Electric Wheelchair Future Technology

Even if visitors of Tokyo Motor Show expected revolution in electric car design, Toyota's i-Real is a leap forward compared to today's electric wheelchairs. i-Real is answer on how to relax legs, but ride in personal transporter device that looks as sleek as a Segway?

Now the next generation in this exciting personal mobility series is here – as almost every year on Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota introduced a new high end electric wheelchair concept, the new i-Real three-wheeled chair. The i-REAL is a personal mobility vehicle that represents the next stage of Toyota's personal mobility vehicle development, following the PM, i-unit and i-swing.

Toyota's i-real might lead to the next generation mobility devices for the handicapped. Its great design and mobility makes is ideal companion for metro users. i-Real represents next-generation of personal transport, positioned as a tough competitor to Segway offering an adjustable wheelbase – at slow speeds and in crowds the space between the two front wheels and one rear is small, thereby increasing maneuverability and lifting the rider up to eye-level…

Toyota is already dominating the green vehicle scene thanks to its Prius hybrid electric car. But Toyota is looking for expansion to new territories, and personal mobility is hotter than ever.  

Opinions are still divided – is it wheelchair, or is a scooter? Well, if you will call Segway a scooter, you can call i-Real a wheelchair. But truth is that both are new type of personal mobility devices, urban personal transporters.

Toyota is targeting i-Real at a variety of seated users who need to move around. Transporter offers a upright seating position that reclines as speed increases. Maximum speed of device is 20 mph (30 km/h). Even if 20 mph is nothing when compared to car, it is outstanding when compared to today's electric wheelchair, mobility scooters and personal transporter Segway, whose top speed is still limited to 13 mph. i-Real is controlled by two joysticks mounted at the end of the arm rests, making transporter easy to maneuver. Joysticks fall to hand, controlling forward motion, braking and turning, and once the speeds increase seat tilts back to stabilize the mobility device. Device can be used at different speeds – you can travel alongside very slowly walking pedestrian and have a eye-to-eye conversation, or run it as full speed and be faster than a sprinter.

Like previously shown concepts in personal mobility space, the I-REAL uses three wheels (two at the front and one at the back). In normal driving conditions (low speed) its wheelbase shortens to allow it to maneuver naturally among pedestrians at similar eyesight height without taking up a large amount of space. In high speed mode wheelbase lengthens to provide a lower centre of gravity and better driving performance. Device offers driver some fun as well, as it carves – tilts into a corner in the same way a motorcycle does when turning…

Some of the folks on the show were allowed to test the device, and they described it as quiet, intuitive and very easy to use, remarkably comfortable, easier to master than Segway…

Details on i-Real are scarce, but device features many new technologies – among them a system of perimeter monitoring sensors which ensures safe handling – both for the driver and pedestrians around the device! Sensors detect when a collision with a person or object is imminent and alert the driver and people in vicinity with light, sound and vibration signals.

i-Real promise of commercialization is drawing close, but no official timeline nor pricing were revealed. As we learned after the show, Toyota's representatives hinted that "i-Real will be real", which could have something to do with incredible positive reaction of the public. We expect to see Toyota moving towards the commercialization phase in mid 2008. Our guess is, that initial pricing will be around $8.000 (USD) – topping the price of current top performing Segway X2…

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