Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Introduced at the Japan Mobility Show in 2025, and winner of the Red Dot Luminary Award in 2026, the Toyota WalkMe chair replaces the wheels on a wheelchair with robotic legs. As a result, the WalkMe chair climbs stairs and moves around easily inside homes where medical wheelchairs need a five-foot clearance diameter for turning. The WalkMe chair also raises the seated person to eye-level with a person standing, using its telescopic hydraulics. And, when activated the WalkMe chair uncurls its four legs from the floor, like a Buddhist monk rising from zazen*.
Most radically different from conventional (medical) wheelchairs, the WalkMe chair is also aesthetically pleasing with its biomimetic, spider-like gait and furniture appearance. Indeed, the WalkMe chair’s robotic legs are padded, and covered with brightly-colored 3D-knitted fabric, so that none of the hardware can be seen, or cause pinching accidents. Likewise, the WalkMe chair’s motion is AI-driven, using more than 10,000 movement simulations to train the robotic legs. This training gives the chair greater adaptability, and a much wider range of motion than any preset coordinates.
No single patent specifically covers the WalkMe chair design, which is a protoype. However, the chair builds on decades of Toyota’s patented research. For example, research into terrain and step-elevation mapping, using proximity sensors and LIDAR, within the context of automated vehicles and collision-avoidance logic. Such research appears to inform how the front chair legs test for elevation, when negotiating steps or stairs, while adjusting the inclination of the seat to maintain user stability. Smart seating stabilization that also works when the chair is lowered for Japanese-style socialization on a tatami mat, or raised to assist the user with transfer to a car. Similarly, the chair makes use of sensors and LIDAR systems to scan the environment for obstacles, such as rugs and furniture, or to stop the chair to avoid potential collisions with people and pets.
The WalkMe chair accepts voice commands for users with limited upper-body mobility, and is otherwise operated using integrated, direction-control push buttons. Battery status is visible to the user, and the chair recharges overnight for next-day, 12-hour service.
In the spirit of the Red Dot Awards, which are designed to ‘see the future’, by rewarding designs before they become market leaders, the WalkMe chair is transforming Toyota into a game-changing, universal mobility company.
Note
* zazen = Japanese term for seated meditation.
References
Japan Mobility Show 2025
https://oica.net/events/japan-mobility-show/
Red Dot Design Awards
https://www.red-dot.org
Toyota Mobility
https://www.toyotamobility.com/
Toyota Mobility Center
https://toyotamobility.toyota.com/
Japan Mobility Show 2025
https://oica.net/events/japan-mobility-show/
Red Dot Design Awards
https://www.red-dot.org
Toyota Mobility
https://www.toyotamobility.com/
Toyota Mobility Center
https://toyotamobility.toyota.com/
.jpg)
%20Black.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}