As we follow the technological advancements in field of assistive devices for the last five years, we are shocked by products on the market now and 5 years ago. Although we covered many news technology announcements, scientific breakthrougs and wrote about prototype products that are coming to market in 1-2 years, this still did not happen.
We can not disagree with Merlexi Craft people (manufacturer of plastic wheelchairs in the USA) in comment here when they say that most concept wheelchairs never make it to market even if they receive National Institute of Health funding. Major obstacle on the road to new products is extensive testing and govt regulations regarding to Medicare/caid. While smaller outfits and innovators have always had trouble finding funding; it now looks that bureaucratic/paperwork obstacles are even harder to break, not to mention that you need experienced people/lawyers just to navigate thru all the regulations and updates of updates on regulations…
Therefore public expects new products from big players, same companies that are on the bleeding development edge in various sectors (robotics, automobilism, autonomous home assistance devices) like Toyota, Honda. But even here – where are the Toyota i-Real? The Toyota i-Swing? The Honda Personal Mobility Device U3-X and Honda’s Robotic Leg or CLEG? Where is the powered ExoSkeleton? Where is the mind controlled electric wheelchairs controller? Where are stem cell powered engines/hybrid batteries? Where and when?
So for the near term we are not optimistic about the development of the assistive technology market and products. Way from lab and prototype to market is too long, too steep and too expensive!
NOTE: few words about Merlexi Craft – they are manufacturers of plastic manual wheelchairs, that are cheap (sub $1000) and light. They are made from lightweight plastic, have folding contoured seats, come in various colors and offer quick-release wheels/footrests… Special versions are available for hospitals – and such wheelchair is appropriate for magnetic imaging, is safe, durable and shellock approved… If would be nice to see if company can fit an electric motor on top of the plastic frame and create economically feasible electric wheelchairs for mass market… See introductory video below:
Electric powered wheelchairs are the only way of movement for too many disabled users. But motorized wheelchairs never really changed much from classical wheelchair design and concept – which is more than 100 years old.. Because of this, they are often also very expensive, and inaccessible to many, especially in developing countries.
But new concept designed by s Ju Hyun Lee, gives hope to change all that. Their proposal for solution is named NEWS (New Electric Wheelchairs) and is still in concept phase.
The main idea and technological breakthrough is that this is not selfstanding electric powered wheelchair, but rather an motorized wheelchair addon for existing manual wheelchairs. So it actually does not want to replace your existing electric wheelchair; rather it is attached to the standard wheelchair. NEWS gives instant electric motorized power to wheelchair.
Also the design of the concept is clean, well-thought and robust. It bring the design of 21st century to assistive devices. If NEWS concept becomes a reality, it will definitely change the industry.
Price wise not much is know, but it should not be expensive – meaning that once mass productions starts, we should see it at very competitive price point, which will make electric wheelchairs available to broader masses of people in need… Meaning it should be perfect for end users and also hospitals,therapy centers and nursing homes…
Honda announced the personal mobility device, theU3-X. Device lookslike robotic unicycle, and is designed to help people with disabilities to move around. Honda will showcase U3-X personal mobility device at Tokyo Motor show later in October.
Anyhow, U3-X is on contrary with Toyota’s i-Swing a small device, which is also very portable. It can be carried around and put in trunk with ease. U3-X has a seat height a bit higher than an average person’s waist line, so passenger must “jump†on it to commence the ride. Passenger then puts his his feet to the foot rests (similar as found on motor bikes). The rest is already known from segway – passenger leans in the direction he wants to go, and U3-X personal mobility device moves. It can drive in 8 directions (cross and diagonally as well) and reaches a top speed of 3,7 MHP (5,5 km/h) – meaning that it moves at pace of average persons walk.
Honda’s chairman Takanobu Ito commented that “And if my legs get a little weak, I would like to have one of these around the house. It makes it easy to move about.â€. We guess he has a big house… Honda did not want to comment on price and availability of the U3-X nor any plans to produce similar versions of power wheel chair or electric wheel chair devices like toyota i-swing where user sits and leans back on it…
Today experts from Veda International Robot Research and Development Centre in Japan, unvieled the prototype of a new type of electric wheelchair. New, high tech robotic wheelchair looks more like a scooter than traditional wheelchair, but it promises greater mobility for injured hospitalized patients, and hopes to replace not only existing wheelchairs but also two-wheeled vehicles of future.
New electric wheelchair is called Rodem. User sits on the four-wheeled wheelchair similar like on scooter. User rests his knees and chest on the cushions, steering the wheelchair with a joystick wile holding on to motorbike-style handles. The result is that user feels less load on their body.
The whole new approach to electric wheelchair design allows users to mount the device more easily, and dismount it quickly and with less strain and pain as well. Target audience are elderly, hospitalized for smaller injuries which prevent them from freely moving around without help. Rodem is lessening reliance on care-givers to lift these patients.
Rodem promises greater mobility. Its prototype was demonstrated in the medical university in Tokyo. The two main wheels of the Rodem are independently driven by a control valve type lead battery. Autonomy of the electric wheelchair is around four hours per charge. Maximum moving speed is 6km/h, but can be set to lower limits as well. The dimensions of the Rodem are equivalent to the size of a normal wheelchair, and it weights about 200 lbs (100kg). It also features small minimum turning diameter.
