Anand Mahindra comes out in support of unique, India-made motorised wheelchairs

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra yesterday came out in support of an indigenously-designed motorised wheelchair vehicle built by IIT Madras' TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) team in collaboration with NeoMotion, a startup incubated and run by IIT-M alumni.

Anand Mahindra tweeted images and videos of the vehicle, named NeoBolt, and said:

"The entrepreneurs behind this device are young IIT Madras Grads. Their company-NeoMotion-is dedicated to providing greater mobility to those with disabilities. They did a demo of the device and as you can see, it’s simple, well designed, easy to use and eco-friendly. More than their ingenuity, I was impressed by their commitment to doing a startup which does good even as it does well. I plan to support them."

Reportedly, the team has created their own lock system and secured the lightweight and detachable Neobolt from Neofly (the wheelchair device), converting it into a vehicle with a top speed of 25 km/h and a range of 25 kms through the attached Lithium-ion battery, which charges within four hours.

The wheelchair design of NeoFly has been made as per customer's preferences, unlike the one-size wheelchairs available in the markets, according to the team. Further, they claim Neofly has 18 customisable options which help users adjust it to their lifestyles and health conditions.

As per an India Today report, the whole unit costs around Rs 1.18 lakh, but is being retailed for Rs 95,000, which the team claims is three times lower than a foreign-made motorised vehicle. The team has also made service and repairs simple through an initiative known as Neofit and a Do-It-Yourself approach.

Professor Sujatha Srinivasan from the Department of Mechanical Engineering heads the team and oversees work on biomechanics and the development of assisting devices to help people with locomotive disabilities.