PHOTO COURTESY CARBON BLACK SYSTEMS

MOVING WITH THE TIMES

Just like our able-bodied counterparts, people with disabilities have busy lives and places to be: jobs, meetings, appointments, dinners, movies, concerts, sporting events, airports and literally everywhere else. People with disabilities make up a significant part of the population – nearly 16 million Americans use wheelchairs, canes, crutches or walkers. Barriers to accessibility place additional hardships on those who use wheelchairs or other assistive devices and disrupt their overall freedom of movement. Recently, EP surveyed the landscape of personal transportation and wheelchair innovation and have gathered a selection of notables for our readers.

GETTING THERE JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT EASIER THE WHILL MODEL A

Whill has set out to redefine personal mobility by helping individuals go anywhere in style and comfort. Living an active life is important, and people with disabilities deserve a mobility device that fits the lifestyle they want to lead. Their newest offering, The Model A, is not only safe and easy to use, but its modern, sleek design is as functional indoors as it is out.

The Model A is a smart example of the newest innovations in Personal EVs. Its responsive controls, compact frame and tight turning radius make it extremely agile indoors, allowing users to maneuver around the house with ease and complete control. The Model A's all-wheel drive, front Omni-wheels, power and speed also make it ideal for shopping, dining, and navigating crowded events. While scooters may tip or become unstable, the Model A's low center of gravity and electromagnetic brakes ensure the operator is safe and secure. Glowing rear tail lights make sure everyone sees that the Model A is on the move.

Model A's ergonomically designed, sculpted seat cushion and contoured back support offer comfort not found in standard chairs. With adjustability to ensure a custom fit, it's the most comfortable seat in the house.

NEW THRESHOLDS: The Model A's patented front Omni-wheels are equally beneficial indoors and out, allowing the Model A to rotate on its axis, maneuver in tight spaces, to cross thresholds and other obstacles and to navigate uneven terrain, all while providing a smooth and comfortable ride.

Getting there just got a whole lot easier with Whill's Model A. The intuitive, easy to use directional controller can be adjusted for both speed and responsiveness, ensuring the user is always in complete control. Whether precision or speed (or both) are needed, the smooth, responsive controller allows individuals to navigate with confidence. Friends or family members can also do the driving; the Model A's iPhone app allows a companion to drive the device, so they can walk and talk alongside the user while they enjoy the ride. The iPhone app also provides a new level of independence. Move to a couch or other seat, then use the app to remotely drive the Model A to an out-of-the-way corner of the room.

With simplistic beauty and innovative engineering, the Model A provides mobility in a highly functional, stylish and unobtrusive way. And with all-wheel drive for increased maneuverability, stability and improved braking, users can be confident that they are safe and secure wherever their path leads. Model A's moveable arms and electronic sliding seat are unique features that enable its users to easily transfer in and out of the seat without obstacles. These thoughtfully-engineered features also allow easy access for studying, working and dining. The seat is positioned at a height that allows it to fit under most tables and desks, and it electrically slides forward up to 5.9", so a driver can pull right up and join the meal.

Whill's patented front Omni-wheels are equally beneficial indoors and out. They allow the Model A to rotate on its axis, maneuver in tight spaces, to cross thresholds and other obstacles and to navigate uneven terrain, all while providing a smooth and comfortable ride. Made up of 24 independent multi- directional rollers, Omni-wheels eliminate the need for problematic swiveling casters.

Through ingenuity and intelligent design, Whill has created a functionally balanced personal mobility device that thrills drivers. Model A users feel empowered, and eager to take on every opportunity life offers.

WHILL, INC. Web: whill.us Email: info@whill.us Phone: (844) 699-4455

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES SCEWO BRO

The Scewo Bro is a next-generation wheelchair that uses rigid rubber grips as a way to navigate up and down steps, including even spiral staircases. It can also lift users up to either provide them with a better vantage point or allow them to grab out of reach objects. This self-balancing, stair-climbing wheelchair was the result of a collaboration of five masters students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Zurich University of the Arts.

"Scewo gives a completely new experience of freedom, and lets you forget your disability," Bernhard Winter, one of the leaders behind the project said. "The wheelchair is very agile indoors and allows you to drive and turn in a tiny space. It removes any barriers in your life, allowing you to use the public transport such as buses and trains effortlessly. The few steps in front of a restaurant or the flight of stairs on the way to work are no longer an obstacle because you can climb them in a smooth and elegant way."

Three gyroscopes measure the angular velocity of the wheelchair and automatically keep the chair balanced. Driving the wheelchair up and down steps is virtually effortless, according to Winter. Accelerating and then rapidly breaking won't buck a user out of their chair because of the lack of horizontal forces involved. "The challenging part about the balancing control was to be able to steer it with a joystick," Winter said. "This is unique in our chair and allows people without any upper body strength to drive around with Scewo without problems."

RAMPING UP: Scewo Bro uses rigid rubber grips as a way to navigate up and down steps and can essentially transform a city's staircases into wheelchair ramps.

Bernhard Winter says that using the Scewo Bro can essentially transform a city's staircases into wheelchair ramps. "We cannot wait on having all these ramps built," says of urban mobility. "This is why we developed this product, so it gives you back mobility and freedom."

SCEWO Web: scewo.ch Email: info@scewo.ch Phone: +41 44 500 86 03

SIMPLE DESIGN, EFFORTLESS PERFORMANCE CARBONBLACK

CarbonBlack is an innovative and futuristic wheelchair made almost entirely from carbon fiber, the super-lightweight material used in Formula One racing. With three times the strength of steel and up to five times lighter, CarbonBlack's innovative carbon fiber is molded into an ergonomically-designed form that is stylish, lightweight and futuristically minimalist in appearance. Arguably the most compact rigid-frame lightweight wheelchair on the market, it dismantles in seconds into easy-to-transport parts, none heavier than 7.7 pounds. The distinctive black chairs can even include LED lighting so that hidden curbs and other obstacles are visible to users at night.