This is a bit older news, but somehow it got unnoticed by us at the time of launch… But still it is so interesting, that we are fixing our mistake and running a story! French company named HMC2Development has launched a stair-walking motorized wheel chair named TOPCHAIR in mid 2007! The motorized wheel chair was in development since 2001. This was even before the well known and world-wide appraised iBot Electric electric wheelchair… But the iBOT is a wheelchair that runs on wheels, and was first developed in 90s. While it can actually rise up on the rear wheels to attain a stand position and also has a certain capabilities of climbing stairs, the fact that it runs on wheels, makes this type of wheelchair less stable and so it has its limitations compared to the Top chair stair climbing wheelchair.
Topchair uses different approach to conquering the stairs, as it uses rubber tracks similar to those found in tanks. This technology allows Topchair motorized wheel chair to go up or down the 20 cm high step (8 inch) made from metal or wood or concrete with maximum slope of 33° (65%). It does so while user sits comfortably and safely onboard without any help of fixed structure like a ramp and with no need for an attendant.
Topchair uses two 60 Ah gel batteries, allowing it 35 km driving authonomy or over 300 steps in a single charge.
You are a big, strong person. All your life you’ve been known as rugged, out of doors, and powerful. Your first toy was a fire engine, your first pet was a husky, and when you got your first car, it was a truck. You know all the back roads by heart and you’ve never let anything get in your way for long. Now, life has put a new obstacle in your path; physical disability. Are you the type of person that is going to let that slow you down? Doesn’t sound like it to me! If life says you need a wheelchair, then you should demand one that matches who you are. A heavy duty person needs a heavy duty wheelchair.
The difference between a normal or electric chair and their heavy duty counterparts lies mainly in the construction. A conventional wheelchair will work soundly for many years on pavement, asphalt and indoors. They are meant for mainly urban and suburban environments. But try and take a conventional model down a trail, or over other bumpy terrain, and more than likely it can break.
Owning a portable wheelchair is an important first step towards reclaiming the independence that a disability can take away from you. Mobility is often times a challenge for the disabled, but it need not be. Putting an emphasis on portability instead of overall ability can change one’s entire outlook on life.
Owning a portable wheelchair means several things, some of them bad, but many of them positive. Consider that most wheelchairs can be a two person undertaking. This means that while in your chair, you will have a friend, family member or loved one always behind you, helping you on your way. For many, this is very comforting. Companionship of this sort will also help to bring you closer to those around you, and help elucidate the many reasons to be happy that these people are in your life.
Be it from injury, illness, or simply the wear and tear of old age, you now need a wheelchair in your everyday life. You’re means of moving around may have changed, but regardless of your situation, you are still the same person with the same style and look that you have cultivated your entire life. Depending on the type of wheelchair you pick, it too can be a part of your style. Why not try a jazzy wheelchair?
Everything you wear and do says a lot about you as a person. Instead of looking at your wheelchair as a handicap, why not embrace it as a new, stylish accessory? Find a shape and level that matches your own personal look, pair that with the right color scheme, and you’ll find yourself way ahead of the game!
Finding out that you will be living with a disability can be a devastating, traumatic event. It means changes in your life in many ways. Many will be difficult at first, but not all of these changes are bad. Acceptance of your disability is the first step towards emotional recovery, and with that acceptance comes the realization that when life gives you lemons, it also gives you all of the ingredients to make lemonade.
Life in a medical wheelchair offers a unique perspective. While it would be easy to focus on the negative, and say that what the standing can see, the seated cannot, the opposite is also equally true. What can be seen from a chair cannot be seen by the standing. Your view of the world may be slightly different, but you are still looking at the same beautiful, varied and fluid sphere. Take the time to appreciate what you can see. Realize that this consciousness is a gift, and use that awareness to take pleasure in things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
The questions surrounding wheelchair mobility are many and varied. Where can and can’t a person in a wheelchair go? What sort and quality of ride should be expected? How much of an expense will maintenance and repairs be? How does the quality of certain kinds of wheelchairs match up? As with any question of this magnitude, you should ask a doctor or other professional to advise you on the specifics of your situation. Nevertheless, there are a number of general guidelines that you can learn on your own.
A wheelchair is really only as capable as the terrain it is going over. Think of it as a car. You may have the nicest Humvee and the best driving skill, but if the road isn’t passable, none of that matters. This is true of wheelchairs just as it is true of people walking. So, your wheelchair mobility is more a question of the decisions you make regarding where you take your chair.
Honda
Today experts from Veda International Robot Research and Development Centre in Japan, unvieled the prototype of a new type of 
Finding out that you will be living with a disability can be a devastating, traumatic event. It means changes in your life in many ways. Many will be difficult at first, but not all of these changes are bad. Acceptance of your disability is the first step towards emotional recovery, and with that acceptance comes the realization that when life gives you lemons, it also gives you all of the ingredients to make lemonade.
Life in a medical wheelchair offers a unique perspective. While it would be easy to focus on the negative, and say that what the standing can see, the seated cannot, the opposite is also equally true. What can be seen from a chair cannot be seen by the standing. Your view of the world may be slightly different, but you are still looking at the same beautiful, varied and fluid sphere. Take the time to appreciate what you can see. Realize that this consciousness is a gift, and use that awareness to take pleasure in things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
A wheelchair is really only as capable as the terrain it is going over. Think of it as a car. You may have the nicest Humvee and the best driving skill, but if the road isn’t passable, none of that matters. This is true of wheelchairs just as it is true of people walking. So, your wheelchair mobility is more a question of the decisions you make regarding where you take your chair.