For decades, manual wheelchairs have been the traditional form of transportation for many people with mobility problems, but operating a manual wheelchair can place stress on the upper body. To help solve this problem, Permobil created the SmartDrive MX2+, a portable and lightweight device that attaches to the back of a wheelchair. SmartDrive provides electrical support to relieve shoulder pain and general fatigue. The system is activated by the wearable “SwitchController” or “PushTracker”. When the SmartDrive MX2+ is activated, momentum gradually increases, and when the desired speed is reached, the user taps once on the rim to lock in speed. When the user double-taps the rim, the system shuts down the engine and then the user can slow down completely stopping using their hands as usual. The SmartDrive MX2+ is all-electric with a top speed of 5.5 mph. When fully charged, it has a range of 12.3 miles.
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