LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The five
finalists in the three-year Mobility Unlimited Challenge have been
unveiled at CES in Las Vegas. The
Toyota Mobility Foundation launched the $4
million global challenge in 2017 in partnership with Nesta's
Challenge Prize Centre, with the aim of improving the lives of
millions of people with lower-limb paralysis.
The Challenge invited engineers, innovators, and designers from
across the world to submit designs for game-changing technologies,
incorporating intelligent systems, to improve the mobility and
independence of people with lower-limb paralysis. Central to the
Challenge is the importance of collaboration with end-users to
develop devices which will integrate seamlessly into users' lives
and environments, while being comfortable and easy to use, enabling
greater independence and increased participation in daily life.
Each of the five finalists will receive a grant of $500,000 to develop their concept further, with
the final winner of the Challenge receiving $1 million in Tokyo in 2020.
The five finalists are:
- The Evowalk: Evolution Devices (United States) - a non-intrusive sleeve
which goes around the user's leg and has sensors that track the
user's walking motion and will stimulate the right muscles at the
right time to improve mobility.
- Moby: Italdesign (Italy) - an integrated network of wheel-on
powered devices, allowing users of manual wheelchairs the
convenience and benefits of a powered chair, accessible via an
app-based share scheme.
- Phoenix Ai Ultralight Wheelchair: Phoenix Instinct
(United Kingdom) - an
ultra-lightweight, self-balancing, intelligent wheelchair which
eliminates painful vibrations.
- Qolo (Quality of Life with Locomotion): Team Qolo,
University of Tsukuba, (Japan) - a mobile exoskeleton on wheels,
allowing users to sit or stand with ease.
- Quix: IHMC & MYOLYN (United
States) - a highly mobile, powered exoskeleton offering
fast, stable and agile upright mobility.
(See Notes to Editors for further details about the shortlisted
entries, their personal quote and a link through to their
images.)
Eighty entries were received from specialist teams in 28
countries globally. The finalists were chosen by a panel of
expert judges including:
- Professor Linamara Battistella, Physical and
Rehabilitation Medicine doctor at the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil)
- Winfried Beigel, Director of Research and Development
for Otto Bock Mobility Solutions (Germany)
- Dr. Mary Ellen Buning,
President-elect for the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive
Technology Society of North
America (United
States)
- Dr. Kay Kim, President of
NT Robot Co (South Korea)
- Dr. Eric Krotkov, Chief
Science Officer at Toyota Research Institute (United States)
- Eric LeGrand, disability
rights advocate (United
States)
- Sophie Morgan, television
presenter and disability advocate (United
Kingdom)
- Ruth Peachment,
Occupational Therapy Clinical Specialist at the National Spinal
Injuries Centre (United
Kingdom)
- Matthew Reeve, Director
of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (United States)
- Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai, President of robotics company
Cyberdyne (Japan)
- Dr. Lloyd Walker,
professional rehabilitation engineer at Tech4Life (Australia)
Dr. Eric Krotkov, Chief
Science Officer at Toyota Research Institute and one of the judges
of the Challenge, stated: "There are so many technological
opportunities to explore approaches to alleviate challenges
stemming from lower-limb paralysis. A competition like the Mobility
Unlimited Challenge gets innovators to focus on the same problem to
identify something of great common interest that serves society. I
am excited by these finalists who have a breadth of technical
approaches - wheelchairs, orthotics, braces, exoskeletons. I look
forward to seeing how they will take these devices out of their
conceptual stage to help our end users."
In addition to the $500,000 grant,
the finalists will attend tailored workshops, receive mentoring
opportunities with engineering experts, and collaborate with end
users to further the development of their concepts through to
2020.
Ryan Klem, Director of
Programs for Toyota Mobility Foundation commented: "These five
finalists have shown real innovation driven by human-centered
design. We think that the technology incorporated in these devices
could change the lives of a huge number of people around the world,
not just for people with lower-limb paralysis, but also those with
a wider range of mobility needs. It will be fascinating to follow
the teams' journeys and see how the $500,000 grant will help them develop their ideas
to bring to market and get them into users' hands."
To ensure entries from organizations of all sizes, the Challenge
also offered ten teams seed funding in the form of $50,000 Discovery Award grants during the entry
period. Of the ten Discovery Award winners, four went on to be
selected as finalists.
