Portable and foldable robotic wheelchair ramp with no installation footprint, disrupting the universal accessibility of wheelchair users and people with impaired mobility
| Host Organisation: | GivoTech Ltd |
| Partner Organisation(s): | PA1: University of Cyprus |
| Project Budget: | 588,220.00 € |
| IDEK Funding: | 499,987.00 € |
Concerns about accessibility in Europe are ever-growing, while wheelchair users encounter many problems in making their way into buildings or public spaces. On a global scale, accessibility is primarily an issue mainly for morphological-architectural, sociological and cultural reasons. A large portion of the non-accessible buildings and places do not have the architectural properties to do so whilst on the other hand, buildings with cultural heritage and historical significance won’t approve any intrusions to their current infrastructure.
Currently, no existing product fulfils the needs and offers a holistic approach in resolving this major issue. For this, we have designed Ramba, a portable, foldable and extendable, autonomous wheelchair accessibility system with unique features. There are four major topics that Ramba aims to tackle; Accessibility, Versatility, Portability and Cost effectiveness.
Ramba is a revolutionary patented product that allows wheelchair users to automatically ascend and descend stairs without any assistance on angle inclinations up to 35o. This disruptive technology provides universal accessibility for wheelchair users and people with impaired mobility, in various kinds of staircases and elevated surfaces without stairs (likely situation especially at archaeological sites). Ramba has a unique and ergonomic design enabling the easy assembly and on-site deployment as well as the easy folding and transferring to another inaccessible site. Ramba is supported by cutting edge robotics, advanced composite materials and wireless technology.
The Ramba SEED proposal initiated from a fully functional TRL6 prototype that was tested, validated and demonstrated to wheelchair users. Through the SEED project Givotech aims at developing a solid roadmap on how Ramba will efficiently enter the transition phase from a prototype to a consumer ready product.