If you’ve ever wished your wheelchair could connect to the internet, then Swedish company Permobil has the wheelchair for you. At this year’s CTIA Wireless conference, they unveiled their first “smart” wheelchair. It’s their popular, but expensive, F5 model wheelchair only with an AT&T internet connection.
So what can this smart wheelchair do?
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It relays the results of diagnostics tests.
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It uses motion detecting software to alert loved ones if the wheelchair ever tips over.
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If a wheelchair user needs to sit in a specific position for medical reasons, the smart wheelchair can help ensure their position is correct.
Personally, I can’t help but think these are unnecessary features. People’s phones can relay information just fine. There are already apps for fall detection. And wheelchair users can figure out how to sit in a specific position without the help of an intelligent chair.
That being said, the smart chair could be more convenient and is probably the way of the future as more and more household items get internet connections. Some inventors believe that in the not too distant future nearly all products will be “smart” and communicate with us, as well as companies, and other products.
For those who are interested in Permobil’s smart chair, you’ll have to wait a little longer. The one brought to the CTIA conference was just a prototype, although they hope to start selling them within a year.