Electric autonomous wheelchair gets CES innovation award

Electric mobility chair developer and service provide Whill’s autonomous Model A power chair gets an Innovation Award at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas.

The annual awards honour outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products, with the Whill wheelchair recognised in the “Accessibility” category for features enabling seniors and persons with disabilities to easily navigate airports, regardless of cognitive, mobile, hearing, or visual abilities.

Passengers with reduced mobility are the fastest growing demographic in the airline industry, making it difficult for airports to meet the additional demands that come with accommodating their needs, says Whill.

By transporting passengers to their gates, the Whill autonomous power chair relieves demands on the airline of providing manual wheelchair push services, while helping passengers with mobility issues explore the airport with greater freedom, the company adds.

The user selects their destination on a touch screen and then hits start, with the autonomous power chair doing everything else.

The service is safe and reliable thanks to the power chair’s ability to independently detect and avoid obstacles in the airport using sensors and automatic brakes, says Whill, adding that soon passengers will be able to make additional stops at predetermined locations like restrooms, shops and restaurants.

The autonomous chair service has been tested in several US airports, including Atlanta, San Jose and Grand Rapids with excellent results, the company explains.

Last month, Whill announced the first permanent installation in North America at Winnipeg International Airport in Manitoba.

Whill’s Autonomous Service is intended to connect the world with walking-area mobility products and services.

“The ecosystem is adaptable to a variety of situations that require short-distance transportation. In addition to autonomous drive technology, Whill offers manual drive rentals to be utilised at malls, museums and other destinations, multi-day vacation rentals, and the Model C2 and Model F for full time use.”

It says it will also provide access to places not possible by other means of transportation such as electric kick scooters, bicycles, taxis, trains, and airplanes.

“Whill products and services are uniquely designed to reduce barriers and improve the quality of life for our customers,” says its North America chief executive Kerry Renaud.

He says Whill is delighted to be recognised by CES, “especially as we broaden our reach of innovative products to support customers in their full range of mobility needs, from personal mobility devices to fully autonomous and manual drive power chairs”

Whill received a CES Innovation Award in 2022 for its Model F foldable power chair designed specifically for travel.

The company provides Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions, offering autonomous and manual transportation services that make public spaces like airports, vacation destinations, and convention centres more accessible, including offering electric mobility scooters to fully autonomous power chairs in more than 20 countries and regions.

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