WheelMove provides guide wheelchairs the facility and top to deal with tough terrain

French startup WheelMove demonstrated a compact motorized wheelchair add-on at CES 2026 that not solely acts as a power-assist system, however can even elevate up a chair’s small entrance wheels so it could possibly experience over tough terrain. The accent upgrades a guide wheelchair with a 10-inch additional wheel and a 250W motor that may drive at as much as six miles per hour (10 kilometers per hour) and deal with slopes as much as 10 p.c, with a variety of 15.5 miles (25km). The battery is swappable, too, so an individual may pack an additional for an extended outing to keep away from having to cease and recharge.

Because the WheelMove group confirmed at its sales space, the accent will be hooked up to a wheelchair in a matter of seconds whereas seated, and its management panel will be strapped onto an armrest or perhaps a bodypart. There are 5 velocity choices, which additionally work to maintain the velocity constant when an individual is touring on a downslope. With the WheelMove hooked up, its creators say a guide wheelchair consumer can traverse tough and uneven surfaces — like cobblestones, grass and dust paths — in addition to ramps with far much less effort than would usually be required. In some instances, it may open up journey in locations that might in any other case be utterly inaccessible.

The startup says it is labored with wheelchair customers who’ve subject examined the system for months forward of its launch. It weighs lower than eight kilograms (17.6 lbs) and packs up in a backpack. Pre-orders for the WheelMove have opened for patrons in France, the place it is anticipated to ship later this yr earlier than increasing internationally. It prices roughly $6,000.