There are several benefits that users of the CarbonBlack chair will immediately enjoy, including an incredible strength-to-weight ratio – the lightest unit weighs just over 12 pounds, including wheels and tires. And the CarbonBlack may be the easiest manual wheelchair in the world to push, providing unparalleled energy efficiency.

In addition, the monocoque has suspension qualities without the weight and loss of pushing performance common with conventional wheelchair suspension. Carbon fiber is a smooth material that won't hurt your hands, leave black marks around your home or scratch your car. It allows designers to create the beautiful sculptural shapes and ergonomic load-spreading forms seen in Formula One racecars in a lightweight wheelchair.

MOD SQUAD : CONVENTIONAL WHEELCHAIRS MODIFIED WITH POWER

For wheelchair users, having a functional and easy-to-use chair is a must. But the best chairs are often far beyond the financial capabilities of most families, leaving many users with labor-intensive non-motorized wheelchairs.

Designer Ju Hyun Lee introduced a simple alternative to expensive electric wheelchairs — an add-on device that gives power to traditional wheelchairs. The NEWS (New Electric Wheelchairs) device fits over the wheels of a conventional wheelchair, with a control bar that sits above the user's lap. It provides power to the chair, making it easier for the user to get around without assistance or the tiring, repetitive motions of propelling the wheelchair with muscle power. The brilliant design would be less costly than buying a new motorized wheelchair, but provides just as much power to get the user on their way. Once attached to the chair's wheels, the NEWS can be pushed down to the floor to allow the user to exit the chair easily. Easy-to-use joystick controls make it simple to get around. Though still a concept, this innovation could one day provide increased mobility in nursing homes, hospitals, and private homes without the exorbitant cost of motorized wheelchairs.

Inspired by his grandfather who has been in a wheelchair since the age of 20, designer Oscar Fernandez created the electric Independent Wheelchair Assistant to help users independently access their local communities in a safe and easy way. The design utilizes the user's own wheelchair, acting as a true assistant and eliminating the need to constantly transfer between other devices like scooters or power chairs. The user attaches to the NEWS IWA device from the rear via a small bracket that must be attached to the wheelchair. The bracket slides into the back of the IWA, lifting the two front castor wheels of the wheelchair off the ground. The bracket locks into place, securing the chair and transferring the weight evenly across the four large wheels of both the IWA and the user's wheelchair. Equally simple controls allow the connection to be made or released with the press of a single button. There's even a headlight for night riding!

PHOTOS COURTESY YANKODESIGN.COM/TRENDHUNTER

BLACK BEAUTY: Carbon fiber technology is the miracle material that makes CarbonBlack the most energy efficient manual wheelchair on the planet, giving users the ability to go further with less strain.

Sleek and beautifully designed, the manufacturers of the CarbonBlack see the chair not just as a mobility and independence aid, but a perception revolution that is changing the wider public's view of wheelchairs and their users. CarbonBlack was specifically aimed at active independent users and each chair can be custombuilt to the users' requirements, style and preferred color, as well as a range of experience-enhancing extras.

CARBON BLACK SYSTEM LTD Web: carbonblacksystem.com Email: info@carbonblacksystem.com Phone: +44 (0) 131 589 2475

SEE THE CHILD, NOT THE CHAIR CHAIR4LIFE

The Chair4Life (C4L) initiative was developed by the England's NHS National Innovation Centre (NIC) in response to clear statements of clinical need from users, carers and health experts. The priority need was to create a specification for a wheelchair that would be easily adaptable for a growing child, improve quality and provision of equipment, promote independence and improve a child's quality of life.

Renfrew Group unveiled the innovative modular children's wheelchair Chair4Life system designed to address the unmet needs of disabled children and young adults. The Chair4Life presents the concept of a compact universal, modular wheelchair system allowing wide specification to cater to the physical and social demands of a user's life, capable of addressing the needs of at least 80% of pediatric powered wheelchair users aged 4-18 years old.

Emphasis has been placed on producing a user-centered design that adapts to an individual's growing needs, with a seat and components that grow with the child, yet is compact and lightweight.

The seat grows via the implementation of ISO Mount, "a universal modular docking system that attaches the seat to the chassis lift mechanism allowing swift replacement of successive seating modules," says Bruce Renfrew, Lead Designer of the Renfrew Group.

It can be modified quickly to accommodate monitoring and care equipment, extra storage and accessories. The system also gives third-party manufacturers the ability to provide upgrade features within the fixed base platform.

"This means more patient choice, improved quality of products and new components to drive innovation within the industry," says Renfrew.

Other features include vertical lift as standard – a feature demanded by young users, to allow eye level interaction with peers, which the consultancy says will facilitate social and educational development and improve feelings of dignity and independence. An adjustable wheelbase ensures adaptability for indoor and outdoor conditions as well as the option for compactness giving greater maneuverability in small spaces.

"Chair4Life, a chair for living, was really designed by the users. 'See the Child, Not the Chair' was a constant motivation. Of equal importance was creating a modular wheelchair system which makes a real difference to patients and their carergivers" said Michael Phillips, Design Development Director of Renfrew Group. By growing with the child and allowing later modifications, Chair4Life provides an efficient and long-term dimension to innovation and lays the foundations for proposed transformations within wheelchair services.

GETTING A LIFT: The C4L's main platform includes a vertical lift to allow the user to rise to eye level with his or her peers, facilitating social and educational development.