This electric wheelchair features a cutting-edge IoT system for people who require an assisted mobility device facilitating wheelchair users’ movements towards objects such as the car, the bed or chairs of other types. The project now offers new features drawing on Leonardo’s technological know-how. Avanchair has chosen to work with the company because it is aware of the positive impact that technological innovation can have on people’s lives. The project represents an important step forward for Leonardo, which recognised its value right away, offering its technical and engineering skills and know-how to reinforce its commitment to the promotion of scientific citizenship, a key to the company’s Sustainability Plan in line with the sustainable development goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda.
Leonardo’s contribution
And so the team of Leonardo mechanical engineers involved in the project created a lateral stabiliser for the wheelchair, allowing an external support to be extended to the ground to prevent the risk of overturning during lateral translation of the chair. The stabiliser developed does not take up space when in motion, as it remains entirely within the form of the chair, allowing this to approach the objects that wheelchair users frequently use. The same team is now optimising the chair’s footrest, requiring structural study to minimise its weight and thickness and improve its ergonomics, a key element for simplifying movement from the chair towards another structure. The project was conducted jointly with the start-up’s engineers at every stage, using 3D modelling to identify the volumes available for installation of the mechanism, determine the principle behind its functioning and scale the mechanical components and moving parts.
The Avanchair start-up
Established in 2018 on the initiative of founder Andrea Depalo, who designed the device drawing on an awareness of the importance of independence for people with disabilities, the start-up immediately attracted the interest of a network of financiers who supported it in a crowdfunding campaign, with further backing from major Italian enterprises such as Enel X and Banco BPM. The project evolved and was fine-tuned using instrumentation that makes life safer and better for people who require assistance at all times: every further refinement of wheelchair technology represents an important achievement for users. Wheelchair users move off their chairs and onto another support at least 15 to 20 times a day. Making such movements safer and more fluid is therefore an essential goal for ensuring autonomy, and also has a positive impact on caregivers. Avanchair One gives the wheelchair new features with a specific goal: to improve quality of life for people who use a wheelchair daily.