Chennai: A motorised wheelchair vehicle called NeoBolt was developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras). The wheelchair can run at a maximum speed of 25kmph even on uneven terrains.
The lithium-ion battery-powered vehicle is capable of travelling up to 25km for every charge.
Prof Sujatha Srinivasan from the department of mechanical engineering led the team that designed and developed the wheelchair through a start-up called Neo-Motion. Professor Srinivasan said that the wheelchair is convenient, safe and a low-cost mode of outdoor mobility compared to other vehicles including modified scooters.
NeoFly, a wheelchair that has 18 customisations to make it personalised for a particular user was also developed and launched by the engineering team.
“Neo-Bolt converts NeoFly into a safe, road-worthy vehicle that can navigate any kind of terrain that we may normally encounter — drive through unpaved streets or climb a steep gradient. And do this comfortably as it has suspensions to absorb the shocks,” Professor Srinivasan was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Co-founder and CEO of NeoMotion, Swostik Sourav Dash said that a personalised NeoFly may cost Rs 39,900 while the NeoBolt motorized add-on is available at Rs 55,000.
“Besides product warranty, we provide spare parts and aftersales service so that our users can use the products hassle-free. Our immediate focus is to ramp up production and make NeoFly and Neo-Bolt available to users across India,” Dash was quoted as saying by the paper.
