Climbing Wheelchair by Chiba Tech

Some of you may have seen this video of a stair climbing wheelchair by now. Although calling it a “stair climbing” wheelchair is not exactly accurate. That’s because the stairs it can climb need to be about as deep as the wheelchair itself. Standard stairs would be a barrier for this wheelchair. But it can be described as a kind of “all terrain” wheelchair. This climbing wheelchair was developed in Japan by the Chiba Institute of Technology.

Walking Wheelchair
The wheelchair consists mainly of a seat sitting on top of four wheels. These wheels are attached to front and back set of “legs”. When coming upon an obstacle, the legs can swivel and tilt to get by. Moving similar to a lizard going over rocks. Sensors  tell the wheelchair where the obstacles and edges are when encountered. The legs move independently of the seat to keep it level at all times.

Tight Turns
If a turn in a tight space is needed, the legs swivel into a roller blade formation. Then the wheelchair can make a zero radius turn. Not exactly a quick motion but it does work.

Conclusion
This being a concept prototype, there’s not a ton of practicality right now. However there are things that can be taken and implemented into a future product. What I think can translate specifically are the sensors telling the wheelchair to automatically react to something. To see this wheelchair in action watch the video below.