It was 2 years ago almost to this very day that bespoken first shared the iBOT with its members. Discontinued in 2009 due to poor sales, the stair climbing wheelchair that can balance on two wheels is apparently due a comeback thanks in part to Toyota.

The car manufacturing giant it seems takes an interest in mobility beyond the open road and has entered into a partnership with DEKA Research, the company that designed the original model for the iBOT.

Designed by Dean Kamen (creator of the Segway) from DEKA Research, the iBOT was particularly popular among injured service personnel. However a price of around $25,000 USD may have been a hefty stumbling block for the chair. Added to the fact that, simply put, it was a bit scary to use, it didn’t quite manage to take off like the designers had hoped.

So what made it so special?

In its basic form it looked like a lot of wheelchairs. The surprise came when you used the controls to lean it far back, almost to the point of toppling over before suddenly springing up so that it stood on two wheels elevating the user to eye level. Using unique and patented balancing technology, the iBOT was able to roam around at a good speed in a way that looked almost fitting of a circus act or an illusionist’s trick.

The other big and exciting feature was its ability to climb stairs. No help needed from anyone else, the user could simply go up and down large staircases independently. Admittedly it was a long process so perhaps more suitable for pavement edges and short stairs but the principle was undoubtedly outstanding and worked beautifully!

So what will they do differently this time?

Unsurprisingly the key features of the iBOT (climbing stairs and lifting the user to eye level) are to be kept, or possibly perfected. In this respect at any rate, we shouldn’t expect a huge difference. The biggest transformation is likely to be in reducing the bulk of the chair, cutting down on the materials needed to make it and consequently its price.

Taking advantage of the advances in the computer science in the last 15 years or so since the first iBOT was released, DEKA and Toyota are looking to simplify the design while respecting the things that made it unique in the first place.

Last word goes to Dean Kamen in this short video…

DEKA Toyota Launch May 19 2016 from Andrew Nicholas on Vimeo.

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You can look back at what we said about it 2 years ago. What were our predictions then?

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