Accessible traveling: foldable wheelchair by Revolve Mobility

Mr. Mocellin, the anticipated Revolve Air – a foldable wheelchair is in its last stage of production. To what extent will it change the travel experience for people using wheelchairs?

Andrea Mocellin: The active wheelchair is an essential part of many people’s lives. Revolve air approaches the wheelchair in a new revolutionary way that makes it the world’s first active wheelchair that fits the standards of a universal cabin luggage size restriction. Saving 60 per cent of its space when both wheels and frame are folded.

The freedom to move and travel is something many of us take for granted. For those who use a wheelchair, the challenges faced on a daily basis are real and beyond what many might think. For example, the size of the chair and wheels can make getting on trains, buses, and airplanes an extreme challenge, requiring help from others for help a constant. This new product is addressing these concerns in a way that makes the wheelchair much more functional, while still being safe and sturdy.

Revolve Air aims to give a total new independence to all active wheelchair users, who commute and travel every day. This means no more need to check in the wheelchair at the airport hours before the flight, with the risk of damage to the valuable and necessary chair. No more long waiting at the luggage delivery. No need to store the wheelchair in a large car trunk giving Revolve Air owners the freedom to drive small cars or take any cabs available. Plus less need of assistance along the journey for more independence and time to invest for what really matters: the freedom to travel light and efficiently. This is a real breakthrough that can have a liberating effect on those who need to use wheelchairs, in all the best ways.

Opening or folding the wheelchair is a simple action, requiring nothing complicated and no feats of strength. Both 24 inches wheels can collapse along the same hub together with the seat and the backrest, guaranteeing a unique compactness and transportability. Its special foldable wheels even give the new wheelchair an attractive appearance when full sized and when being stored.

When will the Revolve Air be launched for private purchases?

Mocellin: We are now starting the fundraising campaign on Seed Money to raise the necessary capital to build the team and move forward with the manufacturing and distribution of Revolve Air. We are looking for partners coming from the wheelchair industry to support us and to work together on the revolution and innovation of the wheelchair industry.

We are expecting to end the fundraising campaign by the beginning of 2023 to finalize the product development for manufacturing and to take care of certification and distribution. We are really looking forward to providing every user who subscribes to the waiting list (up to 12.000 requests) with the Revolve technology.

Many potential users register on our website, where it is possible to get the latest updates on progress and to be on the list to reserve the wheelchair. At the moment, we are looking to start distribution in Europe and then scale to the rest of the world.

What feedback did you receive from end users and potential business partners at this year's REHACARE?

Mocellin: REHACARE 2022 was the perfect place to meet the big players in the industry, meet potential users, and get valuable feedback. It helped us a lot in defining some important aspects to take Revolve to the next level. We had the opportunity to start important conversations for potential partnerships and collaborations, improve our network of experts and distributors, and analyze the rapidly growing market for active wheelchairs. 

The highlight was definitely the number of experts open to discuss the future of Revolve, providing suggestions and feedback to move forward. All these comments cannot come from an online phone call, but only by analyzing the functional prototype in real life.