TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Technology

On-Demand Wheelchair Rentals Launch in Seattle and San Jose

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Bird-branded electric wheelchair superimposed over Seattle skyline.
Image courtesy Bird.

There’s a new, more accessible way to move around Seattle and San Jose, thanks to the expansion of a new program by Bird and Scootaround.

Bird’s exclusive On-Demand Accessible Mobility program enables disabled people to find, reserve and pay for a selection of accessible vehicles using a custom rider interface available only in the Bird app.

Bird riders in Seattle and San Jose benefit from exclusive discounts and have unique access to a variety of accessible vehicles including the WHILL Model Ci2, a popular power wheelchair. Bird says “these vehicles offer greater independence to those with mobility issues by helping them navigate hills and long distances in a city.”

Bird’s On-Demand Accessible Mobility program, which first launched in New York City in 2021, has expanded to more markets including San Francisco, San Diego and Yonkers. More cities, including Chicago, will soon be added to the list as the company expands its exclusive partnership with Scootaround to serve at least 15 markets in 2022.

To read more about Bird’s new wheelchair rental offering, see the Bird website.

Accessibility Products We Loved at CES 2022

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Consumer Electronics Show exhibit hall.

We live in a time of tremendous innovation, and sometimes that innovation can be life-changing for people with disabilities. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show featured a large number of products designed for disabled people, some of which are already available to the public. While some of the products were over the top and may never see the light of day, it’s nice to see the increased attention to accessible product design and development.

Every year at CES, Reviewed awards the best of the best with the CES Editor’s Choice awards, but this year they created a new awards program designed to recognize products that have the potential to improve the lives of disabled people.

To see the full list of the top accessibility products from CES 2022, check out the article from Reviewed.

Will Autonomous Vehicles Help Disabled Travelers Find the Freedom they Crave?

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Blue four door sedan with Google logo driving on a road using driverless technology.

Advancements in technology and AI have put mass-produced autonomous vehicles within the realm of possibility, and experts suggest that we may see largely driverless cars within our lifetimes.

For disabled people, driverless cars promise greater access – physically driving a vehicle is not possible for many people, but autonomous vehicles will solve that problem. Although basic forms of technology has already been implemented in vehicles like the Tesla, it hasn’t yet made its way into a mass-produced wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Accessibility guidelines are being studied, and advocacy groups hope standards for wheelchair and other access will be included in future iterations of driverless automobiles. The website 2025 AD examined these questions in greater detail and, for more information, read their report on accessibility in driverless cars.

LaunchPad: Curated Barrier-Breaking Ideas and Products available now or Coming Soon to the Phone in your Hand.

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Prior to the launch of TravelAbility I, like many people, mistakenly believed that the world of People with Disabilities (PwD) was one filled with dire pronouncements and woe, but the innovative solutions presented at Launchpad brought just the opposite by showing how much entrepreneurial energy and creativity is being directed at solutions that will help disabled travelers adapt to a world that has never been adaptable to them.

TravelAbility’s LaunchPad, was held virtually April 1st and featured 15 innovators selected following a review and vetting process that began back in June of 2020. 

One person I spoke with after the event even used the word “sexy,” to describe the products and, while that may have been a stretch, they were definitely cool and inspiring for me to see so many organizations working to help make travel easier for people with a variety of disabilities.

Each company made a 3-minute pitch to a panel of judges that represented members of the travel industry, the disability community as well as impact investors.

Kate Farbo, from Visit Lancaster, wrote in an e-mail: “I attended TravelAbility’s Launchpad and was really blown away. It was an incredible experience watching so many talented, intelligent and passionate people sharing their ideas to improve the world of accessible travel.”

This year’s judges included: Charles Hammerman, CEO of the Disability Opportunity Fund; Ron Pettit, Head of Accessibility, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines; Zach Curry, Director of Guest Experience and Accessiblity at Marriott; Toby Willis, Product Manager and president of accessibility club at Expedia; Jay Cardinali, former Head of Global Accessibility, Disney Parks and Resorts; Betty Adams, Head, Investment committee, Disability Investment Fund.

