The upwardly mobile Scalevo wheelchair is like the electric wheelchair’s badass cousin. Looking a little like a motorcycle and inspired by Segway technology, Scalevo balances on two wheels. When it approaches a set of stairs, a pair of tank treads extend to let the chair easily ascend or descend with no outside help.

The Scavelo rolls around nimbly on its two wheels; when the rider needs to climb a staircase, he backs the seat up to the stairs. The seat lifts up a bit to keep him level at all times, at the same time exposing the tank treads. The treads slowly roll up one step at a time. At the top of the stairs, a tiny set of wheels pop down to make a smooth transition from stair-climbing configuration to the regular riding configuration.

Even when not traversing staircases, the Scavelo is pretty impressive. It’s equipped with headlights and taillights and a body that is far more attractive than we’re used to seeing on a wheelchair. The current iteration of the Scavelo doesn’t move very quickly and the climbing modes have to be set manually, but those issues will be resolved as the technology is refined further.

Created by a team of ten electrical engineering and industrial design students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Zurich University of the Arts, the Scalevo seen here is a prototype. The students behind it plan to enter it in Cybathlon, an athletic event for physically disabled people using assistive technology.

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People stricken with Parkinson’s Disease often find it very difficult to write or draw due to a condition called Micrographia. The disorder causes cramped, difficult to read handwriting. In a lot of cases, the afflicted person simply gives up on trying to use pens or pencils.

ARC is a prototype device being developed by designers Lucy Jung, Tian-Jia Hsieh, Hwan Soo Jeon, and Danny Walklin. Collectively known as Dopa Solutions, the group has created the very first pen meant just for Parkinson’s patients who also suffer from Micrographia.

The ARC contains high frequency vibration motors inside of the pen’s body. The vibrations from the motors stimulate muscles in the hand to help the user write steadier and more clearly. The vibrations also serve to make the pen easier to move across the paper – a huge help to those who have difficulty with fine motor movements such as writing.

Although the designers have conducted only a small study with 14 patients, they reported an impressive 86% improvement rate in the participants’ writing. Given that one in 500 people has Parkinson’s, the vibrating pen technology could prove to be life-changing for so many people. There is no word yet on if or when the design team plans to release the ARC pen for commercial purchase.

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After Andrew Slorance fell from a tree and became a paraplegic at the age of 14, he realized just how primitive and “horrible” wheelchairs are. He spent 20 years envisioning the perfect chair, and eventually he designed the stunning Carbon Black.

Slorance’s design remakes the traditional wheelchair from a stifling metal device to a sleek, gorgeous, minimalist vehicle. Carbon Black is a monocoque design with an integrated chair rather than a separate frame and seat.

Made of carbon fiber, the Carbon Black is exceptionally lightweight and strong. The team behind the design also believes that it is the easiest manual wheelchair in the world to push thanks to its impressive strength to weight ratio.

Pulling apart a standard wheelchair for transport can involve fabric snags, oil stains, and heavy, unwieldy components. The Carbon Black was designed to be simple to transport and has an oil-free design to keep your hands and car upholstery clean. The heaviest component weighs less than eight pounds, making the Carbon Black one of the easiest wheelchairs to independently transfer.

Clothes guards, optional LED lighting system, and fabrics that don’t retain water all make the Carbon Black a wheelchair that focuses more on the user experience and less on the chair itself. It can be built to custom measurements with unique features that help it blend seamlessly into a user’s life without the intrusiveness of a standard chair.

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Tiny chihuahua TurboRoo was born with no front legs – a condition which might have led to a miserable life if he hadn’t managed to find his way to a group of very caring individuals. TurboRoo’s breeder knew that he would need special attention, so surrendered the little pup to a vet clinic in Indianapolis.

The workers there fashioned a makeshift wheelchair for TurboRoo using toy parts. As far as helping him walk, it worked just fine – but the staff knew he would need a more high-tech solution to give the pup a happier, healthier, more normal life. They started a fundraising campaign that raised an enormous amount of donations and caught the attention of Mark Deadrick. Deadrick is a mechanical engineer and president of 3dyn, a high-tech specialty fabrication shop.

Deadrick saw a challenge in the little chihuahua’s situation and decided to design a custom mobility solution for him. He used a 3D rendering program to design a small wheeled cart, then printed it out on a Makerbot 3D printer. He attached some inline skate wheels to the cart and TurboRoo’s new ride was ready to go.

Deadrick has since made two other prototype carts for TurboRoo. The first version was a bit too big, the second version was a bit too small, but the third prototype with four wheels is working well to help him get around. Once he reaches his full-grown size, TurboRoo will get a custom carbon fiber cart designed from a mold of his body that will fit him perfectly and stay with him for the rest of his life.

Besides garnering national attention and the generous efforts of 3dyn, TurboRoo has found a family as well. Ashley Looper, a vet tech at the hospital where TurboRoo was surrendered, adopted the little guy and has given him a forever home where he’ll be well cared for. The money raised from the fundraising campaign will go toward paying for TurboRoo’s permanent cart and the remainder will be donated to helping other animals with disabilities.

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The ReWalk, the first FDA-approved exoskeleton for home use, was a tremendous leap forward in mobility solutions for paraplegics. However, the ReWalk requires that the user retains full function of his or her arms and, as such, can only be used by about ten percent of wheelchair users. Dr. Amit Goffer invented the ReWalk and is a wheelchair user himself, but even he can’t use the exoskeleton. That is part of the reason he’s now working with RehaMed Technologies to develop a mobility solution that is closer to a Segway than to a wheelchair.

The new invention is called the UPnRIDE, and it gives users the option to travel sitting or standing. While standing wheelchairs are nothing new, what sets the UPnRIDE apart is its incredible stability. Whether in a sitting or standing position, the user’s center of gravity remains the same. This reduces the chances that the user will fall – but if an accident should take place and it looks like the user is about to fall, safety arms pop out to catch him/her, kind of like the airbag safety system used in cars.

Dr. Goffer is enthusiastic about the prospects of the UPnRIDE in part because of its ability to easily navigate urban environments. While in the standing position the UPnRIDE resembles a Segway, which Dr. Goffer considers an important point for younger wheelchair users who want to avoid the stigma and limitations of being confined to a wheelchair.

Oren Tamari, the CEO of RehaMed Technologies, says that the UPnRIDE is still a couple of years away from being ready for market, but it’s only a few months away from the prototype stage. Thanks to the researchers’ hard work, the UPnRIDE could soon do for quadriplegics and MS patients what the ReWalk is doing for paraplegics already.

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