The 85th Installment
A Next-Generation Wheelchair for Our Aged Society

by Tomoyuki Ohkubo,
Assistant Professor, Master Program of Innovation for Design and Engineering

According to the Japanese government’s 2016 Annual Report on the Aging Society, the country’s elderly population stands at 34.59 million. Since Japan’s population is 126.93 million, the elderly make up 27.3% of society. These figures define those over the age of 65 as “elderly,” which is fully one-quarter of the entire population. In general, “an aging society” is considered to be one in which 7–14 percent of the population is elderly, while an “aged society” has an elderly population of 14–21 percent. On the other hand, when more than 21 percent of the population are elderly, it becomes a “super-aged society.” Since the elderly made up 27.3 percent of Japan’s population in 2016, Japan is already well into its “super-aged” phase. Looking further into the paper for a future forecast, by 2065, 1 in every 2.6 people will be older than 65 and 1 in every 4 people will be at least 75—a serious situation. Naturally, the government must take policy measures, but what should researchers be doing?

If the elderly can live vigorously and independently, then they would be able to participate in productive economic activities. Younger generations would also not need to worry about nursing care, etc., so they could be able to focus on their own economic activities. My work is developing systems to assist the physical functions that weaken with old age such as researching next-generation wheelchairs for people with weakened legs and hips. With regular wheelchairs, users must propel the wheels with their hands or have somebody push the wheelchair, but there are also joystick-controlled motorized wheelchairs. At the next level, I also research next-generation wheelchairs that can operate autonomously: with GPS-assisted navigation and automatically go to the desired destination, with laser radars and cameras that will automatically avoid obstacles, and with cameras that will recognize white lines on the road and make sure the wheelchair follows without straying. You may likely have already heard of something like this. That is because most of the needed technology for autonomous wheelchairs are the same as those needed for autonomous cars. Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Google, Tesla and other major enterprises are fiercely competing in this field, and their development programs incorporate a variety of technologies for automated driving. However, such development requires considerable money since cars are so large. Wheelchairs, on the other hand, have the advantage of requiring relatively small pieces of experiment equipment. They are maneuverable.

Each November, an annual tournament for small robots that can autonomously navigate is held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture near Tsukuba Station. Called the Tsukuba Challenge, this two-kilometer race uses local parks and roads. At the parks, one has to watch for fallen leaves obscuring the white race line. Members of the general public come to watch as well, so the robots must sometimes deal with pedestrian “obstacles.” The robots must also complete missions such as crossing at a light or searching for a person wearing a special vest. AIIT participates as part of a joint inter-university team. Operating these robots on general roads requires compliance with laws and regulations, but Tsukuba City has been designated an International Strategy Zone, making it one of the rare places in Japan where the robots can compete in an outdoor environment. [At the time of this writing] 52 teams are scheduled to run a robot in the 2017 tournament.

Next-generation wheelchairs may seem to have no relevance to the young or those in good health, since they are, after all, evolved wheelchairs. But if the design and shape of these wheelchairs were slightly shifted, they would become single-seat personal vehicles. There might be a day when such vehicles take the place of bicycles, motorbikes, and even the big cars that crowd downtown. I also hope that next-generation wheelchairs serving as personal vehicles will support the elderly in maintaining an autonomous lifestyle.