Charlotte Macken of
Nesta's Challenge Prize Centre said: "Current personal mobility
devices are often unable to fully meet the needs of users due to
limitations affecting functionality and usability. Historically,
the pace of innovation is slow, due to small and fragmented markets
and difficulties in getting new technology funded by health-care
systems and insurers. This can make the field unattractive to the
very people who could help change the world. We hope that
challenges like this can inspire innovation and are excited to see
how the five finalists use this opportunity to develop their ideas
further."
Around the world, millions of people are living with lower-limb
paralysis (the most common causes being strokes, spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis). While there are no statistics on paralysis
worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates there are
250,000-500,000 new cases of spinal cord injury globally every
year.
Contacts:
London
|
Sarah-Jane Rumford
or
James Ward
|
+44 (0)7810 434
636
+44 (0)7913 433
255
+44 (0) 0203 740
5325
|
sj@89up.org
james@89up.org
|
Full Details of Finalist Devices & Finalist
Quotes:
- THE EVOWALK: EVOLUTION DEVICES (UNITED STATES)
The Evowalk is a
non-intrusive sleeve which goes around the user's leg and has
sensors that track the user's walking motion and will stimulate the
right muscles at the right time to improve mobility. This
personalized, timed muscle stimulation that helps user's muscles
contract as they walk will not only help them day to day but will
also rehabilitate the muscles over time.
-
- Quote from Pierluigi
Mantovani from Evolution Devices
"It feels amazing to
be selected. The Mobility Unlimited Challenge is a fantastic
opportunity for people to build devices that are normally hard to
fund but could make a huge difference. This support will help us
finish our research and develop the device further, so we can get
it to the people who really need it. People like my dad.
My dad has multiple sclerosis and developed foot drop. He was
recommended a device that was far too expensive so myself and some
friends built this prototype that helped. After that we wanted to
make something affordable for others. Our main goal has always been
to help people regain the ability to walk freely again."
- MOBY: ITALDESIGN (ITALY)
Moby is the first mobility
service created for wheelchair users. It's the cycle share scheme
equivalent for wheelchair users. Consisting of a series of wheel-on
electric devices, located in urban hubs, it will make travelling
around cities much simpler and easier for people with lightweight
manual wheelchairs. Connected via an app, it will enable users to
interact with the device, other wheelchair users and other means of
transport.
-
- Quote from Serena De Mori
from Italdesign
"Moby is a concept we developed over time, working with users of
wheelchairs. They said they wanted a way to make travelling easier
and so we developed this platform. We entered this Challenge
because we wanted to have a different kind of mobility solution
which is accessible to all. We are very happy to have been selected
for the Challenge and hope to develop the concept further and to
build the first prototypes to test on the street as soon as
possible. We are looking forward to bringing this concept to
reality and working with users to improve it over time. The
Mobility Unlimited Challenge is important because it give a
possibility to everybody to take part and make a difference in the
mobility world."
- PHOENIX AI ULTRA-LIGHT
WHEELCHAIR: PHOENIX INSTINCT
(UNITED KINGDOM)
The
Phoenix AI wheelchair is an ultra-lightweight manual wheelchair
made from carbon-fiber. Using smart sensors the chair will
configure itself to what the user is doing so it remains in sync
with how the user moves. The sensors detect if the user is leaning
forward or back, algorithms will calculate the wheelchair's
response. The Phoenix Ai will have many smart functions never
before seen in wheelchairs, at the core is intelligent centre of
gravity. The chair will continually adjust its centre of
gravity to fit what the user is doing making for a chair that is
easier to push and turn by eliminating drag and uncomfortable,
painful vibration while also making the chair safe from falling
backwards. Intelligent, lightweight power assist will make slopes
easier to ascend while automatic braking will remove the need for
users to grip the wheels to slow down.
-
- Quote from Andrew Slorance
from Phoenix Instinct
"I'm delighted to have made it to the
final five. I've worked towards this for years but didn't expect to
make it through! I'm so pleased the judges recognised that the
wheelchair has proved itself as the most viable mobility device for
decades and although it has done well it is now tired and in need
of a serious makeover. I wanted to show how I think the wheelchair
can be evolved while maintaining its core, proven fundamental
capabilities that are behind its success as a mobility device.
I wanted to be part of this Challenge because I broke my back when
I was 14 which was now thirty-five years ago. By the time I was 16,
I'd decided that I would one day design a wheelchair that would
change perceptions by using cutting edge materials and styling.
