Schoolgirl designed StairSteady to help those with walking difficulties climb the stairs as part of her school project. Now she's running a firm selling StairSteady. She's just 16, and it's predicted StairSteady will make her a millionaire.
When Ruth Amos created a design for a handrail as part of a GCSE project, her main focus was to ensure she would get a good grade. The 16-year-old schoolgirl never expected that her design idea would be turned into a device that has helped change the lives of disabled and elderly people.
Now, three years on, she is running an expanding firm - and in a few years could potentially earn millions. This week the teenager's achievements were honoured when she was presented with the Young Star award at the Women of the Future awards in Central London.
Those using the StairSteady push the bar along the rail to help them balance when they want go up and down the stairs. The bar uses friction to lock itself in place so users can pull themselves up to the next step. It will lock in place if the user falls or stumbles. When not in use, the handle can be pushed flat against the wall.
Ruth's design was so good that a local company made a prototype for her. She won the Young Engineer of Britain award in 2006 and started her business - all at the same time as taking and passing 15 GCSEs.
The StairSteady, which costs £470, has been so successful that Miss Amos is now considering selling it abroad. She currently sells it nationwide, in partnership with Minivator, the UK's second largest manufacturer of stairlifts, and it is being bought at a rate of more than three per week.
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2009/11/girl-16-stumbles-upon-riches-from-stairsteady-idea-for-school-project.html
43 Comments
demon_ixSimple, useful, way cheaper than those chair-elevator things.
Good for her, I say.
quantumushroomAlways thought this was a brilliant idea.
conansays...this is incredibly clever. i want one for my granny.
ryminsays...The song clip that plays at the very beginning of this video is from one of my fave porn clips of all time. weird.
Zifnab*british
siftbotAdding video to channels (British) - requested by Zifnab.
necrontyr*viral ?
siftbotInvocations (viral) cannot be called by necrontyr because necrontyr is not privileged - sorry.
nominoWhy would this be viral?
>> ^necrontyr:
viral ?
siftbotTags for this video have been changed from 'old, people, 16, stairsteady' to 'old, people, 16, stairsteady, disability, mobility, solution' - edited by littledragon_79
BicycleRepairMan*howto make money and help people at the same time
siftbotAdding video to channels (Howto) - requested by BicycleRepairMan.
KreegathThinking of getting one myself. If it indeed works as intended, this would be a wonderful invention!
RhesusMonkLol. You think this hasn't been thought of?? The first time anyone takes a tumble, this girl is gonna lose not only every dollar/pound she's ever made on this project, but all her earning potential for the foreseeable future. Anyone who's ever been to law school can see this is a terrible idea. Do you know what negligence means?
radxI'd guess people outside the US see it as a help to climb stairs rather than an opportunity to sue someone. If it passed rigorous safety tests, I applaud her for it.
Payback>> ^RhesusMonk:
Lol. You think this hasn't been thought of?? The first time anyone takes a tumble, this girl is gonna lose not only every dollar/pound she's ever made on this project, but all her earning potential for the foreseeable future. Anyone who's ever been to law school can see this is a terrible idea. Do you know what negligence means?
Yeah, it means a failure to act as a reasonable person would be expected to act in similar circumstances. Which is completely baffling if you think she's negligent. If the people who use it are negligent, then that's their own damn fault.
This is a tool. It requires basic skill and experience. You sound like the imaginary guy who wanted to sue an RV maker because his RV crashed after he set the cruise control and went in back to grab a beer.
All your lawsuits are belong to insurance companies.
PaybackThat all being said it would suck if someone went stair-steadying down the stairs before you.
budzosI got a rod this chick can grab.
entr0pyWait. . . how is it that you can push on it to descend, and pushing on it catches you if you fall? Still, that's pretty impressive. It certainly does seem more useful than a banister. If not more useful than two banisters.
westyLol this video is so badly put together , it would not have cost much to make something that added more value to the product rather than making it look like a hunk of metel produced in some back yard scratty factory.
maby model the adverts to look something similar to the wii fit adverts.
xxovercastxx>> ^entr0py:
Wait. . . how is it that you can push on it to descend, and pushing on it catches you if you fall?
When you lean or fall against it you're applying rotational force and the clamp won't slide. In order to move the bar you have to apply a linear force which requires a little more care. I'm guessing if you fell just right, with all your weight very close to the fulcrum (probably not the correct term to use here), you might get it to slip a bit.
chilaxeMore technology stealing our jerbs! Derka der!
lampishthing>> ^chilaxe:
More technology stealing our jerbs! Derka der!
