While many public places are required to be wheelchair accessible, there are still so many places where stairs prohibit wheelchair access. This incredible two-wheeled wheelchair called the Scalevo, which was a final-year student project, could change countless lives because of its stair-climbing technology.
Miro Voellmy, a mechanical engineering student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, explained, “The great thing is that everything on this wheelchair is automated. If I want to climb the stairs I can just drive up to them, turn around, press one button and all I have to do is control the velocity I want to drive at. The alignment on the stairs, the leveling of the wheelchair driver, is automated and he can control it, he can view the back with a back facing camera, and have a full, safe, driving experience.”
Scalevo is not yet available commercially, however, the 10 students who developed the wheelchair are thinking about making a Kickstarter campaign to make the chair available to everyone.
For most people in wheelchairs, getting up stairs like this would be nearly impossible without the help of someone else.
The two treaded tracks climb backwards up the stairs, and can mount one stair per second. The chair can even climb curved stairs like spiral staircases.
Watch the entire video below to see just how this incredible invention works.
[Featured image credit: Scalevo]