WheelMove makes debut at CES in Las Vegas
Traveling over grass, gravel, uneven ground and cobblestone walkways can be a manual wheelchair user’s nightmare. But a French startup company is trying to change that for the masses.
WheelMove, showcasing its new product at the giant consumer electronics show called CES in Las Vegas this week, is dedicated to giving manual wheelchair users access to places they usually can’t go.
Its patented device is a compact, lightweight solution that transforms any manual wheelchair into an off-road, electrically assisted wheelchair in seconds. It clips onto the front of a manual wheelchair using simple brackets the user can install independently. The user presses the included Bluetooth remote’s power button to automatically raise the front casters. The wheelchair can then be maneuvered the same way it was before the device was attached, but with less effort. Users press remote buttons to speed up, slow down or slowly reverse. And to stop the electric assistance, one can either press the stop button on the remote or apply heavy manual braking.
The WheelMove device weighs 16 pounds, including the removable battery, and can last about 15 miles on one battery charge. The included battery charger can be plugged into a regular wall socket, and the battery takes one to one-and-a-half hours to fully charge. The remote can control the speed up to about 6 mph (10 kph) and is charged through a USB-C cable.
WheelMove co-founder and COO Kévin Surbled says the product offers more autonomy for wheelchair users and gives them more choices. He says it was co-developed with more than 200 wheelchair users, caregivers, occupational therapists and medical device distributors.
Surbled acknowledges there are competitors on the market, including the Permobil SmartDrive, FreeWheel, Batec Mobility electric handbikes and 4poWer4 PowerStand, but he says those products are often heavy, costly, complex to use or require a specific wheelchair model.
“WheelMove is the only solution on the market that simultaneously provides an all-terrain product, lightweight and fast to install on any manual wheelchair,” Surbled says.
Surbled says the company will first manufacture and sell WheelMove to medical device resellers and distributors in France. In 2026-27, it plans to begin distribution in Europe, followed by the United States in 2027-29, in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games.
Surbled says presales launched last June, and the company already has more than 15 orders for WheelMove, plus letters of intention from resellers in Spain, Belgium, Germany and Australia. Early adopters are scheduled to receive their products by this summer, and the company plans to be ready for U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory approval as a medical device sometime this year.
The price will be about $6,000 for the basic model, which includes one battery, one charger and a transport bag. An upgraded model will come with one additional long-range battery and an additional mounting kit that can be used on another wheelchair.
For more information, visit wheelmove.eu and read more in a future issue of PN magazine.
