Newsletters

WHILL Autonomous Chair Wins CES Innovation Award

Autonomous Model A power chair
WHILL announced today that the WHILL Autonomous Model A power chair has been honored with a CES Innovation Award

San Francisco, January 4, 2023 – WHILL, Inc., a leading developer and service  provider of electric mobility chairs, announced today that the WHILL  Autonomous Model A power chair has been honored with a CES Innovation Award at Consumer Electronics Show, the most influential tech event in the world organized by the Consumer Technology Association.

The CES Innovation Awards are an annual competition honoring outstanding  design and engineering in consumer technology products. The WHILL  Autonomous Model A is recognized in the category of Accessibility for its  innovative features that enable seniors and persons with disabilities to easily  navigate airports, regardless of cognitive, mobile, hearing, or visual abilities.

Passengers with reduced mobility are the fastest growing demographic in the  airline industry, making it difficult for airports to meet the additional demands  that come with accommodating their needs. By transporting passengers to their  gates, the WHILL autonomous power chair relieves demands on the airline of  providing manual wheelchair push services, while helping passengers with  mobility issues to explore the airport with greater freedom.

The user selects their destination on a touch screen and then hits start. The  WHILL autonomous power chair does everything else. The service is safe and  reliable thanks to the power chair’s ability to independently detect and avoid  obstacles in the airport using sensors and automatic brakes. In the near future,  passengers will be able to make additional stops at predetermined locations like  restrooms, shops and restaurants.

The autonomous chair service has been tested in several U.S. airports including  Atlanta, San Jose and Grand Rapids with excellent results. In December 2022,  WHILL announced the first permanent installation in North America at Winnipeg  International Airport in Manitoba.

WHILL Autonomous Service is part of WHILL’s ecosystem to connect the world  with walking-area mobility products and services. The ecosystem is adaptable  to a variety of situations that require short-distance transportation. In addition

to autonomous drive technology, WHILL offers manual drive rentals to be  utilized at malls, museums and other destinations, multi-day vacation rentals,  and the Model C2 and Model F for full time use. WHILL also provides access to  places not possible by other means of transportation such as electric kick  scooters, bicycles, taxis, trains and airplanes.

“WHILL products and services are uniquely designed to reduce barriers and  improve the quality of life for our customers,” said Kerry Renaud, CEO of WHILL  North America. “WHILL is thrilled to be recognized again by CES, especially as  we broaden our reach of innovative products to support customers in their full  range of mobility needs, from personal mobility devices to fully autonomous  and manual drive power chairs.”

This is the second consecutive year and fourth time that WHILL has been  honored with a CES Innovation Award. They were previously honored in 2022  for the WHILL Model F foldable power chair designed specifically for travel.

About WHILL, Inc.

WHILL connects the world with short-distance mobility products and services  and provides Mobility-as-a-Service solutions, offering autonomous and manual  transportation services that make public spaces like airports, vacation  destinations, and convention centers more accessible. From electric mobility  scooters to fully autonomous power chairs, WHILL offers products and services  in over 20 countries and regions globally. https://whill.inc

Autonomous Model A power chair
Autonomous Model A power chair honored for delivering airline passengers to their gates