Minister of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Ashok Chandra Panda on Friday distributed India’s first indigenous motorised wheelchair attachment NeoBolt to wheelchair users to help differently-abled children move around independently.
‘NeoBolt’, developed by Madras-based NeoMotion Assistive Solutions Private Limited is stated to be first of its kind in the country. It is the ultimate innovation that helps wheelchair users to move around independently.
On this occasion, Panda congratulated the startup NeoMotion and its co-founder Swostik Sourav Dash.
Panda said “Odisha is proud to have Swostik who has developed India’s first indigenous motorised wheelchair attachment NeoBolt, and a personalised wheelchair called NeoFly that aims to enhance the health and lifestyle of the differently-abled.”
With the help of these smart rides they not only move within the house, but also they can use these smart rides to go to work, to shopping malls anywhere they want.
In order to make a smart ride function, wheelchair users need to strap on a front scooter. And the users can do this independently without anyone’s help and move around the city independently.
Eight orthopedically challenged youth, students and job-doers, beneficiaries went through a rigorous assessment process to qualify as recipients of the smart rides. The recipients are BarajKumar Das (Kendrapada), Jagannath Nayak (Nayagarh), Sarojini Sethy (Ganjam), Mamatarani Panda (Balangir), Arati Bera (Mayurbhanj), Santosh Pradhan (Khordha), Debashis Mallick (Puri), Sasmita Swain (Puri) and Rakesh Kumar (Khordha).
It may be mentioned that Bhaubaneswar-based non-government organisation Swabhiman has been associated with IITM Incubation Cell and NeoMotion since 2018.
Presently, as outreach partner, Swabhiman is identifying beneficiaries and networking for wider reach of NeoFly and NeoBolt.
Speaking on the occasion Swabhiman’s founder Sruti Mohapatra said “NeoMotion is creating life transformative products for the physically challenged and the elderly."
Terming NeoBolt as anall-terrain bike, she further said “It is designed for safety with a sideways anti-tipper and speed regulator so even severely disabled like me can drive without any fear and at the pace I like. It serves as a wheel-chair and becomes a bike in a jiffy the front is strapped.”
Swostik is a mechanical and product designer graduated in 2013 from IIT Madras and his interest in product design brought him back to IIT after two years to design products for people with disabilities.