LAHORE – A Pakistani engineering student has designed an automated wheelchair – the first of its kind in the world – which is controlled by smartphone and voice command.
Faaiz Arbab, a student of MS electrical engineering at LUMS, has designed ‘GOBEE’ to assist the physically challenged people through smart technologies integrated into the wheelchair.
GOBEE can connect to any smartphone via Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi allowing its user to control it even if they are 100 feet away from the wheelchair.
Additional features of the wheelchair include an anti-rusting and water repellent body with alloy rim wheels combined with a sofa seat that has an anti-sweat technology.
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The initial price of the wheelchair is Rs100,000 but the designers hope its price will be reduced when produced on a mass level.
Being the founder of Ayub Yaqoob Engineering Company (AYECo), Faaiz has already started distributing GOBEE in Pakistani market. In future, the product may also be exported after its compliance with International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Arbab has urged the government and state departments to help his team produce this innovative machine on commercially.
GOBEE wheelchair has been awarded best Consumer Product Design Award (2018) by the National Design Awards (NDA).
