Page 27 - Mobility Management, August 2018

NAVIONE: Yamaha Aims for Power-Assist Inclusivity
Power assist has traditionally been used by ultralight- weight wheelchair users with certain diagnoses, including spinal cord injury, spina bifida and
lower-extremity limb loss. Those consumers use power assist to extend their range on school or work campuses, while shopping or while traveling.
But limiting power assist to those diagnoses or to traditionally younger and more active consumers leaves many other consumers behind. What about older clients, such as stroke patients? Or consumers with more modest independence goals, such as getting from a bedroom to the kitchen for breakfast?
With its newly launched NAVIONE, Yamaha Motor Corp. seeks to empower all types of manual wheelchair users who want to improve their personal mobility.
The NAVIONE Learning Curve
Yamaha is no stranger to the power-assist segment, having manufactured the Xtender power-assist unit for Sunrise Medical’s Quickie line for years.
On that note, a Yamaha spokesman said, “The Xtender and the relationship with Sunrise Medical is still incredibly important to us. We fully support that integrated product from Sunrise, and we support both Sunrise and the field for any Xtender-related inquiries or product questions.”
With the NAVIONE, Yamaha aims for inclusivity, for a product that embraces younger active users as well as older users who might be less tech savvy.
One of NAVIONE’s selling points is its learning curve, or lack thereof.
“It is intentionally designed to operate just like your manual wheelchair,” said Joe Klickna, Business Manager for the NAVIONE. “So whether [clients] have been using a manual wheelchair for years or were recently introduced to one, how they learned to use that manual wheelchair is exactly how they’ll learn the NAVIONE.
“There is little to no new muscle memory and no new maneuvering skills to learn. It is truly the same stroke, and the same way to turn, accelerate and brake as
a manual wheelchair. That is a critical difference to competitive products, which could require additional accessories to carry or wear, additional arm or hand movements to change functions, or programming each wheel independently to operate. Our product does all of that right out of the box, on its own.”
The NAVIONE system is built into two wheels (22" or 24") and also includes a battery pack. The drive control is proportional, and the two wheels communicate with each other constantly.
Every time the handrim is initiated and with every push, NAVIONE takes multiple readings. Then it adapts accord- ingly, which is why it can embrace such a wide range of client types and a wide range of life stages, as well.
Seamless Adjustments
Yamaha Motor Corp. knows a lot about speed, including the fact that speed isn’t everything.
In fact, the NAVIONE isn’t designed to always go as fast as possible. Instead, engineers created a system that’s all about efficiency and control. NAVIONE is meant to be an extension of what its rider intends to do.
That certainly means covering a lot of ground effi- ciently. But it also means navigating slopes — up and down — safely and confidently. And adapting easily to changes or discrepancies in clients’ abilities, even abili- ties that fade as the day goes on.
“There is no [client] adjustment that has to happen during the course of the day,” Klickna said. “The NAVIONE reacts every time. For uneven arm-strength patients, for minor strength inequalities or restricted propulsion stroke length on one side or the other, it adapts automatically. Both wheels work together for the client’s best interests.”
The NAVIONE system doesn’t store or “remember” data. But it does react to the previous push. On a smooth, level surface, the NAVIONE understands that its user is cruising along. As its user starts to propel up a
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