Electric Wheelchair Future Technology

In start of October, a powered wheelchair that moves when user thinks on particular word, was demonstrated by American company Ambient. The electric wheelchair operates by catching the signals sent from user's brain to their larynx (voice box), even when there is no audiable sound. Wheelchair was developed to help people with spinal injuries, or neurological problems like cerebral palsy or motor neurone disease. This revolutionary brain interface allows user to operate computer and other equipment despite serious problems with muscle control. Similar to autonomous remote controlled electric wheelchair we already wrote about, this system allows user even more freedom, as all user has to do is think of the word. System consists of larynx (voice box), which user must be able to operate - and most likely can, even in the event of poor muscle coordination necessary to produce coherent speech.

This breakthrough voice boy system called larynx control system, or shortly "Audeo", was developed by researchers Michael Callahan and Thomas Coleman at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US, who together also founded Ambient. 

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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

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When choosing, buying and using a product, never mind whether it is a electric wheelchair, mobility scooter, electric car or a glucose meter for diabetes… technology does play an important role, but what really makes or breaks user experience is the design.

Therefore we have to thank designers, that help push technology further every year - making it smaller, cooler, friendlier and more ergonomic… One of the biggest design contests for technology is the Autodesk's Inventor Student Design Competition organized by Technische Universiteit of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

This year a team of Polish design students (Michal Piersa, Milosz Jamrozy, Igor Modelski,Bogusz Radziemski, Rafal Krzysiak and Kamil Ruszczyk) from Politechnika Warszawska University won a grand prize for their design of futuristic wheelchair!

Quick inspection of design reveals that wheelchair is manual, designed to be driven by muscular force. The main invention is inclusion of gyroscope mounted underneath the centrally positioned seat. This concept is already known from Segway and some other stair climbing electric wheelchair models (check out our review of iBot). This allows wheelchair to remain vertically stable while only using two wheels. Hidden on the rendered picture, but visible when inspecting model in 3D (you can download the Autodesk's DWF file here for free), is the battery required to power the gyroscope. What kind of battery is used, is unknown, as this is

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Otto Bock HealthCare, a global manufacturer of prosthetic components began developing a prosthetic knee system in 2006. Project started when company was awarded a three-year $1 million contract to develop a leg that will allow US Army service members to stay on active duty if they choose to, and Otto Bock seem like logical choice, as their C-LEG product was ahead of the competition in this field.

The current C-Leg allows users a choice between two operating modes: one for walking and another for bicycling (or any other preprogrammed activity). The "problem" is switching between modes, as the wearer has to swing the leg forward in a jerky fashion. The new C-LEG will support up to 10 programmable modes, switchable through a small remote control about the size of a car alarm remote. Reprogramming a mode with another special activity will still require a visit to a technician…

The new C-LEG project is currently in the prototype stage, and if there will be no bigger technical problems, the new prosthesis should be available to US army service members in 2009, which means that in 2010 or at most a year after, it will be also available on free market. The new, much improved system will cost the same, as current C-LEG offer - approximately $30.000. C-LEG is special because it is hydraulic prosthetic leg based on technology similar to Segway… C-LEG's CPU brain automatically adapts to changes

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Each day future of mobility looks less and less like the automobile – old concept of moving a few tons of steel to carry one or two people is far from optimal, and in the age of global warming, eco-friendly transportation is becoming hot topic. Analytics already voiced expectations that market for short-distance, one and two person transport vehicles will emerge very soon (by 2009), and we speculate that first design units to accommodate this new market, are being developed today under electric wheelchair tag…

Recently we saw plethora of electric wheelchairs with a fuel cell unit, and here we are reviewing five of them… The most coverage definitely got Suzuki's MIO concept, which was based on Suzuki's previous electric wheelchair "Senior Car" operable with a handlebar, but is now a motor driven wheelchair that runs on electricity produced by fuel cell unit. MIO is told to be user-friendly and also boasts a longer travel range compared to existing electric wheelchairs with a lead-acid battery. MIO's fuel cell unit employs a direct methanol that directly supplies methanol to the cell for hydrogen reaction along with a large-capacity Li-ion secondary battery. The hybrid wheelchair can run 40 km (25 miles) or more with one recharge of methanol (4 liters), and allows easier handling because there is no need to recharge from the mains power source as with electric wheelchairs, and at the same time offers user more information thru LCD display with information on remaining fuel, power generation state… Details on the fuel cell unit and the Li-ion secondary battery were detained, as Suzuki marked MIO as a prototype. This could mean that MIO still has many problems or that

