Equal opportunities for all. That’s the motto for everyone who believes in equality. Almost all the vehicles nowadays are designed keeping in mind normal individuals. In an environment like this, the physically challenged suffer the burden. Not only their bodies don’t support them, but even the environment they live in is also hostile to them. So, keeping in mind their problems, here are 8 of the best wheelchair for the differentially abled.
1. Freeroll Wheelchair for the differentially abled
The rollators and wheelchairs that are meant to aid the disabled or the injured are normally so bulky that often the person using it needs the help of another person to steer it. However, the Freeroll by Heikki Juvonen is a non-restrictive rollator that allows free and effortless movement for users. Basically designed for the every day use of the elderly, the Freeroll, positions the user as a part of the rollator, than being an extension of it.
Design status:
Freeroll is a concept design that breaks it apart from conventional rollators in a radical way.
Usability:
The Freeroll, rid of the hard plastic seats, comes with a light canvas seat that makes it lightweight and also doubles up as a protective belt for the user, something like the seat belts in cars. The height adjustability with folding rear fork, makes the rollator user friendly, regardless of the size and height of the user. Moreover, the innovative rollator is so compact that the users need not leave it outside the home or in their rooms. They can fold and carry it along, without a lot of effort.
Designer:
Heikki Juvonen is an industrial designer from Helsinki, Finland, who has studied in four different countries, including the Stanford University California, Hochschule Pforzheim Germany, Lahti University of Applied Sciences Finland and the International School of Beijing China.
2.SessiO Wheel Chair
Josh Waite from London has designed a hub-less chair for the physically disabled with an aim to give the sad wheelchair an eye-appealing existence. Dubbed as SessiO, the amazing product will be controlled and balanced with the help of segway technology, which uses five different gyroscopic sensors to keep the machine balanced.
Inspiration
The designer has fetched heavy inspiration from Oscar Pistorious, a Paralympics runner, who does not have legs. Despite this fact, Oscar can compete with common folks. This stirred Josh to craft a wheelchair that will give added freedom to the user’s arms and also have easier directional controls. The height of the chair can be adjusted for additional comfort with the push of a button. You can further manipulate it by leaning forward, backward, left or right. It will be best for people who have upper body mobility. The chair makes good use of just two wheels, which is possible because of the gyroscopic technology.
You can customize it
The turning circle of the chair uses the latest hub-less wheels. SessiO comes in different materials, depending on the price range. The basic model consists of sheet aluminum and steel, while one can also opt for the lightweight version in carbon fiber. You can customize it as per a user’s whims and fancies. You can also choose the upholstery from the buyer’s favorite fabric to add a special touch. The chair will lend comfort and you can exploit it for heavy usage. SessiO will be a high-end product, so expect it to come with a heavy price tag of approximately £5000.
3. Toyota i-Real Concept
The Toyota i-Real concept became quite popular in 2008 when it was first presented before the public. Richard Hammond showcased it in BBC’s Top Gear that year and thereafter it traveled to several other renowned talk shows and TV programs. The i-Real is a three-wheeled drive which runs on battery. These personal mobility concepts changes shape when user changes to high-speed mode from the low-speed mode. It came as a great disappointment when Toyota refrained from manufacturing i-Real.
4. Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility or PUMA
Segway and GM have together launched PUMA or Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Concept. It can help physically challenged individuals in moving more freely on their own will and complete different tasks without anyone’s help. The PUMA concept utilizes lithium batteries. You can control its self-balancing in-wheel motors with a flywire system and gyroscopes. By connecting it to a smart phone device the user can enjoy its vehicle to vehicle communication technology.
5. The Mountain Trike Wheelchair Concept
The Mountain Trike Wheelchair is for people who want to challenge their physical disabilities and enjoy the outdoors. It can move on different terrains like muddy tracks, sea beaches, snow-covered areas and gravel driveways. It got the Peterborough Mobility Roadshow 2011 Able Magazine Awards.
6. Universal Electric Scooter
The elderly and the physically challenged have a lot of problems while driving or riding. Most vehicles do not suit their needs. However, Universal Electric Scooter by Ji-Hoon Hong is a boon for the elderly and the physically challenged. These scooters come with adjustable seats and and allows easy accessibility, seat positioning, and of course better comfort. The front and the rear lamps indicate if the person is turning and thus also has universal safety. A really great design for the target group, but it must reach the stores.
7. EAZ Disabled Mobility Device 
Mildly or partially disabled individuals and elderly citizens who find it difficult to move comfortably can benefit by the EAZ Disabled Mobility Device. It eases the discomfort of moving through its innovative design. The designer Grayson Stopp has combined the elements of a wheelchair and a walker for making the EAZ Disabled Mobility Device more user-friendly. The self-balancing mechanism of this personal mobility concept lets users move in both a standing and a sitting posture. Adjustable seats and intuitive steering controls make the EAZ Disabled Mobility Device unique.
8. Combed slides
Moving from bed to wheelchair, and vice versa, on their own often become difficult for physically challenged, making them dependent on others for their basic needs. Providing a solution to the problem for the disabled, designer Patrick Decker has devised a multifunctional unit named “Combed” that when required slides out from under its U-shaped bed frame to form a wheelchair without wasting time as well as efforts. The bed and wheelchair in one, when used as a bed, offers a two-part mattress composed of a 7-cm-thick layer with air chambers, together with a 3 cm-thick layer containing gel, and when punctured, the air mattress doubles as a seat for the wheel-chair. Moreover, users don’t require any external help for this transformation.
Final Words
Physical disabilities limit an individual’s freedom of movement and curb their independence. In an age when every aspect of life-enhancing technology is progressing at a lightning fast speed the disabled people should also get some tech help. Designers have started offering interesting personal mobility concepts for physically challenged individuals. In the following, you will find some of the most interesting personal mobility concepts listed.
To enable physically challenged individuals to move around independently designers have started inventing high tech personal mobility concepts. The interesting new personal mobility concepts can change the way disabled people lead their lives completely.