Newsletter : Taking 30 Years of Electric Wheelchair Development and Tech to the Next Stage --Going Global with Our Latest JWG-1 Electric Wheelchair Power Unit--

Yamaha Motor has been in the electric wheelchair business for roughly three decades, counting back from the development and launch of the JW-I electric power unit for manual wheelchairs in 1995. The JWG-1 is the company's latest model and is set to be launched to markets around the world in 2025, but the business has also begun applying its core technologies refined over the years, i.e., electronic control, electric motor technology, and battery management, toward bringing new value to accessibility for people and society.

■Three Decades in the Electric Wheelchair Business

Yamaha Motor began developing electric wheelchairs in the late 1980s. Leveraging the electric motor drive and control technologies for compact personal mobility that the company had honed until then, development of a prototype got underway aiming to develop a new business in the health and welfare field as well as to contribute to society by applying Yamaha Motor's proprietary technologies.
　After much trial and error, that first prototype was eventually completed and when compared to electric wheelchairs at the time from other companies, Yamaha's model had specs far exceeding them in terms of operability, power, and mobility. However, when the team conducted product monitoring of the prototype in the welfare field, it received very low marks. Despite its high-performance design, people with disabilities could not use it properly. "People needing wheelchairs have all manner of sicknesses and symptoms," explained a member of the prototype's development team. "The feedback we got from the field showed us that tailoring the product to fit each individual was essential."
　The team changed their approach and the result was the JW-I wheelchair electric power unit (launched in 1995) and the JW-II wheelchair electric power-assist unit (launched in 1996). These were created from the idea not to develop a standalone wheelchair, but to convert a manual one into an electric one.
　Since then, Yamaha Motor has developed various products under the "JW" label over the past 30 years, from electric wheelchair units and lightweight electric wheelchairs to electrically power-assisted wheelchairs, to meet the needs of users and caregivers alike. While focusing on the Japanese market, we also supplied electric power units to wheelchair manufacturers in the United States, Europe, Australia, and other countries on an OEM basis.

■Seeking Greater Accessibility for People and Society

The JWG-1 is Yamaha Motor's latest wheelchair electric power unit and is slated for international introduction this year into Europe in the spring, the United States in the fall, and other markets in due time. It is the first full redesign of a wheelchair electric power unit in some 10 years, and while improving the motor's output, strength, and durability, the team utilized analysis technologies proven in motorcycle development to reduce weight, improved operability with a simulator used for industrial robot development, and called on other methods as well. The JWG-1 will be supplied to wheelchair manufacturers and other organizations in various countries on an OEM basis.　
　On the other hand, the power units used to motorize our wheelchairs are characterized by their precision as medical and welfare devices, toughness ready for indoor and outdoor use, and ergonomic operability. These traits are broadening their applicability to a wide variety of fields, such as the automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) contributing to laborsaving in factories and distribution centers, agricultural carts, and even new personal mobility devices being created by startups and other co-creation partners for the elderly and people with disabilities.

　"The core technologies of JW products are electronic control, motors, and battery management," explains MIZUTANI, Hiroyuki from the JW Technology Group. "As we evolve the power unit, combining it with AI, image recognition technology, GPS, and other technologies holds the potential to create new value, like monitoring the health conditions of senior users. We hope that everyone looks forward to the greater accessibility afforded to people, society, and industries through advances in electric wheelchair technology."



Introducing Yamaha Motor's Electric Wheelchairs
https://global.yamaha-motor.com/about/business/wheelchairs/

Yamaha Motor Launches New Wheelchair Electric Power Unit JWG-1
- First Full Redesign in 10 Years, Launching in Japan and Expanding Globally -
https://global.yamaha-motor.com/news/2024/1031/jwg-1.html





In July 2025, our electric wheelchair business will celebrate its 30th anniversary. The pioneers of the business created their first wheelchair electric power unit with the idea of creating a business to help the world and to help people. With the launch of the new JWG-1, Yamaha Motor will now primarily focus on the development and manufacture of electric power units-the heart of the business-and system components as a dedicated manufacturer in wheelchair electrification. The power units themselves hold great technological potential for use in applications outside the field of wheelchairs, and I look forward to seeing that happen in new areas like personal mobility and automated transport systems for manufacturing facilities.

HONMA, Naoko