This wheelchair wants to be a Tesla of sidewalks

Japanese startup WHILL is attempting to reinvent the wheelchair, including the wheel.

[@larryhooverpedofilekillerc4177]

Thank you for everything you do I hope to see others have smiles,and being able to have a greater day with the product. Thank you.

[@angliase]

I have a Go-Go Elite Scooter paid for by Medicaid & live a very active lifestyle including trips downtown - 3 - 4 miles round trip on sidewalks w lights & neon safety vest at night.. This WHILL looks cool & has an amazing turning radius - perfect for indoors with great flexibility to get under restaurant tables etc. i believe you can control it with your palm. Mine actually goes faster & I feel safer having equipment protecting the front of me - a chair feels more​ vulnerable than a scooter.. i've never felt looked down on - it's all about attitude - not what other people think!

[@marilynlynds3398]

$14,000? Most decent motorized chairs start well over that for just the base. A decently equipped Quickie is going to run well over $30. Many motorized chairs that cost less are acceptable for people in nursing homes and such but are not going to hold up for people who want to go outside and have an active life. I am going to look into this.

[@jesusgarcia-cz3me]

Marilyn Lynds probably with help of insurance because my quikie was 1,000+ because it was customized to my fitting but the insurance paid for all of it.

[@wendyhoechstetter3236]

Actually, my Jazzy J600es, which is also an entry level chair that is very comparable to the Whill (although not nearly as pretty), was only $5,000 from the local Center for Assistive Technology (thankfully covered 100% by insurance), and I've seen it listed online for more like $3,500, so $14,000 is astronomical. Entry level chairs like mine come as one thing and can't be customized the way the higher end chairs you are talking about can be - and are much more equivalent to this Whill than a Quickie. I'm afraid you are comparing apples to oranges. That said, my Jazzy is also really not intended for outdoor use. It does OK, and is very stable, but isn't really all that comfortable on the bumps and so on of local sidewalks. I don't know what it would cost to get one that is intended for outdoors.

[@victorjmz007]

😯

[@adnanjaveid9010]

14k lol

[@jasonrobertsASTONISHES]

Great product ! i just hope kids dont get a hold of that smartphone with and start fooling around with the person in the wheelchair

[@ivanmatz5812]

+jason roberts I've just imagined that and it's the most hilarious thing I have thought of in a while. Imagine his students getting a hold of it...

[@sux2bu2day]

$14K is cheap for a powerchair. Some manual chairs can cost around that much. Both of my power wheelchairs were approximately $40K, from Permobil. $14K is cheaper than 90% of other powerchairs.

[@advolf]

the segway version wheelchairs are better imo... they are in the same price range

[@marilynlynds3398]

Jazzy and similar brands are fine if you can walk a little, and are primarily using it for getting around the house or nursing home. The same goes for scooters. For people who have spinal cord injuries, polio, muscular dystrophy, severe cerebral palsy and similar conditions the require a chair for more than energy conservation, they are inadequate. As you say, they are not made for the individual. The changes of bed sores for the insensate, being painfully uncomfortable and even hazardous for people with more severe disabilities. Not to mention quickly becoming brutally uncomfortable since they are not made with full time use in mind. And they simply don't hold up for people who need a chair but still work, raise kids and have active lifestyles.

[@carin9568]

I am paralyzed a quadriplegic a service dog trainer this wheelchair has been a life-changing experience for me has given me the ability to be much more interactive with the dogs when I train them we are able to spend time in the grass in the mud in the rain the only thing I have not yet tried is Green Eggs and Ham in the train in the rain🐕😂 LOL! maybe that will be my dog and I next training endeavor

[@jaspr1999]

My 'Frankenchair' just died by way of a wet circuit board that they don't make anymore. I've been dreading having to buy a new powerchair, mainly due to the expense. While the chair is one expense that insurance will cover, transporting one is a completely different story. Especially if you still drive. No insurance will ever cover the cost of anything involving a vehicle so the weight and type of chair is a major factor if you're to remain independent. To get vehicle modifications of any type you either need to be independently wealthy, creative enough to build your own modifications or accept handouts. This video is nice but doesn't do anything but advertise this chair... As cool as it is, how does one transport it without help?

[@esquimoxpi739]

Looks like the people at Whil anticipated your needs -- at CES 2018 it looks like they have one that will "break down" into three pieces to facilitate automobile transport.

