DRIVING THOUGHTS

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1.3 billion people –about 16 percent of the global population – currently experience significant disability. “This number is increasing due in part to population ageing and an increase in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases.”

This is a significant number of people who are having difficulties in mobility, and it does not only refer to the disabled but also to the increasing ageing population, and those who lose the facility due to diseases.  Thus, mobility is a problem that has become closer to each of us who are getting older, or have family members who are elderly, or is suffering from an illness.

“If you are free to move, then you can do anything,” says  Toyota President Akio Toyoda in a video message welcoming media groups from Asia at the Toyota House in Paris on Sept. 7.

Toyota Motor Company, which shifted to a mobility company in 2019, has taken on the challenge of mobility for this group of people. 

Toyota’s Mobility for All philosophy is anchored on the belief that freedom of movement is “key for active societal participation.” It transitioned toward a mobility company in 2019 and Toyota is demonstrating the achievements it has made in alleviating potential-limiting mobility barriers, as part of its “Start Your Impossible” (SYI) global corporate initiative that empowers everyone to challenge themselves and achieve their ‘impossible.’

It has displayed and offered for use many of these options starting at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Recently, at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, there were 250 Yosh-E (electric powered wheelchairs) offered for use to everyone at the Olympic Village.  Records showed that these were not only used by disabled athletes but also by the elderly visitors who needed assistance to move around.

More versions of personal mobility vehicles were displayed and offered for demonstration rides at the Toyota Inclusive Mobility Park, a short walk from the Toyota House. The mobility solutions there are indeed as promised by the slogans in the welcome video – “Discover the possibilities of inclusive mobility solutions.”  It makes real the saying  – “If you are free to move, anything is possible.”

Here are some of the mobility solutions displayed:

* The Yosh-E is a third-wheel electric puller for manual wheelchair developed by Toyota and the Austrian company Klaxon.  It converts a mechanical wheelchair into a battery-powered electric mobility solution. It runs to a maximum speed of 8 km/hr, with a range of 25 kilometers.

* The Genny is a self-balancing personal transporter that offers greater mobility because it is operated by the body’s movement.  It has a 24-kilometer range and a maximum speed of 15/km/hr.

* The JUU is Toyota’s self-climbing electric wheelchair prototype which has been developed to climb stairs or uneven surfaces up to 16 cm high, while the user is seated. 

* The WHILL is a prototype of an electric wheelchair which can be programed to reach a destination and can avoid obstacles along its path.

It’s not just personal movers that Toyota has developed as mobility solutions.  At its museum display at the Toyota House, it displayed the prosthetic leg of Tyrone Pillay which it made in 2023. 

The caption explains: “This leg was developed with Toyota Gazoo Racing in Germany to be stronger and more ergonomic for the shot put event at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. A 20 percent weight reduction and an increase in strength and durability was achieved by reinforcing the foot adaptor connection and improving the load distribution around it. Better anchoring and load distribution improves the stability of the leg for better performance. – Tyrone Pillay, Toyota New York kick-off 2024”   

Chris Vos, snowboarding Paralympian who got into an accident when he was five years old, which resulted in his right leg being paralysed, now competes with a special leg brace. He said he got “real inspiration” from the Start Your Impossible initiative when he started re-learning how to walk.  “It’s really beautiful that a company gives attention to athletes to help them in mobility.” Chris is now training for the 2026 Games in Milano.

The world, which includes athletes, the elderly, the disabled, needs more mobility solutions because “If you are free to move, anything is possible.”