THEY TOKK ER JOBSSSSS!!!!!
spawnflaggerI think it's a great idea.
The only problem I see is when grandchildren try to use it for "stair gymnastics"...
(of course, that doesn't mean it's the manufacturer's fault that people are stupid. Cant wait to see the first "stairsteady fail" video online. Or perhaps some creative individual will find a way to combine a skateboard and the stairsteady for EIA goodness. schadenfreude indeed.)
Mashikisays...>> ^Payback:
That all being said it would suck if someone went stair-steadying down the stairs before you.
I'm living back at my parents place right now because my mother has limited mobility and my father can't take care of her on his own. Usually in a house if you have a person with limited mobility, it's just one. Not two, if you have two people they generally move somewhere else like a single story dwelling with easier access to everything.
Personally for someone like her, with a few stairs in the house this is brilliant. I doubt she'd be able to get up stairs, they're just too steep. But it'd make it easier in some other places around here, and they can't afford to sell this place right now.
agoposays...A british girl that's actually HOT? What gives?!
SericIt would be alot safer if she implemented a clip or something at the bottom and top of the stairs so that the bar can't swing down. I can imagine an old person putting their weight on it to get them up/down the last bit and it would just swing down out of the way. Granny falls on floor pretty hard. Granny has mixed feelings about the whole affair. I don't think I'd buy one yet.
Mcboinkenssays...[redacted]
deathcowgrannys cant lift 3 ft steel bars
mxxconi can still see a falling hazard when somebody going downstairs will pull on that handle to unlock it and then start moving forward while still pulling on the handle. It will remain unlocked.. Person might not fall all the way down, but enough to cause injury.
i think some sort of simple ratcheting mechanism that would allow moving only 1-2 steps per unlock would be a safer solution.
If there's more than one person needed to use such device, they can attach 2 handles.
ravermanShe's Discovered Something AMAZING!
spoco2>> ^RhesusMonk:
Lol. You think this hasn't been thought of?? The first time anyone takes a tumble, this girl is gonna lose not only every dollar/pound she's ever made on this project, but all her earning potential for the foreseeable future. Anyone who's ever been to law school can see this is a terrible idea. Do you know what negligence means?
You sir, are what's wrong with the world at the moment. Thinking of everything as possible litigation.
This is a great idea, you don't think any of those mechanized chair lifts have never broken down? And you also don't think they have liability insurance? Truly you're an idiot.
Oh, and for the person that said 'what if someone used it before you'. Well, if you're in a household with more than one person who needs this, you have the ends have room to hold more than one bar... problem solved.
BoneyDHaters gonna hate.
But I hope she makes a zillion bucks out of this.
kymbosThe level of heated debate in this thread is disproportionate to the innocuousness of the video.
You have been warned.
blankfistAl Gore invented the internet.
cybrbeast>> ^mxxcon:
i can still see a falling hazard when somebody going downstairs will pull on that handle to unlock it and then start moving forward while still pulling on the handle. It will remain unlocked.. Person might not fall all the way down, but enough to cause injury.
i think some sort of simple ratcheting mechanism that would allow moving only 1-2 steps per unlock would be a safer solution.
If there's more than one person needed to use such device, they can attach 2 handles.
Look at the design and you can see that you can't unlock it while going down. It has a square clamp and a square rail so it can't rotate. It can only rotate on the end parts because those parts of the rail are round.
Opus_Moderandisays...>> ^agopo:
A british girl that's actually HOT? What gives?!
oh come on now...
what i want to know is if there's going to be a left handed version...
swedishfriendsays...It is perfectly safe. It will only move when there is a light force applied. as soon as there is any larger force applied it locks. Simple perfect design. All you have to focus on is making it and the installation strong enough.
-Karl
RyjkyjIf this girl only makes a million for this idea it would be a shame. And I bet it would be the result of some sleazy business reptile.
And Opus: WTF? You'd just turn the bar around for a left handed version.
xxovercastxxcorrection: 16 yr old has ridiculously simple idea, makes £££
bamdrewhmm... lotta fat people in the US...
FlowersInHisHairShe should be very proud of herself. Not only has she got an idea that deserves to make her a lot of money, but it will really help a lot of people. Win/win!
Opus_Moderandisays...>> ^Ryjkyj:
If this girl only makes a million for this idea it would be a shame. And I bet it would be the result of some sleazy business reptile.
And Opus: WTF? You'd just turn the bar around for a left handed version.
i hope you realized i was kidding...
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