ElectricWheelchair
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Whill's new electric wheelchair is light, portable and fast
Whill's electric wheelchair picked up the award for Best Accessibility Tech in last year's Best of CES, and now it's back with a newer, lighter and more portable version of that vehicle. The Model Ci uses a lithium-ion battery and can travel 10 miles on one charge, with a top speed of five miles per hour. (We took the Model Ci for a brief spin and we're happy to confirm 5 MPH is plenty fast for everyday navigation; it's a light jogging speed). That battery makes it lightweight, too; the entire thing weighs 115 pounds. The Model Ci is available today for $4,000.
Robotic wheelchair concept adds leg-like movement, tackles stairs with ease (video)
Why choose between legs and wheels when you can have both? Well, that's the theory behind a robotic wheelchair concept from the Chiba Institute of Technology, which uses leg-like motion to conquer obstacles a run-of-the-mill wheelchair can't. The key is the five axes its base rotates on, allowing individual wheels to be lifted off the ground and moved in a walking style. It can tackle steps and various other obstacles whilst remaining stable, and can even turn 360 degrees around its center with the help of some onboard stabilizers. A gang of sensors on the chair detect incoming obstructions and deal with them automatically, but changes in wheel torque can act as substitute triggers, should the sensors fail. Judging from the video below, it's pretty advanced for a concept, but its creator wants a bunch of people to try it out so he can "fine-tune the user experience." It may not be quite as cool as Stompy or the mighty Kuratas, but it's definitely more practical for a trip to the shops.
Military terrain-sensing tech to enable smarter electronic wheelchairs
Work being done by researchers at the Florida A&M University / Florida State University College of Engineering aims to make life a little easier for those folks who rely on electric wheelchairs by using automatic terrain-sensing tech originally developed for military robotic vehicles. Their prototype electric wheelchair can detect hazardous terrain and change driving strategies appropriately is so promising that the US Army has provided funding. If all goes well, we could be seeing these new-age chairs within five years -- CES 2016 can't come soon enough.
