UPnRIDE: Reinventing Mobility & Empowering Independence for Wheelchair Users
UPnRIDE introduces a revolutionary wheeled device offering upright and seated mobility solutions and much more freedom for individuals with disabilities. Just like a Segway but with a unique stabilization system
Dr. Amit Goffer was injured in an ATV accident in 1998 that paralyzed all four of his limbs. The doctors then told him: "You'll never walk again." However, this life-changing event pushed him to think of creative solutions to improve the lives of people in his condition. In 2001, he founded ReWalk Robotics, which helped individuals paralyzed from the waist down to stand and walk. In 2014, he took his ideas even further and founded UPnRIDE Robotics, in which he currently serves as president. The company is trying to reinvent the wheelchair concept. It has developed a cutting-edge wheeled robotic device offering upright and seated mobility solutions for individuals with disabilities. It provides upright mobility in any urban environment: outdoors, indoors, on slopes, or on uneven surfaces, being at an eye-level with the surroundings.
"After I was injured, I didn't understand: Is a wheelchair my solution? That's it? Aren't there nicer, friendlier, more effective devices?", says Dr. Goffer. "At some point, I realized that what is needed is a wheelchair that can help the user stand up. That was my mission at ReWalk, but after a few years, I clearly saw the drawbacks and risks involved in wheelchairs that allowed the user to stand up. It wasn't really possible to roll while standing, and it wasn't possible to get out like that. The user stood on the edge and the chair wasn't stable. The product we developed and similar products around the world were very different from my vision. They failed to meet the challenge of both getting up the disabled person and keeping him stable. Inclines are a significant challenge for any wheelchair, certainly one that allows standing. UpnRide's technology solves this and allows the user to be stable in any situation, when sitting or standing on any incline. This is thanks to a straightening, flexible mechanism, advanced algorithms, and mechanics that we've been working on for about a decade. The center of gravity is constantly kept in the middle of the device and thus providing stability. The difference compared to previous products is enormous."
"This is significant not only in terms of health but also in terms of mental health," adds Keren Michaeli, UPnRIDE's VP of Business Development. "It is a product that fulfills a medical need but also creates a social change. It allows the user to stand in front of people in the same eye-level and move around as they do with a Segway that includes a stabilization system. This development makes the company a true revolutionary leader in mobility for people with disabilities. UPnRIDE is the only company in the world to have received FDA and CE approvals for a product that allows people to move around while standing in an urban environment. This is thanks to innovative technology with an advanced stabilization system that ensures maximum safety and thus gives users independence, equal opportunities and improved quality of life - with maximum safety."
More people need mobility assistance
The market for motorized, robotic, and smart wheelchairs is growing rapidly. There is a growing demand for advanced mobility solutions that will provide greater independence for people with disabilities. Also due to the aging of the general population, more people need mobility assistance, even if they are not fully disabled. At the same time, robotics and artificial intelligence technologies are developing significantly and enabling the creation of more functional and sophisticated wheelchairs. This is how UPnRIDE's development entered a mature market, which is eager for a groundbreaking innovation. The company believes that the unique solution it presents will find its place among people with disabilities, the elderly, rehabilitation centers, medical centers, and hospitals. The war in Israel that has been going on for more than a year has put an emphasis on another target population: war wounded who have suffered spinal cord injuries or neurological injuries.
Dr. Goffer explains: "while developing the product, we concentrated on stabilization, the Achilles' heel of this market. We combined a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and several motors that allowed us to build many features: If, while sitting at a desk, the user is unable to get his lower body under the table, there is a glide mode that allows it. The chair tilts itself forward and allows different angles. If the user is standing and suddenly doesn't feel well, at the push of a button he can switch to a reclining position. This reclining position allows to lower the chair, thus allowing the user who is lying on it to be treated. The chair allows for a 90-degree standing position and is capable of carrying up to 120 kg, even in a standing position. It also collects information about the user, such as how long they have been traveling."
So it's essentially an "Internet of Things" product.
Keren Michaeli: "Yes, it's actually a computer with sensors that uses a smart algorithm, and in the not-so-distant future it will connect to a medical application. This will make it possible, for example, to transmit the user's medical condition in real time to a medical professional. When you review all the innovations and developments in the product, it is clear that it has a significant market potential. We also see it as an opportunity for business partnerships with other parties interested in upgrading the health technology industry."
How are your business plans progressing?
Michaeli: "It was important for us to do a comprehensive pilot, collect the information and make the chair ready and available before moving to the distribution phase. Today, there are several dozen active chairs in the world and the feedback from users is excellent. We feel that the product is ripe for mass production. We have begun a process of marketing strategy and examining business partnerships with distributors around the world, and we assume that in the next year or two we will begin to close distribution deals. The business potential is great: using the product generates financial savings for the user, insurance companies and hospitals. Standing for a person with limited mobility is beneficial for his health, as it prevents pressure sores and has a positive effect on blood flow and other health elements. So a chair that encourages the user to stand up creates a positive health chain reaction."
Dr. Goffer: "I've been using the chair for two and a half years and have experienced the improvement firsthand. If I feel a little unwell, I stand up and it works. The ability to stand and talk to people at eye level has a positive psychological effect. An investor of ours, who is disabled himself, regularly holds a large annual meeting. He says that it's unpleasant to walk around the audience with his face at the level of others' buttocks. The chair gives him a better option. I once gave a lecture at a university in London, and when it ended, the attendees gathered standing around high cocktail tables and were very embarrassed. They didn't know what to do with this little guy sitting in the chair, especially when he was the one talking. Now that I can stand at their height, it feels much better."
UPnRIDE
Year of establishment: 2014.
Founders: Dr. Amit Goffer, Oren Tamari, Dudu Haimovich.
Field of activity: Health technologies.
Leading motto: A cutting-edge wheeled robotic device offering safe upright and seated mobility solutions for individuals with disabilities. It provides upright mobility in any urban environment: outdoors, indoors, on slopes, or on uneven surfaces.
In association with UPnRIDE
