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Assistive devices provide aid for individuals living with disabilities. San Antonian Heather Albright is one of those people who needs assistance in her daily life. Albright is deaf-blind and has multiple sclerosis (MS), and she craves to live with as much independence as possible. Albright is considered one of the first individuals in Texas with multiple disabilities to demonstrate the Strutt ev¹, a mobility vehicle that is voice-activated and can manage a variety of terrains.
Albright learned of the Strutt ev1 after attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“They were showing the motorized chair. This blind person got into the chair and scared everybody. But he was actually able to (move) around the conference in January,” said Albright.
Strutt business director Jason Meng said the Strutt ev1 is not a power wheelchair.
“EV means ‘everyday vehicle.’ ‘One’ means 'generation one' because it's our first model to the market,” said Meng. “So we want to use this everyday vehicle to help people make safer and effortless driving, comparing to a lot of other options (like) conventional chairs.”
Meng said the ev1 is equipped with a variety of sensors that can map a user’s surroundings.
“So when we put the vehicle onto the assisting driving mode, we call it the co-pilot mode,” said Meng. “Co-pilot means the vehicle is gonna assist people's driving. For instance, when the vehicle is getting close to some obstacle, the vehicle will stop automatically to avoid any collision.”
Heather Albright was able to map the inside of her apartment to the ev1and took it for a test drive outside the complex. She says it still had some limitations for the visually impaired.
“There's no…overlay on the screen,” said Albright. “So if you're blind, you can't feel the button to tell it to do something, to tell it where to go, like ‘ev1, go to office,’ and it just goes.”
Heather Albright’s mother, Cynthia Albright, had similar concerns over accessibility for individuals who live with low vision or blindness.
“And I've had people tell me this since she was a little girl: ‘Blindness is a low-incidence handicap.’ Well, no, we live with it every day,” said Albright. “The blind are always the last to have something modified for them, and I appreciate the feedback (the inventors have) given me, but I appreciate that (they’re) listening to our concerns.”
Heather Albright's friend and neighbor, Narjis Pierre, has witnessed Albright’s attempts to remain independent.
“I know it's a struggle because she wishes (for) independence, and this is not gonna give her what she wishes for,” said Pierre. “She wants to just get up and go, and that's just not gonna happen. She's gonna need somebody to help her get it all figured out mechanically, technologically. … Just getting in the car ... it's not easy.”
Pierre believes the ev1 will still be able to serve her friend the best when Albright’s MS begins to limit her mobility.
“She still can walk, so she's still mobile. This (is) for when she cannot walk because of her MS. ,..” said Pierre. “This will be helpful because then she still can go out.”
The Strutt ev1 was launched globally at CES this year, where it won the Best of Innovation Award in the Vehicle Technology and Advanced Mobility category.
