Smart idea gets mobile

Scott’s power wheelchairs share in pool of $1.3m

A TUGUN business – which aims to produce and sell hitech smartphone-enabled electric wheelchairs worldwide – will share in $1.3 million in funding for Gold Coast businesses.

Next Generation Mobility founder Scott Gordon said that the $84,500, from the second funding round of the State Government’s Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas program, will enable the production of a final prototype.

Mr Gordon, who has used power wheelchairs for more than 20 years, said he wants to make wheelchairs, using carbon fibre, aluminium and titanium, that are lighter and stronger than those on the market.

“With an ageing population and increased services and support for people with disabilities, the demand for power wheelchairs is growing rapidly,” he said.

“A power wheelchair is more than just a medical device needed for movement.

“It becomes a part of the person, and an extension of their body.”

A key feature of his prototype is the option to use a smartphone – via an android or iPhone-enabled app – to override the controls of the wheelchair.

Mr Gordon said the function is a world-first and useful for carers looking after wheelchair-bound children or for people with cognitive difficulties.

“This way a carer can use their smartphone to instantly stop the chair and bring it back to them if there are issues.”

The wheelchair also includes 20-inch BMX wheels and a high-torque gearbox that can propel a 120kg wheelchair up a 15-degree slope.

Mr Gordon, who is studying occupational therapy at Southern Cross University, said he plans to launch the product to the market at next year’s Occupational Therapy Australia conference.

His business is one of 10 Gold Coast business to receive funding from the latest round of the Ignite Ideas program.