The Gap in Wheelchair Safety No One Talks About and How LUCI Has a Solution

“Each year, there are 175,000 visits to the ER for wheelchair injuries.”

“87% of wheelchair riders report at least one tip or fall in the past three years.”

— LUCI quote from a study cited on its website www.luci.com

If those numbers surprised you, you're not alone, and one company is working to change them!

Learn about one company’s mission to help those that use power wheelchairs stay safer. LUCI (Linked User Centered Intelligence) smart technology systems are designed to enhance the independence and safety of wheelchair drivers. LUCI describes their innovative product as “a first-of-its-kind hardware/software which attaches to power wheelchairs to provide security, stability and connectivity through cloud and sensor-fusion technologies.” These systems empower individuals with physical and vision impairments to navigate their communities more confidently and independently. LUCI’s smart system functions similarly to the collision avoidance systems found in most cars today. It utilizes advanced technology, including anti-tip detection, collision avoidance, drop off protection, and cloud-based communications and alerts through sensors.

I’ve been a power wheelchair user for over two decades and I consider this the most significant safety upgrade out there for the power wheelchair. A few months ago, I had LUCI’s smart mobility systems installed on my power wheelchair and have been testing it out in my home and around my community. So far, I’m impressed with how the LUCI system senses the surroundings and responds to alert me to adjust my driving. As someone with a vision impairment, I often encounter challenges in detecting obstacles or drop offs in front of me or changes in the terrain. The settings on LUCI allow for some customization, which is great for those who are skilled at driving a wheelchair but just need that bit of assistance especially for potentially dangerous situations that could tip the wheelchair. When I’ve navigated in tight spaces or with groups of people, this can be nerve wracking to look ahead and all-around as well as drive my chair. LUCI has helped me in those situations to maintain a certain distance from obstacles and reduce the speed of my chair.  It has also relayed information about those obstacles onto the LUCI app where I can have a visual of the obstacles on my phone. All around town the curbs and curb cutouts are painted various colors and not always consistent. It can be hard to identify the ramp or a set of stairs especially when there is no paint to indicate a difference in the change in height of the ground. From where I sit, this often looks the same to me. With LUCI on my wheelchair, the sensors have alerted me to curbs and edges, sometimes sooner than I see them myself.

I firmly believe all individuals who drive power wheelchairs should have access to this type of technology if it would help them feel safer, more confident, and enhance their independence.

Overall, I love the product and I’m excited for the future as the LUCI team shares they are actively improving and enhancing their system. There are a few areas I’d like to see improvement. I’ve highlighted a few here:

·       Currently the LUCI system is cautious about the ramp on my van and does not want to let the chair drive up or down the ramp, so I must use the override button in this case. This adds one more step to driving up or down the ramp, instead it would be helpful to have that added assist when on the ramp.

·       On a few occasions when the sun hits the sensors just right, the chair slows down and stops moving. This can be problematic because it’s unclear if there is an obstacle or LUCI is just cautious since the sensor cannot “see” what is there. This can add travel time as the chair driving slow or stopping which means I must add a step of selecting the override button. In my settings, I have the override button set for 15 seconds and it makes a beeping noise. When this expires, I have to select the override again.