Scalevo, Electric Wheelchair

Great creation! Hope for ALL

Though the first wheelchair patent was handed out in the U.S. in 1869, the overall design of it hasn’t changed much in the years since. It’s basically a seat with wheels attached. Sometimes it’ll have footrests, or handles on the back for someone to help propel the person forward. One of the most glaring flaws of a wheelchair, however, is the fact that it cannot get up stairs. Remodeling a home or office to be wheelchair accessible can be time consuming and costly, too, since there’s more to it than just putting a ramp in front of your door. A team of Swiss students has now invented a new type of wheelchair capable of getting around the need for wheelchair ramps.

Enter the Scalevo Wheelchair, created by a team of 10 students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and the Zurich University of the Arts. The electric-powered Scalevo operates sort of like a Segway; when on flat ground, it uses two big wheels for balance, allowing the user to control movement by leaning forward or backward. It can also swivel on the spot to change direction, and features rubber tracks that resemble the treads of a tank. All of this can be summoned at the press of a button to allow the user to climb a staircase — even a spiral one.

Full text: http://www.medicaldaily.com/scalevo-electric-wheelchair-can-climb-most-staircases-and-hopes-negate-need-ramps-and-357606