Toyota and Nesta Team Up for Mobility Unlimited Challenge

UNITED STATES (July 24, 2018)—Data from a new international survey of wheelchair users on behalf of the Toyota Mobility Foundation highlights the need for innovation in the field of assistive technology to allow people with limited mobility the opportunity to fulfill their potential in the workplace. The impact of this survey could have huge consequences for the estimated 65 million people worldwide who use a wheelchair.

The survey, involving wheelchair users across five countries around the world (United Kingdom, United States, Japan, India and Brazil), found that more than a third of wheelchair users polled in the U.S. say that they have been unable to work as a result of using a mobility device (36 percent).

The survey was commissioned in order to better understand the day-to-day experiences of wheelchair users as part of Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Mobility Unlimited Challenge. This $4 million global challenge aims to transform the lives of people with lower-limb paralysis by encouraging innovators to create game-changing technology. Three in 10 wheelchair users polled said they had experienced frustration because the design of their current mobility device felt outdated.

The survey found that 9 of 10 wheelchair users in the U.S. said they had experienced negative consequences as a result of using a wheelchair or mobility device when working or job hunting (92 percent). A quarter of those surveyed said they felt their talent had been wasted (27 percent); while 1 in 5 said they felt they had been held back in their career (23 percent); and one-fifth said that they had been given less responsibility at work as a result of using a wheelchair or mobility device (20 percent).

Additionally, 3 in 10 wheelchair users said that using a wheelchair or mobility device had limited the jobs they could apply for (28 percent). A quarter said they have had to become self-employed (24 percent), while a similar proportion stated that they had to work from home (26 percent) as a result of using a wheelchair.

The Mobility Unlimited Challenge aims to address these issues uncovered by the survey through rewarding the development of personal mobility devices incorporating intelligent systems. Solutions of the future could include anything from exoskeletons to artificial intelligence and smart technologies. 

“With potentially millions of people around the world unable to work or be as productive due to their current mobility devices, there are clear social and economic implications which highlight the urgent need for innovation in the field of assistive technology,” said Ryan Klem, director of programs for Toyota Mobility Foundation. 

“When people are free to move, they can broaden their horizons and fully realize their potential. Improving mobility is critical to creating an inclusive society,” Klem said. “That’s why we’ve spoken to wheelchair users around the world to understand the issues they face and what they want created and why we have incorporated the element of co-creation between innovators and end-users into the Challenge requirements. We are now calling for engineers and designers to step up to the Challenge. We hope the devices created will help improve employment opportunities and job prospects of those in wheelchairs, but this isn’t just an issue that affects wheelchair users; a better, fairer and more productive society benefits everyone.”

Charlotte Macken of Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre said, “What these figures show is that rather than society adapting to meet the needs of people with limited mobility, those individuals are having to adapt how they work. We hope this challenge will change this situation and result in technologies that will open up new opportunities for people with limited mobility and unlock the potential of the millions of people around the world who use wheelchairs. New, innovative technological solutions can benefit the whole of society both in the United States and around the world.”

Entries for the Mobility Unlimited Challenge close on August 15, 2018. Five finalist teams will receive a $500,000 development grant in January 2019, and the winner of the $1 million final prize will be announced in Tokyo in 2020.

Visit mobilityunlimited.org for more information.