Page 18 - Mobility Management, January/February 2021

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18 JANUARY-FEBRUARY2021|MOBILITYMANAGEMENT MobilityMgmt.com
Smart Ultralight Wins Toyota Foundation’s Top Prize
The Phoenix i smart ultralightweight wheelchair from Phoenix Instinct has taken the top prize in Toyota’s Mobility Unlimited Challenge.
In a global announcement on Dec. 17, the United Kingdom-based manufacturer was awarded $1 million U.S. to continue developing the Phoenix i, a carbon-fiber- framed chair that features front-wheel power assist and a smart system that automatically adjusts the chair’s center
of gravity for more efficient and safer self-propulsion. The goal of the Mobility Unlimited Challenge was to create “game- changing technologies to improve the lives of people with lower-limb disability,” according to the announcement from the Toyota Mobility Foundation.
The Phoenix i was chosen over four other finalists: the Evowalk smart wearable
simulator, which uses a smart system to support muscles during walking to prevent falls (Evolution Devices, United States); the Qolo standing mobility device (University of Tsukaba, Japan); the Quix highly mobile walking exoskeleton (IHMC & MYOLYN, United States); and Wheem-i, a wheel-on ride-sharing device for people who use wheelchairs (Italdesign, Italy).
The Mobility Unlimited Challenge began in April 2018, when 10 innovators were named Discovery Award winners and given $50,000 U.S. each. In January 2019, that group of 10 was narrowed to five final- ists, each of whom was given an additional $500,000 U.S. to develop a prototype for the final judging.
Phoenix Instinct’s founder and CEO, Andrew Slorance, a wheelchair user since sustaining a spinal cord injury at age 14,
was emotional as he accepted the award and praised the work of the other finalists.
Slorance recalled his first wheelchair — which he remembered as very large and
PHOTO COURTESY TOYOTA MOBILITY FOUNDATION