Srin Madipalli, former head of Accessibility for Airbnb, and now an angel investor in 16 start-ups, who founded the widely acclaimed Accessible Travel Club group on Facebook, served as our guest emcee and moderator.

JUDGES CHOICE.

1st Place  Vispero  JAWS Kiosk a, text to speech software than enable people who are blind or who have low vision to use self-service kiosks in airports, hotels and visitor centers. Presenter: Laura Miller, Corporate Business Development Manager

2nd Place: Mobi-Mat makes a slip-free rollout mat for beaches and uneven surfaces as well as floating wheelchairs for beach and pool use.  Presenters: Sandrine Carpenter-Bernard, CEO/Greg Scull, Area Sales Manager

3rd Place: SATS: Service Animal Travel Solutions. A one-stop central database for service animal verification recently launched with Alaska Airlines as their first airline partner. Presenter: Gina Emrich, Co-Founder

“This recognition of the JAWS Kiosk screen reader as the TravelAbility LaunchPad Judge’s Choice is a great sign of how the travel industry is embracing this tool for making their kiosks accessible for users with disabilities. We look forward to seeing more of the many accessible solutions featured in the LaunchPad event.” Matt Ater, Vice President of Business Development, Vispero.

You may view the 3-minute presentations here.

1st .This is Vispero

2nd. This is Mobi Mat

3rd. This is Service Animal Training Solutions

NEW THIS YEAR: PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS. This year we added the “People’s Choice” award, in which attendees were polled to name their favorite presentations.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE:

1st Place: Revolve Air Wheelchair.  A high-tech wheelchair that folds up to fit as airline carry-on. Andrea Mocellin, Founder

2nd Place: Alinker. A Walking Bike. A non-motorized “walking-bike” designed for people with mobility challenges has evolved into a wellness ecosystem that includes Alinker yoga classes, nutrition programs and is supplemented by a produce farm in Kentucky that employs disabled workers. Presenter: BE ALink, Founder

3rd Place: Omeo Technologies. Hands-free electric wheelchair that uses Active Seat Control technology user’s core muscles to control movement.  Presenter: Spring Adamo, North American Representative

These are their 3 minute presentations

1st. This is Revolve Air Wheelchair

2nd.This is ALinker.

3rd. This is the Omeo Wheelchair

“Winning the people’s choice award gives me the incentive to keep working with this amazing network to advance technology and user experience for active wheelchair users.” Andrea Mocellini, Founder, Revolve.

While the judges selected innovations based on their practical applicability for travel industry suppliers along the chain of travel, attendee choices tended to mostly benefit users.  In the end, it was a reflection of the best of both worlds.

LAUNCHPAD RECORDING AVAILABLE:

For those who were not able to attend, the full four-hour recording can be purchased from our website here for $49 until May 15. 

REGISTER FOR the second session of TravelAbilty 2021 “The (Rocky) Road to Recovery” to be held on JUNE 24th.  A conversational format that includes briefs from Google, Disney, Marriott, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and 14 others.  See the Agenda here. 

Finally, I would like to thank my wonderful team of Katie Philson and Tricia Roth, both of whom helped produce the first TravelAbility Summit in San Francisco, and Laura Erskine, a former television news producer who helped coordinate the videos so that the technical glitches were kept to a minimum.

Jake Steinman

An IKEA IDEA: “ThisAbles” Furniture Adaptors Available at a 3D Printer Near You

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Mass market furniture pieces have long been inaccessible to many disabled people, who have had to purchase specially adapted furniture styles at a significant price premium. Swedish furniture maker IKEA is seeking to change that with ThisAbles — a series of downloadable, 3D printed adaptations that are available free of charge.

IKEA’s ThisAbles product adaptors can be downloaded and printed using 3D printers, then installed to improve the accessibility and usability of IKEA’s furniture products. In recognition of the program’s innovation, ThisAbles won the Grand Prix for Health and Wellness at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

OUR TAKE: Innovative tools like ThisAbles can generate accessibility at low cost, making accommodations for disabled people much easier to implement. IKEA’s approach to solving for accessibility is an example of innovation at work – an example that should be followed by other companies looking to expand their products’ utility.

This story Sponsored by Designsensory: See our innovations during Covid-19 here.

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