. We have to hand the project in soon.» So they send the revised CAD drawings to the metalworker so he can mill them out of metal. «We’re confident that it’ll fit now.»

In addition to filming and adjusting the adapters, the students also discuss the position and height of the arm. Should it be fitted on the left or right side of the wheelchair? How high should it be? And where should we put the mounting screws for the gimbal? At the moment, it’s still attached with adhesive tape and cable ties. Later, however, it should be easy to attach and remove using a screw, similar to cameras on tripods.

However, the arm shouldn’t just be for the front of the wheelchair, but also the back. This will allow Giuliano to film from a wider angle. «I’m looking forward to the new perspectives when the arm is finished,» he says.

The result

A few weeks after my visit, Francesco sends me a group photo:

«It’s turned out way better than we thought. When you were there, the adapter, which has now been christened «Wheelcam», was disproportionately large. However, after we adjusted it, it fits perfectly and at the right angle! We already have a first potential order from another wheelchair user.»

Despite their satisfaction, the students are also critical: «We should have been more agile in our planning. We very quickly settled on something that wasn’t adjustable. Furthermore, with more agile planning, we wouldn’t have had the time pressure at the end.»

And Giuliano? «The device looks great. It reminds me of a Space Rover. I can’t wait to film with it.» You can see his first attempts with the Wheelcam in the video that the students made for their coursework.