I knew the next step beyond advanced materials has to be to make
wheelchairs smart. But that costs a huge amount of money in
development. So, when I saw this Challenge, I thought here is the
money to develop this technology. No-one else is going to do it. No
company is going to decide to spend half a million dollars on
research and development to advance the manual wheelchair. Why
should they? As long as their competitor also doesn't do it the
status quo can continue with wheelchairs remaining much as they
were thirty-five years ago.
This Challenge changes that. Being selected is just incredible. But
now the work really begins, we've got eighteen months to turn the
wheelchair which has been in the technological dark for so long
into a futuristic device that intelligently makes wheelchair life
easier."
- QOLO (QUALITY OF LIFE WITH LOCOMOTION): TEAM QOLO,
UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA (JAPAN)
The Qolo Standing Device
consists of a lightweight, mobile exoskeleton on wheels which uses
passive actuators to allow users to sit or stand, effectively
removing the 'chair' from 'wheelchair'. Mobility is controlled
using the upper body, allowing hands-free operation. The device
enables users to travel around in a standing position, changing
both physiological and social aspects of everyday living.
-
- Quote from Kenji Suzuki from
Team Qolo
"We're very proud to be in the final five. We want
to remove the chair from wheelchair. Our device gives users the
choice to sit or stand, using cutting edge technologies. This means
that wheelchair users can interact with other people at the same
eye-level, improving communication and changing the way they see
the world. We are of course very happy to have been selected, but
our work is not over. Once we develop our product and people start
using it and we see how it has helped people, that will make us
truly happy.
But what makes us most happy is that there were 80 entrants. Eighty
innovators contributing to society. Not just our unique device. The
hope is that someday people could be choosing from 80 very
different devices."
- QUIX: IHMC & MYOLYN (UNITED
STATES)
A robotic, powered exoskeleton with motors at
the hips, knees and ankles, as well as additional actuators
offering someone with lower-limb paralysis fast, stable, and agile
upright mobility. Utilizing modular actuation, perception
technology from autonomous vehicles, and control algorithms for
balancing autonomous humanoid robots, this device will deliver the
mobility, safety, and independence that current exoskeletons
cannot. The device will improve accessibility in society -
especially at home and work.
-
- Peter Neuhaus from IHMC &
MYOLYN said:
"We're delighted to have made it through
as one of the five finalists of the Mobility Unlimited Challenge.
In the business world, developing technologies for people with
lower-limb paralysis has been extraordinarily hard. We've
constantly struggled against people saying the market is too small
and because of that people aren't putting in the effort, research
or investment this field deserves, meaning there hasn't been enough
advancement.
We're now focused on the next stage of the Challenge. On the
engineering challenges to meet the needs and wants of users. And on
the business development side, making this commercial and ensuring
it gets to the people who need it most."
About Toyota Mobility Foundation
The Toyota Mobility
Foundation was established in 2014 to support the development of a
more mobile society. The Foundation aims to support strong mobility
systems while eliminating disparities in mobility. It utilizes
Toyota's expertise in technology, safety, and the environment,
working in partnership with universities, government, non-profit
organizations, research institutions and other organizations to
address mobility issues around the world. Programs include
resolving transportation problems, expanding the utilization of
personal mobility, and developing solutions for next generation
mobility.
Learn more at www.toyotamobilityfoundation.org.
About Nesta's Challenge Prize Centre
Across the world,
there are many people and communities that are overlooked and
underserved, facing ever more complex challenges. Nesta's Challenge
Prize Centre tackles some of these problems by harnessing and
fostering innovation, fresh thinking and technology to achieve
positive impact.
From health to conservation, finance to agriculture, assistive
technology to education, we connect people, businesses and experts
to drive fresh thinking and deliver systemic change.
The Challenge Prize Centre uses prizes to stimulate innovative
solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face, including:
- The Longitude Prize, created to tackle growing levels of
antimicrobial resistance and reduce the use of antibiotics.
- The Inclusive Technology Prize, a challenge prize to encourage
innovations that gives disabled people equal access to life's
opportunities.
- The UNDP's Renewable Energy Challenge Prize, to find a
renewable energy solution capable of providing off-grid power to
cover the needs of war-returnee families in rural Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- The Dynamic Demand Challenge Prize, created to reduce carbon
emissions by shifting energy demand to off peak times or through
excess renewable generation.
To find out more visit http://challengeprizecentre.org
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SOURCE Toyota Motor North America