Just because you can walk on your own two doesn’t mean you have to use an old crutch or a pathetic looking wheelchair wherever you go. There’s no dearth of innovative wheelchairs in the market that won’t let you regret the loss of not being able to drive all the cool bikes out there. Here is one such wheelchair, which you can almost call the Harley Davidson of wheelchairs.
Sidewinder Wheelchair
Paying homage to American war veterans who lost mobility during their services to the nation, Jordan Meadows Design has popped up a wheelchair that other than its functional use also restores a sense of dignity for the user. The “Sidewinder,” as they call the wheelchair, makes use of styling and manufacturing practices borrowed from the custom motorcycle and cruiser bike industry. The Harley Davidson of wheelchairs, the Sidewinder adds a sense of style and desirability to the devices of war veterans. Designed to maintain or reflect the individual personality of the user, the stylish wheelchair can be customized through an array of seat inserts, wheel constructions and frame finishes, allowing a personalized ride to the user.
Some Other Innovative Wheelchairs in the same segment
If you didn’t like the sidewinder wheelchair, or if you just want to check other options here is a list of six more innovative wheelchairs that would definitely make your jaw drop to the ground.
1. Big Foot Wheelchair by Wai
Wai Lam tries to break the barriers of restriction with his new concept of a wheelchair.
Opting for moulded material instead of the usual metals, he is successful in creating a unique wheelchair that is a combination of sophistication and confort.
The uncoventional design of the Big Foot Wheelchair resembles a silhouette of a person sitting down. Besides giving the wheelchair a fresh look, the unusual shape perfectly fits to the contours of a human body, thereby giving a feeling of utmost comfort and security.
Lam’s choice of material helps in making this wheelchair very light as compared to its metal counterpart.
The sleek design of the Wheels maintain
2. Self-powered wheelchair
Moving unaided on a wheelchair becomes a difficult task for the physically challenged, which becomes more risky during night. Adding mobility to the life of the disabled, a group of South Korean designers, including Min-Goo Kim, Yun-Jin Chang and Su-Eun Park, has come up with an innovative wheelchair that produces and accumulates electricity, as the disabled move it during the day, to light their way at night. This not only makes mobility safe for the users, but also produces green energy and supports a green lifestyle. Featuring LEDs that emit light during night, the wheelchair makes use of magnets that convert the wheel rotation into electricity in the electric plant, while the coil moves power through wires to the switch and LEDs. Moreover, users may check the gathered electricity on the LCD display located in the center of each wheel.
3. HYBRID wheelchair
Wheelchairs may allow movement to the physically disabled, but most of the mobility aids currently available on the market present a complex design, which becomes more a bane than a boon for the users. Amalgamating the premium features of a powered and a manual wheelchair, Turkish designer Göktürk Topuz has created a functional mobility device that ensures effortless movement without any assistance from the others. Hailed as “HYBRID,” the hi-tech wheelchair features a body finished in CRP (carbon reinforced plastic) structure, which makes it lightweight but at the same time rigid to allow better controls to the user.
Powered by two hub motors located within the rotation center of each wheel, the HYBRID wheelchair improves the movement capability of the user without creating any obstacles. Moreover, the artistic design of the wheelchair infuses a lively spirit into the lives of the physically disabled.
4. Movetto px4 electric wheelchair
Designed specifically for people with physical disabilities, the Movetto px4 by designer Pamela Lindgren is a functional wheelchair that moves like a Segway and doubles as a car seat to drive the car. Adding comfort and mobility to the life of physically challenged, the power wheelchair is not only user friendly and convenient but also ensures safety by including a seat belt. Inspired by Vespa, the electric wheelchair generates power from front wheels, but is controlled by the rear wheel. The wheelchair also touts a zero turning radius, which lets it turns around its own axis.
5. Hubles Wheelchair
Despite the fact that a wheelchair is one of the few means that allows mobility to the physically impaired, there is a great scope for improvement on its limitations, which causes numerous problems, such as body posture and pressure sores, to the users during long-term use. Making mobility easy and brisk for the wheelchair users, designer Thomas Ross in collaboration with Dave Cochrane has come up with a smart mobility aid concept that combines a teardrop extrusion, located at the back, with Herman Miller’s Aeron chair fabric, the Pellicle, to negate the negative effects of contemporary wheelchairs.
In addition, the futuristic wheelchair features a rear ball assembly that allows an almost zero footprint-turning circle for easy movement within or around the house. While a modified oleo based suspension, connected to the main drive and power pack beneath the seat frame, supports effortless movement on different gradients.
If the user doesn’t wanna use his or her one or both hands, the radical wheelchair
6. Catapult: Lever drive wheelchair
Wheelchairs may have added mobility to the static life of the physically disabled, but they too have their own limitations. Improving the conventional wheelchairs, designer Tom Robbins has popped up a unique mobility aid which makes use of lever for easy and brisk movement. Called the “Catapult,” the foot-controlled wheelchair is driven by both the upward and downward motion of the levers. Locating the gear shifter on the left handle and the brake on the right, the wheelchair also integrates the outriggers on the front wheel, where the user can place his or her feet for controlled movement.
Via: Designboom