Toyota I-REAL Concept WheelChair
- Filed under: Technology
- Date: Sep 1,2008
Toyota introduced a new high end electric wheelchair concept, the new i-Real three-wheeled chair. The i-REAL is a personal mobility vehicle that represents the next stage of Toyota’s personal mobility vehicle development, following the PM, i-unit and i-swing.
The I-REAL uses three wheels (two at the front and one at the back). In normal driving conditions (low speed) its wheelbase shortens to allow it to maneuver naturally among pedestrians at similar eyesight height without taking up a large amount of space. In high speed mode wheelbase lengthens to provide a lower centre of gravity and better driving performance.
Maximum speed of device is 20 mph (30 km/h). Even if 20 mph is nothing when compared to car, it is outstanding when compared to today’s electric wheelchair, mobility scooters and personal transporter Segway, whose top speed is still limited to 13 mph. i-Real is controlled by two joysticks mounted at the end of the arm rests, making transporter easy to maneuver. Joysticks fall to hand, controlling forward motion, braking and turning, and once the speeds increase seat tilts back to stabilize the mobility device.
Here is a short video of I-REAL, Toyota’s concept wheel chair:
Device can be used at different speeds - you can travel alongside very slowly walking pedestrian and have a eye-to-eye conversation, or run it as full speed and be faster than a sprinter.
