Autonomous wheelchair pilot project lands at airport
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2019 (1569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
If you see an empty electric wheelchair rolling through the departures lounge at Winnipeg’s Richardson Airport in the coming weeks you needn’t be alarmed.
It’s not out of control and no one has fallen off.
It’s part of a unique global pilot project of deploying autonomous or semi-autonomous mobility devices in airports to make life easier for the travelling public who require mobility assistance and to provide economic efficiencies for the airlines and airports in their efforts to better service the travelling public.
The project is being run by WHILL, a Japanese mobility device manufacturer and Scootaround, a Winnipeg company recently acquired by WHILL that rents and repairs and services devices for the the travelling public. It is part of their efforts to create a global mobility-as-a-service model.
The service uses a new, $6,000 WHILL model CI device that is blue-tooth enabled that will pick a passenger up at a pre-arranged gate, take them to a pre-arranged destination in the airport and then return, on its own, to the docking station. Use is free of charge.
Kerry Renaud, CEO/managing director at Scootaround Inc./WHILL North America, said, “As opposed to the traditional wheelchair push program, the implementation of autonomous mobility units within the airport will give the individual travelling passenger the ability to circumvent the airport with a powered mobility device.”
The program has been tested in airports in Tokyo, Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi and Dallas/Fort Worth. Officials from airports and airlines around North America are in Winnipeg this week to observe the pilot program.
“It’s really exciting for us, as a Winnipeg company, to see this case study developed right here in our backyard,” Renaud said. “If we can get this model buckled down the way we need to, it can be exported to every airport in the world, conceivably.”
Among other things, the program would not only make it easier for travellers who need mobility assistance to get around, but it is also expected to alleviate labour demands for the airlines and airports whose staff would otherwise provide the wheelchair push assistance.
Tyler McAfee, vice-president communications and government relations at James Richardson International Airport, said, “By 2038 it is estimated that in North America one in three travellers will require some kind of assistance. So how do we get ourselves ready for that as an airport? We think this is great technology with a great Manitoba connection. We are happy to pilot this in the airport and hopefully incorporate it full time.”
McAfee said they will look to see what the demand is to determine how many of the devices would be required.
The plan at this point is for the airports to absorb the cost of the equipment.
Scootaround already has established relationships with airlines and airports across North America. In addition to providing repair and servicing on behalf of the airlines for devices that get damaged during flights — in the U.S. it is mandatory for airlines to stow personal devices as luggage, free of charge — the company also has about 9,000 vehicles located in hundreds of locations across Canada and the U.S., where it provides personal mobility devices to rent for travellers.
Since its recent acquisition by WHILL, Renaud said Scootaround’s services will now become more globalized.
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Martin Cash
Reporter
Martin Cash has been writing a column and business news at the Free Press since 1989. Over those years he’s written through a number of business cycles and the rise and fall (and rise) in fortunes of many local businesses.