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Wheelchairs have been around for centuries, helping people with limited mobility get around. As useful as they are, though, things often get tricky when uneven terrain and stairs come into play. Hoping to tackle these issues, Toyota has created a state-of-the art solution. The Walk Me chair, introduced at the Japan Mobility Show 2025, is a four-legged robotic chair that can safely move its users around as it adapts to its surroundings in real time.
The chair combines robotics, ergonomic design, and artificial intelligence to go beyond what wheels can do. Its robotic limbs can bend, lift, tilt, and adjust independently, helping users climb stairs or get into a car. The Walk Me chair is also fitted with sensors and LiDAR systems that scan the environment, allowing it to navigate obstacles, while collision radars can stop the chair if a person or object comes in its way.
While bringing this device to life, designers found inspiration from the way goats and crabs confidently get around slopes, gravel, and rocky ground while moving smoothly on flat areas. To maintain its balance and keep the user centered, the chair can adjust its base and tilt. Its weight sensors also ensure the user remains centered before making any sudden movements.
To climb stairs, the front legs assess the height before pulling the chair up, while the rear legs push the user upward. It uses the same principle to load a person into a vehicle, making sure to align with the car doors before standing on its tippy toes.
In addition to its technological prowess, the creators of the Walk Me chair made comfort a priority. Its curved backrest supports the spine, while the seat can adjust to the shape of the user. To make it appealing and friendly, its mechanical components are covered by a pastel-colored soft material. It is also compact, and can fold into the size of a carry-on bag in thirty seconds at the touch of a button.
To get around, users can steer the chair manually by twisting the small side handles or by pressing the integrated buttons for direction control. For those with limited mobility in their upper body, the chair can also understand short voice commands, prompting the onboard computer to map a path. The battery is hidden behind the seat, and a display on the armrest shows how much power it has left or if it is overheating and about to shut down. To charge it, it only has to be plugged into a wall outlet overnight for a full day of activity.
While the Walk Me chair is still a prototype, it opens a world of possibilities for those who need help getting around. Conceived with a Japanese audience in mind, this autonomous chair can also do things like help people sit close to the floor at a tatami mat level, or get around narrow hallways. Its compact and adaptable design can turn things around for many around the world, granting them autonomy and freedom.
Toyota introduced the prototype for the Walk Me chair, a four-legged robotic chair that can safely move its user around.
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The chair combines robotics, ergonomic design, and artificial intelligence to go beyond what wheels can do, bending and maintaining its balance in real time.
Sources: Walk Me: Toyota stuns world with robot chair that walks, climbs, and folds itself
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