Emerging Technologies · By Brian Fulcher
Prototype or demonstration. Researchers tested a powered walker during one supervised session at a rehabilitation hospital in Germany.
Last reviewed November 12, 2026.
Getting out of a chair takes more than pushing upward. You also have to shift your weight forward and find your balance. For someone who already relies on a walker, could grips that move during that transition make the effort easier? A small study shows how much the path of the grips can matter.
What changed
The November 11, 2026 journal paper reports the SkyWalker team’s first evaluation with older adults who had difficulty standing up. The first preprint appeared May 13, 2026. A University of Waterloo thesis describes the earlier prototype design. The new evidence comes from a supervised comparison in the intended user group.
How the powered handles work
A rollator is a walker with wheels. SkyWalker adds a second, lower pair of grips that motors move forward and upward while the user rises. The team compared two paths for those grips, a straight path and an S-shaped path. Researchers adjusted the start and end positions for each participant. The motor followed a preset path over three seconds, with a member of the study team supervising each attempt and an emergency stop available.
How the two paths compared
Seven people enrolled at a rehabilitation hospital in Heidelberg. One withdrew during familiarization after being unable to stand and made no study attempts. The six who completed the session tried each configuration. They completed 30 of 30 stands with the conventional rollator, 27 of 30 with the straight powered path, and 21 of 30 with the S-shaped path.
Participants rated effort lowest on average with the straight powered path. Compared with the conventional walker, three reported less effort, two reported the same and one reported more. The study did not find statistically significant differences in either effort or success. The walkers also differed in shape and in how people could use their grips, which makes it hard to isolate what the motors contributed.
Who might benefit
Rehabilitation teams could use these results to investigate which kinds of support help people who have difficulty rising. The trial measured standing from a chair in a supervised setting. It leaves home use, fall prevention and longer-term independence open. As of November 12, I found no verified public purchase or routine clinical access for this prototype.
Root Access Take
I’d ask people how the assistance felt at the moment they shifted their weight. Did the handles move when they expected, and could they pause comfortably? A completed stand is one measure. Comfort, confidence and the ability to stop matter when a device is meant to fit into someone’s daily routine.
For another example of testing an assistive device around the person using it, see the explainer on muscle sensors for prosthetic control.
What to watch next
Look for a larger study with repeated visits that gives people time to learn the device and compares against a conventional walker with a more similar grip layout. The next study could report who cannot use the device, who prefers the assistance after practice, and which movements still require a clinician’s help.
Primary sources
Mahdi and colleagues’ November 11 journal article · JMIR preprint and version history · University of Waterloo’s SkyWalker design thesis.