This year's CTIA Wireless Industry Conference featured a variety of smart products focused on mobility. Perhaps most impressive is a smart motorized wheelchair built by Swedish mobility products manufacturer Permobil.
The wheelchair comes as an update to the company's previous F5 model that costs around $35,000. It can link up to the Internet via AT&T connection. The device can also tap into cellular connections to display results of diagnostic tests, fire alerts (in case of harm to the device or user) and provide a way for loved ones to track the user.
Permobil's smart wheelchair can travel as fast as 7.5 miles per hour with a range of 16 miles. There is also an accelerometer that is able to track the speed of the device and whether it is upright or has fallen over.
A lot of these features are solutions to very simple problems — so simple that it makes you wonder why this technology hasn't already been consolidated. By integrating the Internet of Things into what would otherwise be categorized as a "dumb" device, Permobil demonstrates the potential for so many more devices to soon become connected and integrated.
As of now, the wheelchair only exists as a prototype, brought out for CTIA to demonstrate a new connected product. Permobil hopes to start shipping and selling a version of the smart wheelchair sometime next year.