[@kevinhooper2787]

As with all scooters people don’t ride with their legs tucked up like a pocket knife . It might be okay for a paraplegic but for everyone else no . They all skimp in favour of manoeuvrability while giving you bloody cramps . Space is free .

[@carolhandy3757]

If you could get some kind of funding for this it would be great but, the reality is most disabled people have that kind of money or insurance to help.

[@evilpagan2342]

Carol Handy Not in the USA, heh. Elsewhere civilized, people actually have real health insurance.

[@jasongooden917]

the only way to imagine every aspect of a wheelchair is to be it one for a significant amount of time, try to go to places you would have normally gone to and in all seasons.

[@mrhawk1924]

W Very expensive , most can't afford it.. how sad

[@garno52able]

I need me one of these asap

[@seye8eyes]

I would like one as well

[@TubeRLH]

Why is this any different than casters?

[@adnanjaveid9010]

IT MAKES U TALLER AYO

[@robertomasi2125]

Price of that, is where you can buy it, I'm Italian

[@wheelieblind]

If they made one of those that could elevate, tilt and recline I would get one, I do like the way you can go sideways. I would do something about the white and gray plastic on the sides and do it in many colors just not red lol, I never choose red.

[@jasonray9655]

WILL it ever have a seat elevator along with the extension feature?

[@zeinakhader5798]

Can this wheelchair go up stairs?

[@steweey652]

My chair a Quantum Q6 Edge 2.0 was with automatic recline, tilt and elevating leg rests was $50000. It has more range, higher top speed and more functionality than the Whill although at a much higher price.

[@Compgeek86]

Shawn Stewart I will say I like the way the front wheels go sideways without having casters, my stepson has a Q6 edge and his door has chunks missing from the caster brackets hitting it

[@wendyhoechstetter3236]

Yes, but the Whill also isn't intended for someone like you who *needs* a higher end chair with more functionality like that. It's an entry level chair - and 3 times the cost of an equivalent like my J600es.

[@rajkumar-fy1of]

i like wheelchair. u from and pls all details

[@IDONTLIKETHATSHIT]

Bill is the real life professor X.

[@adnanjaveid9010]

AYO I CAN CONTROL U

[@leograph5045]

14.000$??? You can get a more comfortable and faster Permobil Wheelchair for this money

[@tiredrummertube]

They need to increase the torque and speed of this.

[@morgancalvi6675]

It's technically not called a wheelchair because thy are not medically covered by insurance...which explains all the thumbs down.

[@blu7855]

it needs missile launchers! then, im sold!

[@sweiland75]

I am still waiting for someone to build a power wheelchair that can drive though deep snow without getting stuck.

[@adnanjaveid9010]

Looks sick ;o

[@viviannemerr5084]

I wish I could walk and spend 14K some other way. Oh well. My money is on Hi tech mobility assistant devices. Honda had one in 2014.

[@jasongooden917]

$14,000? Some power chairs cost more than that!

[@psdirewolf]

why not just use tracks?

[@Schpoople]

It's not nearly as practical as the current set up

[@lind1359]

Who thinks $14,000 is cheap. I don’t but if someone can loan me that kind of money ,I could get a new chair

[@user-iw8op7ph1n]

В Сколкове разработано, или будут разрабатывать!:))

[@stardiamond2403]

I want it

[@rajkumar-fy1of]

i like this wheelchair pls u from and all details

[@adnanjaveid9010]

Woah

[@user-gd2cj7sj3f]

Сколько стоит эта каляска?

[@willemh3319]

where where 2here how much 👍

[@ludasolovieva3073]

Ну да. А у нас Китай рулит. И то по заоблачным ценам

[@iforce2d]

1:02 wtf? "the typical wheelchair you have to go forward to turn? What a load of horseshit. Those tiny little wheel-in-wheel bits will not work on anything but smooth ground. All they do is make the normal forward movement bumpier than a regular castor wheel.

[@AliMohamed-vv2ls]

🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 i wanna but i don't have money😭

[@joblessalex]

My shit good will wheel chair does on the spot tank drive turns and this pile can't even do that lol

[@user-tw3lb7do8d]

いいじゃん

[@user-pm9es5pw6o]

朱開勝♿👤♿🚉♿🚄♿🚢♿✈♿📱📴📀💻♿

[@user-vj4xb5qu9e]

朱開勝 朱開勝F104335340-1955-4-8-朱開勝韓國朱開勝男