Kangan Roo 

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Image of Kangan Roo electric wheelchair

A revolutionary electric wheelchair, designed in Australia, has been unveiled.

“Kangan Roo” is an electric wheelchair that can climb six-inch kerbs, has an adjustable frame and has just won an award.  The wheelchair is the brainchild of Batman Tafe computer expert Colin Johanson, who last week won the People’s Choice award on Australian ABC TV's show "New Inventors".

“I came up with the idea in 1981 and have been waiting for the right batteries and motors that I thought would do the design justice,” Mr Johanson said.

“I wanted a chair I’d be happy to drive myself.”

A hang gliding accident at the age of 20 resulted in Mr Johanson breaking five vertebrae and left him a quadriplegic.

“I was still in hospital when I started modifying my own wheelchair,” he said.

The Kangan Roo, which can go up to 10 kmh, can rotate on the spot and can be made smaller for indoor use and expanded for outdoor use.

"I can get in and out of a train without waiting for the train drivers help.

The Kangan Roo is built from (light) aluminium and has a radical frame design.  Radical here means that the frame consists of rigid front and back sections that are connected by a sliding position pivot and it has five wheels. This allows for the wheel-base to be lengthened or shortened while someone is sitting in the chair.  Frame shortening allows for tight indoor manoeuvring, while frame lengthening is ideal for outdoors, making cruising speeds of up to 0 kph possible and safe.  The wheelchair is powered by a nickel metal hydride (NiHM) battery.  This is the type of battery used in, for example, digital cameras, but obviously heavier.  The NiHM battery weighs seven and a half kilograms, or a quarter of the weight of a regular wheelchair battery.

With a lightweight battery and a lightweight aluminium frame, the Kangan Roo weighs in at 48 kg (including batteries).  That’s over 60 kg less than a typical power wheelchair.

The 49-year-old hopes to sell the patent, which now belongs to Kangan Batman Tafe, to one of four American companies that dominate the electric wheelchair market.

“When they start rolling off the production line and rolling around on the streets, I’ll be able to say that is mine,” he said.