The ultimate test for the wheelchair of the future

If there is one team that epitomizes all that the Cybathlon competition represents; accelerating research and development of assistive tech, fostering social inclusion, and designing tech to meet the needs of society, it is Team Scewo. This is their story.

Now a thriving ETH Zurich spinoff company, in 2015 Scewo was a fledgling research project that was among the first to develop a stair-climbing wheelchair. The first international demonstration of their technology during the Cybathlon rehearsal, in 2015, inspired a healthy competition just one year later with 12 powered wheelchair teams, 11 of which included stair-climbing capabilities in the 2016 Cybathlon.

Scewo has come a long way from founder, Bernhard Winter’s “crazy idea” for a stair-climbing robotics project. The growth of this team and now company represents how one idea can inspire and accelerate research around the world and how people-centered design thinking can successfully transfer from the lab to society. The Scewo wheelchairs not only climb stairs, but they also incorporate technologies that facilitate social inclusion – features that enable the chair to adjust to varying table heights or to elevate users to speak face-to-face with friends that they meet on the street, for example.

Scewo is now preparing for CYBATHLON 2020’s Powered Wheelchair Race. The new race challenges require the wheelchair pilot (competitor) to exercise precise control of a technical device, such as a robotic arm, for opening and closing a door.

Scewo is now preparing for CYBATHLON 2020’s Powered Wheelchair Race. The new race challenges require the wheelchair pilot (competitor) to exercise precise control of a technical device, such as a robotic arm, for opening and closing a door.

Read Claudia’s inspiring story about a wish that came true high above the Alps in Switzerland.