Shared mobility has been on the rise for the past years, and even though the pandemic kind of paused its growth, we’re still seeing a lot of different modes and services come out of the woodwork. But most of these are meant for people who are generally mobile and not for those that may have some difficulty moving around. For those that are elderly and may have some sort of physical disability, the current shared mobility services may not be applicable to them.
Designer: Yeeun Son
A Korean designer thought about this gap in the shared mobility market and came up with a concept product called ANYON. Think of it as a moving chair or wheelchair that can be used like you would the shared bikes and electric scooters that you see around the city. The inspiration for the design is a folding chair, and when it is not in use, it folds into itself so it can be stored in a smaller space than the usual mobile chairs.
ANYON uses the omniwheel technology, which allows for movement on the horizontal axis and for forward and backward movement as well. There are also headlights on the footrest so that even at night, users will be able to ride this moving chair. The product renders seem to show a pretty small mobility device, but it should be able to fit a fully-grown adult and at the same time not be too bulky that it will be hard to create a station for it.
The chair also comes with buttons and displays on the armrest to help you control and navigate to where you’re going. An app will help you see where’s the nearest station where you can rent the chair. Payments and key codes are also through the app, just like any shared mobility service. We also assume that you will be able to leave it when the battery runs out or the rental ends, just like with bicycles and scooters.
If this product does come to life, it can revolutionize the shared mobility market in terms of accessibility. There are still a lot of logistics and technology to probably figure this out but at least this concept is a step in the right direction.
