Connected chairs benefit their users by providing them with valuable real-time information via the MyPermobil app on the status of their chair’s battery, distance travelled, and power seat function usage. It also provides their local service technicians with data transmitted automatically to a Fleet Management portal allowing for remote diagnosis. All of which help Permobil reduce the incapacitating "downtime" that power chair users experience.
"At Permobil, the focus is on a wheelchair’s 'uptime' – how much time can the person use their chair, rather than simply minimizing the 'downtime' of a chair," said Peter Jidesjö, Executive Vice President Services, and global head of MyPermobil and Fleet Management.
"Connected chairs provide service technicians alerts about the wheelchair in near real-time which can be used to prevent technical problems and speed up service maintenance. While reliable and intelligent information provided to the individual users like travel range estimates and battery charge status give an individual more freedom to do what they want in life.The 10 000 people in 16 different countries who have activated connectivity on their Permobil power chairs is a clear endorsement that this is what our users want," continued Peter.
MyPermobil and Fleet Management are twenty-first century products made up of hardware, digitalized solutions, and service. This holistic approach has been vital in the R&D focus at Permobil to deliver something that is more than the sum of its parts.
The Permobil smart wheelchair has become even smarter with the Voice Assistant feature in the MyPermobil app which allows users to communicate with their power wheelchairs via Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Individuals can get all important information about their own chair’s battery-life in relation to how they typically use it, and individual seat function usage. Research shows that battery-life, and knowing what it allows, is a major everyday concern for wheelchair users.
REHACARE.com; Source: Permobil
