KONE DX Experiments competition identifies opportunity to connect wheelchairs to smart building technology.
Five-time Finnish Paralympic gold medal winning sprinter Leo-Pekka Tähti celebrates the innovative experiment which allows wheelchair users to move more seamlessly through buildings.
KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has announced the development of a new tech solution designed to enable wheelchair users to navigate modern buildings more easily by connecting elevators and wheelchairs.
The connected wheelchair concept is being developed following its selection as the winning idea from KONE's DX Experiments competition, launched in
It will enable a wheelchair to be integrated and connected to KONE's elevators via its API (application programming interface) platform, allowing it to also work with other applications within a smart building management system.
The winning idea came from a French entrant and was inspired by the difficulties faced by care home residents when moving around the facility. The innovative concept aims to aid mobility and building navigation reducing waiting times and friction, allowing users' wheelchairs to alert an elevator to their arrival or schedule an elevator when they need, taking them to the correct floor.
The technology is being created to work with smart wheelchairs or as a solution which can be retrofitted to existing wheelchairs. The design could mean that in the future, facilities such as care homes or other smart buildings could produce a better on-demand service for wheelchair users.
Five-time Finnish Paralympic gold medal winning sprinter Leo-Pekka Tähti, an advocate for better inclusivity and accessibility for the disabled community in the built environment, is acting as a consultant as the design is developed. Despite being the world's fastest man in a wheelchair, Tähti is often slowed down by inconsiderate building design.
He said: "Wheelchair users know how frustrating it can be trying to get around in a world that hasn't taken their needs into account. Being delayed because an elevator is full or because we are held up by inaccessible design can become another daily frustration that wheelchair users have to allow for."
"We become experts at adapting to fit into a world that wasn't designed with us in mind. Although improvements have been made, we need urgent investment and innovation in the built environment sector so that wheelchair users can move around our public spaces and buildings with independence. The connected wheelchair concept offers us a glimpse at what is possible when society invests, innovates and commits to improving the day-to-day lives of wheelchair users."
According to the
The KONE DX Experiments competition focused on how KONE DX Class elevators, alongside our technology and innovation could make people flow in buildings even smoother and more accessible.
The criteria for entries focused on originality, innovative thinking, and usefulness, as well as the feasibility to deliver a working version of the solution. This reflects KONE's mission to improve the flow of urban life, creating smarter, more sustainable cities together with its customers.
The winner was selected from entries for the
Development work will start immediately, with the innovation available for testing later this summer.
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Read more about the winning idea and competition
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Previous press releases are available at https://www.kone.com/en/news-and-insights/releases/ including:
About KONE
At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2020, KONE had annual sales of
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