Ideas of the finalists of the competition for devices supporting the paralyzed

Toyota launched in 2017 with the Mobility Unlimited Challenge, a global competition aimed at gathering the most interesting ideas for a new technology that would change the lives of people struggling with lower limb paralysis. So CES 2019 was the perfect time to unveil the ideas of the five finalists as they compete for the $ 1 million grand prize. They have already received a grant of $ 500,000 to continue the work they will bear fruit in Tokyo in 2020.

Personally, I liked the Evowalk the most, i.e. the design of an intelligent legband from the American team Evolution Devices. It is not something invasive and big, because it comes down to a simple sleeve packed with sensors that monitor the movement of the legs and predict the next steps. All this to stimulate certain muscles in the legs at the right moment to make them move. Of course, this is even too good a solution, but maybe it turns out that its creation and development is not so difficult? Other inventions are much more visible and look like walkers, wheelchairs, and even exoskeletons.

So while Quix IHMC & MYOLYN is working on an exoskeleton that allows paralyzed people to get up, the Japanese Qolo adds a set of wheels for extra mobility and seating. By far the most surprising design is the Moby by Italian Italdesign, as it consists of a network of sensors built into a larger wheeled vehicle that wheelchair users can activate to turn their electric ride. The Phoenix Ai Ultralight Wheelchair, on the other hand, aims to tweak current wheelchairs by eliminating slight vibrations and unwanted twists by an intelligent chair that constantly changes its center of gravity in flight, leaving very little weight on the front wheels.

Also read: Samsung’s foldable smartphone will hit the market in the first half of 2019

Source: NewAtlas