Wheelchair users face the toughest challenge getting around uneven surfaces, especially climbing or descending stairs.
However, a group of ambitious students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and the Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland have come up with a long-awaited solution.
They have designed an automated electric wheelchair that can climb stairs and can handle the roughest terrain. The two-wheeled electric wheelchair is named ‘Scalevo,’ and everything on it is automated.
Here are some of the features of Scalevo:
- Scalevo uses gyroscopic technology, similar to a Segway system.
- It has the ability to ascend and descend stairs.
- The track mechanism of the wheelchair drops two rubber tracks to handle slopes up to 34 degrees.
- It can even scale spiral staircases.
- On a flat surface, Scalevo can cover up to 6.2 miles (10 km) in an hour.
- Scalevo can mount one stair per second at the press of a button.
- The alignment of the wheelchair on the stairs is automated.
- Wheelchair users can view the back with the help of the rear view camera.
The Scalevo is not yet commercially available, but the developers of Scalevo are considering crowdfunding to make it available for everyone.
