Life in a wheelchair is a life sentence in many ways and those regular old wheelchairs don’t make things any easier. Sure, they may get you from A to B but in terms of innovation, they pretty much suck.
Designers and physicians around the world have been working together separately to make the lives for those confined to wheelchairs a lot easier.
Collected in the shot above are 9 of 15 next-gen wheelchairs – some concepts but many having made it to a prototype – and all showing how the simple wheelchair can be so much more.
Not only do they look like the Ferraris of the wheelchair world (except maybe the Steampunk one), they perform like them too since these babies have been designed with functionality at their heart.
Read on to see some of them close-up
The Elevating Wheelchair
As the name implies this chair by design student Jake Eadie allows the user to access the rest of their home without the aid of others.
The Elevate Wheelchair
The Elevate Wheelchair is a similar concept but as you can see much different in design. Created by Nicolas Bonhommeau allows users to reach objects that would be normally out of reach.
Futuristic Wheel Chair
The funky looking Futuristic Wheel Chair by designers Thomas Ross & Dave Cochrane uses cutting edge materials and design to solve a few common wheelchair problems. The teardrop extrusion on the back allows use to carry their belongings without needing a backpack.
Pressures sores are a common problem which is why the designers opted to simulate Herman Miller’s Aeron chair fabric, Pellicle. The inclusion of a rear-ball solves the usual wheelchair turning circle problems by giving the chair an almost-zero footprint turning circle.
And let’s not forget that the users can control the chair using an iPhone 3GS.
For more on these and other cool wheelchair concepts – check out the Design Blog story here.
Tags: design, disability, medical, wheelchair