Scottish designer wins $1M to develop smart chair

FORRES, Scotland – Phoenix Instinct was recently named the winner of Toyota’s Mobility Unlimited Challenge, a three-year long contest meant to drive innovation in the field of assistive technologies, for its intelligent ultra-light carbon fiber wheelchair.
The small, Scotland-based company beat out more than 80 teams from 28 countries around the world for the title and—more importantly—the $1 million prize to further develop its Phoenix i, which continuously adjusts its own center of gravity to match the user’s center of gravity. And that’s just the beginning, says Founder and CEO Andrew Slorance.
“Phoenix i will have a range of sensors and ports that can be equipped with new capabilities as they evolve,” he said.
Slorance, a wheelchair user himself, suffered a spinal injury in 1983, and says that, while technology has evolved drastically since then, wheelchairs haven’t kept up.
“It made no sense to me that the product wheelchair users rely on more than any other, isn’t advancing beyond its basic mechanical creation,” he said. "A smart wheelchair could warn of a raised paving slab ahead, intelligently add braking on a steep hill, connect with a smart home, and accurately count calorie burn and distance travelled.”  
Slorance’s next step is turning the working prototype into a production model, which will take about 18 months. This involves implementing production processes, testing the chair and electronics, and gathering feedback from a user group prior to making it widely available. Roll out will start in the U.K. and build toward global distribution, including in the U.S.
“Because the smart features will be add-ons to the basic chair, this modular system should help us achieve at least some coverage from insurers,” he said. “I believe the new chair will reduce injuries for manual wheelchair users. Once we can evidence this, we should see insurers come onboard.”