iWalkActive
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Trionic Sverige AB |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 2 270 000 |
| Project duration | August 2012 - August 2015 |
| Status | Completed |
Purpose and goal
Rollators have become increasingly popular mobility aids, with more than 300 000 rollators users in Sweden alone. Conventional rollators work well indoors and on smooth surfaces. But if a rollator user would like to pass a curb, or walk on uneven ground, he/she quickly ends up in trouble. The aim of the iWalkActive project has been to develop a new range of rollators that offer the user greater access to the outdoors. Apart from developing new solutions that improve the rollator´s performance, a specific target has been to equip an existing off-road rollator with an electric motor drive.
Results and expected effects
The iWalkActive project has resulted in an off-road rollator equipped with an electric motor drive. The e-Drive offers the user major benefits when walking uphill as he/she does not have to push the weight of the rollator or the luggage carried in the basket. On downhill stretches the e-Drive works as a motor brake, which prevents the rollator from rolling away from the user. In addition three new outdoor rollators have been developed that offer several unique features. According to a comparative user test they offer benefits when compared with conventional outdoor rollators.
Approach and implementation
Through end user interviews, end user focus groups and a questionnaire with 151 respondents, the most important rollator problem areas and user requirements were identified. The results and requirements of the end user involvement were implemented into the product development. A number of fully functioning prototypes were tested by end users in both Switzerland, Austria and Sweden, in order to evaluate their functions, their eventual user benefits and their performance in outdoor surroundings.