Japan-US startup’s electric wheelchair wins award

January 13, 2018

Silicon Valley- An electric wheelchair made by a startup based in Japan and Silicon Valley has won the Best of Innovation Award at CES, one of the world's largest consumer electronics shows that started on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

The Model Ci wheelchair of the company, Whill, won the prize in the Accessible Tech category, which is given to products and services with innovative features that improve accessibility for elderly or disabled people.

Model Ci, developed for the US market, can be remotely operated through an iPhone app.

Whill Chief Executive Officer Satoshi Sugie, hailing from Hamamatsu in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka, stressed the convenience of Model Ci, saying that it can be operated while the user lies in bed or loaded into a car while he or she is in the vehicle.

The wheelchair's front wheels consist of a number of smaller wheels that enable it to make sharp turns, and travel over bumps and on unpaved roads with ease. Jiji Press