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ALTERNATIVES

This is part 3 and conclusion of brain controlled assistive devices future… We have reviewed three products already on the market (or in last stages of development), and today we will check what else is out there, and what alternatives exist… At the end, we will wrap our closing thoughts on cost and whether and when pricing of these devices will fall on more acceptable levels…

OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator

The newest player in brain controller technology is PC memory maker OCZ, known especially in over clocking community. Their latest brainchild, the Actuator (based on Cyberlink's Brainfingers) claims to bring mind controlled functionality to mass market for a price below $300. Device is identical to Brainfingers, therefore we will not review it in depth. It will suffice to say, that it tracks movement of user’s eyes, monitors brain waves and picks up facial muscle movements uses recorded signals to link to input commands on the computer, allowing user to play Tetris or even a first person shooter, or trigger external commands, i.e. piloting electric wheelchair

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As we cover technological breakthrough in mobility and accessible devices, most of our coverages are focused on new technology or some other improvements. One common thing to all these new and upcoming devices and solutions is that they are very expensive, carrying a price tag of many thousand dollars… Ingenuity of a charity Free wheelchair mission could challenge all commercial devices, and drop price point for wheelchairs dramatically! 

Many of us can not afford new electric wheelchair every time we wish to. Medicare and other insurance companies always seem to find a just reason to dodge the payment. But we are still scratching only the surface of the problem, as worldwide there are over 100 million people with need for a wheelchair (manual or electric), but can not afford it. Charity organization Free wheelchair mission is helping these poorest of the poor, by giving away wheelchairs for free. "So what?", you say. Sure, we have had charities and donations before, giving away wheelchairs, but mostly they can help a few, or mostly up to few dozen people. What sets Free wheelchair mission apart, is their plan, and their numbers. In last five years

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All parents can empathize with the challenges that both parents and children face while dealing with a disability. So it is no coincidence, that engineers at the Bath Institute for Medical Engineering, have designed the Wizzybug - electric mobility buggy for disabled children under five. Smart design makes buggy look less electric wheelchair and more a toy, so end result is that other children want to use it. The Wizzybug is also fitted with a towing hook so that a trailer can be attached and towed. In evaluations of Beth Institute, friends of the disabled children wanted using Wizzybug saying, "I like your car, where did you get it from?".

Wizzybug incorporates suggestions from therapists and parents, and has top speed of two miles per hour. The Wizzybug electric wheelchair weighs 31 kg (69 lbs), and features fully adjustable seating system with memory foam cushions. Wheelchair buggy has a programmable joystick and can be controlled either by the child or by a parent/caregiver. Wizzybug can be used both indoors and outside. Recommendation is to keep it on even grounds, but either way

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This is part 2 of brain controlled assistive devices future…

In first part of the article, we already reviewed the Cyberlink Brainfingers device, and this is the continuation of the article, covering the other two products on market…

The notion of using brain activity to interact with devices isn't new. A number of schools–such as the University of Minnesota; University of California, San Diego; and Purdue–have research labs devoted to decoding thoughts from the brain and manipulating cursors on a screen, which is especially useful for disabled people. In addition, companies have cropped up in the past couple of years claiming to offer an effective brain-computer interface for video games or for biofeedback purposes. For instance, S.M.A.R.T. BrainGames, a company based in San Marcos, CA, sells EEG caps designed to treat people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

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Recently we had an opportunity to see interesting BCI solutions (Brain-Computer Interface), that provide a new communication channel between the human brain and the computer (also allowing operating various devices). As you probably know, mental activity leads to changes of electrophysiological signals like the Electroencephalogram (EEG) or Electrocorticogram (ECoG), and BCI systems detect such changes and transform them into control signals which can, for example, be used as control devices for operating electric wheelchairs.

One of the main goals for BCI devices is to enable completely paralyzed patients (locked-in syndrome) to interact with world around them (use mouse pointer on computer, communicate over internet) and to make their life more accessible (operating electronic devices, driving electric powered wheelchair)…

What seemed to be science fiction yet a decade ago is now a reality. We witnessed the demonstration of three devices, developed by companies with completely different background. The operating details for three devices are way different, yet all devices follow the similar concept, but come at different price tag and availability. Cyberlink’s Brainfingers is already on the market, Emotiv’s is in final stages of development and is scheduled for 2008, and the most advanced one, Guger Technology's g.BCI is still in research and development, although it already shows remarkable advancements.

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