Toyota for people with handicap
TOYOTA The Japanese automaker's Mobility Foundation, together with Nesta's Challenge Prize Centre, is launching an ideas competition in the fight against disease or a physical handicap that limits mobility. Innovations and technologies that simplify the lives of people with lower limb paralysis are being sought. The best solution will be awarded prize money of one [...]
The search is on for innovations and technologies that simplify the lives of people with lower limb paralysis. The best solution will be rewarded with a prize of one million dollars, and the winner will be announced in Tokyo in 2020.
Many partners
The Mobility Unlimited Challenge, as the competition is called, is looking for teams around the world that develop groundbreaking technologies that improve the mobility and independence of people with a physical disability. The solutions of the future can range from exoskeletons to artificial intelligence and machine learning to cloud computing and batteries.
Overcoming market entry barriers
Millions of people around the world suffer from paralysis of the lower limbs. The most common causes include strokes, spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis. Smart mobility technologies can find solutions. However, there are barriers to the adoption of such technologies, such as small and fragmented markets, regulatory hurdles, and complex reimbursement processes by healthcare systems and insurers.
Financially supported
The competition is about working with people who can help develop suitable technologies. With the Discovery Awards, ten groups with promising concepts receive seed money of 50,000 US dollars so that they have the necessary resources to participate in the competition. From all the proposals, a panel of experts will select a total of five finalists who will receive US$500,000 to implement a prototype. The winner will receive one million US dollars to actually bring the product to market. Interested parties can apply online.
